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Sunday, September 25, 2011

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.

Source

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.)

  

10 comments:

  1. That is amazing! And lovely! You did a great job and you have given me a great idea. I have an ugly "french door" in our master that leads to the patio beyond. We rent an apartment and there are horrible plastic mini-blinds from the 80s on there now. I don't want to leave the window uncovered but I don't want anyone to be able to see in (apartment anyone?) so this might be just the thing. Love it!

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  2. It's cool how the design came out perfect from the top to the bottom. Exact measuring, I'd say! Great job! ~ Ann R.

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  3. Thanks! I actually eyeballed it; I figured I had a good shot of getting it right after measuring my wall.

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  4. It came out amazing! Great job!

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  5. This is completely awesome! I'm obsessed with that pattern, and I've been looking for a cute way to add privacy, yet still be able to see who's at the door. Great idea! :)

    xo Catharine @ Your Modern Couple

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  6. Beautiful! I'd like to do something like this (on a smaller scale) on our french doors to our office.

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  7. Hi there...what type of contact paper did you use for this project (what texture or style)?

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  8. Far away the prior window doesn't look too bad, until you showed us a close up lol I lol'd when I saw the bottom part taped up with scotch tape and the marker lines lol Gotta admit though, they almost had it! I like your new window much better, looks great! I also used contact paper for privacy window film and it turned out just like a window film:

    http://cleaningjunkie.com/2013/01/15/easy-diy-window-privacy-film-week-2/

    I gotta do the Moroccan pattern on one of the windows too! Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing :)

    Judy

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    Replies
    1. Wasn't the bottom of the window just the most LOL worthy thing ever? Thanks so much for your comment, and thanks for stopping by!

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