DIY: Contact Paper Window Treatment

3/12/2014: Here is the contact paper I used for this project. Also, these shapes peel off VERY easily. At least they did for me. There was no sticky residue or marks on the glass. 


Pinterest strikes again.

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I saw the tutorial for this little project on Pinterest several times. Once I finally decided to start on the entry way, I knew it was exactly what the space needed.

I've become obsessed with the quatrefoil pattern, as you can tell by the epic wall and our gorgeous bedding. I want to incorporate it in our house as much as I can without it being overwhelming.

This "window treatment" was perfect. I didn't want blinds (boring!) and I didn't want to do curtains, because 1) it's a small window, and 2) I'm painting stripes on the wall and I figured curtains would either make the space too blah or too busy.It was also perfect because it was ridiculously cheap. The roll of contact paper was $6.50 at Home Depot and I only used about half of it.

It was time consuming. I printed out the template from 7th House on the Left on heavy cardstock, and then got to work tracing it onto the contact paper. This was SO boring. But, Frasier dvds and Buddy helped make it less mind numbing.

Obviously tracing on the paper side is recommended.

Such a good little helper =)

Okay, maybe not... but he's still cute =)

Anyways. Once I had about a gazillion shapes cut out, it was time to get to work. Want to see how ugly the area was when I got started?

Yeah. Sponge painted walls and the squares on the glass are drawn on...

Drawn on with blue Sharpie, nonetheless. Not to mention that last row is LOVELY.

Ugh. Anyways. Putting the shapes on the window was super easy. Peel that ugly crap off, clean the space well with Windex and then start adhering the pieces. The only thing that was challenging was being careful enough not to get air bubbles under the paper. I plopped a couple on and at first glance they looked fine. But when I stepped back, I could see so many air bubbles. So, I peeled those up and began slowly, and more carefully putting them on. It probably took about an hour to get them all up, but when I was finished I was so pleased with the end result.

You'll also notice the hideous paint job is now gone...

Close up of the finished product

This is SUCH a big improvement in our foyer. I still have a lot of work to do. I'm painting white stripes on the (now) pale gray walls, painting the trim a crisp & clean white and the door bright blue. When Graham get's home, we're also going to try and find (or make) an awesome light fixture to replace the old fashioned and boring one currently there. I got the first coat of the stripes done today, so hopefully I'll finish that next weekend!

(And these just because I'm obsessed with Instagram. And my cat.)