When being "a little shady" is a good thing!

 55!!!!!!  Really, 55!!!!!  That is how many windows I have in my house. Then you also need to add to that six doors, all with windows. And please take note. These are not your average little windows. These are wide and very long. 

When we moved in to the house last summer, there was not a single shade or curtain anywhere. It was also the hottest summer on record for Oklahoma. In fact I think we (Oklahoma) "won" some kind of record for the hottest summer on record period. Anywhere in the U.S. We had 100 days of 100 degrees or over. We had many, many days of 110 or over. All the while, we lived in a house with 55 big, huge windows.  Well to be fair, we had four blinds we had bought when we first moved in. So we had 51 uncovered windows and 6 doors.

Home office/study--four windows

As you can imagine, getting shades for 55 windows could be pretty expensive. I am happy to say though, that one year after moving in, we have blinds on 53 of the 55 windows and all 55 were bought on sale. At various times! 

Laundry room (with 8 windows!)..and a door with window

We have mahogany bamboo shades on all the first floor windows except the living room. Every single time we were out and about at Lowe's or Home Depot, we would check the shade aisle to see if they were on sale. 

Kitchen with 5 windows..and a door with window

I was adamant about the fact I wanted the shades all to be bamboo and mahogany colored. (Although sometimes Home Depot calls them "coffee".) The only room we have left to put shades in is the dining room. We are still looking! I can't break down and buy full price at this point!!

Den..with the four window shades we first purchased

Although it is hard to tell from these pictures, the bamboo shades do keep out an amazing amount of sunlight. To look at these pictures, it almost looks transparent, but I assure you, they work well. (I keep the shades up ever-so-slightly so my pups can look out the windows. I know, I know.... that is crazy spoiled!

stairway...two windows

The bamboo shades are not all the same brand, as you probably could tell. By buying them all the same color, I think it makes them all pretty uniform. At least I like it. 

Living room--four windows..and a door with window

In the "formal" living room, which faces the street, we have four huge windows. I could not find bamboo shades to even come close to fitting those windows, unless I got the roll up kind used outdoors frequently. They are not even bamboo, but plastic. So, instead I opted to get faux plantation shutters for those windows. I hope to have "real" plantation shutters for those windows someday.  Baby steps. Baby steps. 

Media room --5 windows and a door with window

Upstairs, I had planned on bamboo as well. Then I hit on a HUGE sale at Home Depot online. The sale was such that there was absolutely no way I could pass it up. So I bought the 2 inch blind-kinda-plantationy-looking-shade in the coffee color. They are great shades. I actually do not miss the fact that I did not get bamboo. Upstairs we have all the bedrooms and a media room. Getting these kinds of blinds allows for us to open them just a tad, all the way, or keep them shut. That is perfect for the upstairs. 

Once again we are embroiled in a broiling summer. Many 100 degree days.  But with 53 new shades one can only imagine the difference in our house this year compared to last. Oh my goodness...sometimes it pays to be a little shady!