Funny you should ask this, as I was just thinking yesterday about how dismally I failed at this. I tried doing this myself maybe a year or so ago using some directions I found online. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well. I used a really thick woven paper sort of material (actually, it was a woven paper window shade that I cut apart). I removed the cords from the woven wood shade, cut slits in woven paper backing where the rings were on the woven wood blind, then used Super 77 spray adhesive to spray the whole back of the window shade and adhere the woven paper backing. It worked great for a while, but over time with raising and lowering the blind, the backing worked loose and started falling down. I took the whole shade down once already and reglued it, but a couple months later, it started coming loose again. It probably would have worked better had I sewed it, but I have next-to-no sewing ability and thought the spray adhesive would work better. Live and learn, I guess. Luckily, the shades (both the woven wood and woven paper) ones were Target cheapies so I won't feel bad replacing them with something else. I'm actually looking at some woven cane paper roller shades from Country Curtains that I think will work perfectly - I just ordered swatches yesterday and am waiting for them to arrive.

After 10 years in the hot So CA desert sun, our faux wood blinds looked like new. Therefore, there have been installed at our new home. We do have two West facing windows where we hung solar shades because the sun was glaring on the TV and ruining our dinners in the dining area. Well, solar shades don't block the sun when it is big and round in the sky, so therefore, we installed more faux wood blinds inside the window box for extra protection. We now watch TV and eat with no hot sun.

Johnmari, Thank you for sharing about the many variations on white. Now I'm a little worried. We really don't have $ to go for custom treatments. If I go with the white, maybe I should order, try one, and then understand I may have to return? Yes. Absolutely. That was JM's point and what I assumed (and shouldn't have) you already knew. You need to have a plan to check the color before you commit. Or, as Annz said, there are many other resources out there at about the same price point as JCP where you can obtain samples before you buy. My Lowe's for instance has a nice supply of take home color samples for blinds and plantation shutters. You mention a mix of mission and contemporary - again, either would work. Someone made the point the wood tones do not reflect as much light into the space -- that is accurate. If you have abundant natural light, might not be such a concern. But if you're having trouble deciding between the two, that factor is something to consider. Exterior - Again, either can work. It's a matter of your deciding which choice, white or wood, is going to fit best with the design and look you're marching towards interior as well as exterior. Maybe make a spreadsheet and list the pros and cons of each color choice to help you see which one 'fits' best at least on paper.

I didn't read all these. I wanted to say that we have a lot of 2" white faux blinds in the house. They are heavy to raise even on smaller windows so we don't. Ours are not high quality so I don't know if that would make a difference. (Most were from Lowes - not custom or special order.) I think all blinds are a pain to clean. Dusting is what it is though! We needed ours for light control and do open and close the slats daily. Something that DOES bother me with some of ours is the 'valance' head piece that slides/clips in along the top to hide the mechanisms. Some have a tiny light gap along the top between the blind and window trim (all inside mounts) and I really dislike that. An outside mount would fix it for sure. I actually even tried to take white blackout liner and rig it with velcro to stuff along the edge for our wide living room window. Yes, I really did. It didn't work in there and I deal with it. In the bathrooms, I have a valance that hides the top. I do have one room where that valance header piece sits up a little higher and hides this. I'd still select the 2" faux wood blinds again because that was what was in budget and I like them better than the look of skinny slat mini blinds. While cellular shades provide light control, I like to see out and don't like how they look fully down. Same with fabric or woven romans. I do very much like the look of shutters. If you're unsure what I'm talking about with the light gap, I can take a photo if you'd like.