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Homemade Art: Painted Window Shades

If you find yourself constantly wishing for more wall space where you can hang art, then it's time to think outside of the boxes walls. More than likely, less wall space means more windows, and this is a space where you can create custom art that can also double as home decor.

Window Shades and Blinds
Roller blinds work best for this project, because they are the most like painting on canvas, and they are usually the most cost effective choice for window shades. For artwork that will be more colorful and detailed, look for more opaque blinds made from thicker material, like vinyl, so that the painting will be the more important part of the visual. But, if you want to use the property of the window to backlight your work, look for thinner, less opaque blinds.

Acrylic Paint
The best medium for this kind of application is acrylic paint. It is more opaque, so the window light won't shine through it, and it is easier to use on a roller blind that might have a non-canvas like surface.

Backlit Silhouettes
If you want your painting to really pop, then design your art so that it functions well as a silhouette. This kind of design can add the the aesthetics of the window from both sides, as well.

Avoid Thin Paper
Wide weave paper shades let in a nice amount of light, but for painting purposes, they are not necessary the best choice. There are some great window shade options from Ikea, and they are price friendly as well.

Stencil It for Consistency
If you have several windows that you want to decorate, create a stencil and paint the design on several shades to give the design more impact.

Frame It
The nice thing about painting window shades is that you don't need to frame it to hang it. In fact, the molding around you window acts as a natural frame. To give it even more creative impact, paint the molding to give your window treatment more of a framed feel.

Before You Hang
As always, before you do anything with your shade painting, let it dry for at least 24 to 48 hours.

Tip: You can expand this to lamp shades as well, so light up your creative need for painting and customize your light sources!