My Favorite Way to Dress a Naked Window {P.S. It's Not Curtains!}

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! My windows aren't naked anymore! My living room is a very open room with TONS of light, and I have never wanted to take away from that, but in the midst of trying to leave it bright and airy, I have struggled with not having a "finished" look. It has driven me crazy from day 1, but until now, I never took the initiative to get it done!
Let's venture back to the beginning of this adventure to what my living room looked like when we bought our foreclosure. Brace yourself. It is beyond the realms of ugliness.
The Before Before the Before! (HA)
Wowzers. Still kills me to look at the before. {You can see LOTS more before pictures on this post.}


This room had come a long way, even before now...but here are a couple more pictures of the room with naked windows.
NAKED WINDOWS
When I say "Naked Windows", I mean, they look too bare. There ARE BLINDS on them. They are pushed up. Look at the picture closely and you can see them.
NAKED WINDOWS
Doesn't it just seem to be "missing" something? From the day we bought the house, I told Brandon that I would love to have cornice boards on the windows. I had thought I would make them, but I just couldn't ever get around to it, and I also never could decide how I wanted them done. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My friend Shara from Chasing a Dream Blog that has shared on my site twice {here and here} now with her amazing carpentry skills has more talent than most people I know...and that is the truth. I contacted her with my idea for cornice boards and within a couple minutes of texting back and forth, we knew what I wanted, and of course- she said it was easy and no problem! {I knew it wouldn't be for her!}


She got them made for me, came over one Saturday to hang them up for me...and bam. I finally have some beautifully finished windows. I couldn't be happier!
I wish I was so good with power tools! {Notice in this picture that YES, there are blinds on the windows- they are just pulled up. I get a lot of questions about this.}


I apologize for the glares. These were not easy photos to take with a bright sun glaring in on all of this glass!
She is also a great multi-tasker!


Here is the finished product in all of its beauty! We went with wooden boards with no fabric or design. She white washed them, and they were good to go! She shares the entire tutorial on how she made them here!{And they are VERY budget friendly!}


For all of the finished pictures in my living room, check out my blog post! She did a fantastic job, and she has a FULL TUTORIAL on how to make these, you can go to my actual blog and follow the links in this post!
Brooke Riley-Re-Fabbed
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 12 questions
  • Christine Brough Christine Brough on Feb 12, 2016
    Brooke, can you help? I have the same windows as you, new and beautiful, but no area to put blinds (no window sills or insert area at top for blinds to fit in), how did you hang your blinds to the window. I have been struggling with this for a few months. We put drapes up in the mean time and I hate drapes up, the cold is still coming in and we are all allergic to dust. Help!!!
  • Angela Stanton-Clemons Angela Stanton-Clemons on Feb 12, 2016
    I love the wall color. What color is it?
  • Christine Brough Christine Brough on Feb 20, 2016
    Are you able to give me some advice on hanging the blinds to our windows that are just like yours? We just had them all replaced, and if we drill into the window itself, our warranty will be voided on the windows. Is this what you did? Did you have any problems? We may just take our chances to get blinds up? Does anyone have any past bad experiences or suggestions? We really would love to get blinds up, it is cold in NJ, lol.
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  • Arlene Arlene on Feb 11, 2017
    A picture of the finished windows would have been nice.
    • Barb in Texas Barb in Texas on Feb 18, 2017
      "For all of the finished pictures in my living room, check out my blog post! " A paragraph later she gives the link.
  • Dennis Manzhul Dennis Manzhul on Jun 29, 2018

    Great job, looks really good! A shade under the cornice would really complete the look in my opinion. Disclaimer, I work in the custom drapery business


    Photo credit: Custom Drapery Workroom in Downers Grove (my job)


    Love the redesign and color scheme, the talent is there.

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