If you have used wood blind slats or faux wood slats laying around, don’t throw them out. Sometimes these thin, flexible slats can work better than trim you find at the store
Not only can you remove those extra blind slats that sit constantly at the bottom of your window blinds, but you can do insanely awesome things with the left overs.
Use Faux Wood Blind Slats to Dress Up a Boring Door
One of my favorite uses for faux wood blinds is to dress up a flat boring door. To trim out and add a touch of farmhouse style, simply outline your doors (and walls if you want) with trim. Then caulk in the seams and paint. It’s that easy.
The faux wood blinds used here, had holes in them. To fix that, first glue the blind slat to your desired surface. Then come back through with drywall mud and fill in all the holes. Let the mud dry, then sand smooth.
After a coat of primer you are ready to paint.
If you look here, you will see I actually added trim to create the visual effect of wider doors. I cut the window blinds so that it ran across the accordian style door. This gave the visual perception of two wider doors instead of 4 narrow ones.
I also used this pallet of colors to create height. You can read more about how to do this in my article How to Make a Room Seem Larger Than It Is.
Upcycle Window Blinds Slats to Add Character to a Kitchen Island
Sometimes you want bigger, boxy trim and sometimes you want sleek and subtle highlights.
Used window blinds work perfect here. Being thin helps add interest without the bulk as shown in my desk to kitchen island.
As the tilt out trash can and storage were added, several gaps needed to be covered. The window blinds did a great job and added an element of elegance once complete.
To see the whole transformation and how-to click here.
Repurpose Faux Wood Blind Slats to Cover Up Outdated Designs
Old window blinds came in handy with this upcycle project. There was so little room to add trim. Faux wood slats would work best because they were so thin.
I attached the trim with an automatic air nailer. Then caulked over the holes.
So seamless, once painted, you will never know about the outdated scalloped edge.
I use recycled, upcycled, repurposed material in my designs because I love to bring value back to something that would just end up in a landfill. We consume so much as a society and so many materials are needlessly tossed.
It’s a good feeling to recycle and have your home even more beautiful.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this article. Please feel free to subscribe for more cost effective, environmentally friendly ways to update your home.
See you next time. 😊
Natalie
What great ideas! I never would have thought of using the extra slats as trim. I now know what my husband’s next project will be. Haha. Thanks!
Love it! I want to see what your husband does with the slats. Upcycling is awesome right?
I would never have thought to do any of this! Everything looked so elegant!!
Thanks Valerie! I’m so glad you used the word elegant❤️, upcycling can look classy right? 😊
Using leftover wood blind slats is a good idea. I like how it looks on the trim of the door. It was also a good idea to use it on the kitchen island to give it character. You came up with some very clever ideas.
Thank you Deb❤️
Wow, Natalie you are so creative and I love how you recycle and repurpose objects to keep them away from the landfill! What do you recommend to use to cut the blinds with?
You have a fantastic blog!
Trace :o) | thefashioncollector.com
Thank you Trace, that is so kind of you. I’m so glad you like my blog.
I use a miter saw to cut the blinds. If you don’t own a miter saw you can also use a hack saw. It doesn’t cost very much ($5), but shows you to cut anything from blinds to wooden dowells.
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Thank you so much.
Well of course, please subscribe and follow along. I’m so pleased you liked the article. I guess you could say I’m an expert since not many people use window blinds in decor and design. I’m hoping to change that. More upcycling, less unnecessary waste going to the dump.