peeping in windows

I have been checking out the house tours on apartment therapy a lot recently.  So many good ideas!  I actually want to post a house tour of my own house here, but I have to clean my house first.  And keep it clean long enough to take pictures of it.  Maybe I'll work in vignettes.  (Kinda like I clean...)  Then I need to figure out how to make a slideshow.

Speaking of windows, are you wondering what to do with yours?  Well, I am always a fan of the ubiquitous bamboo shade and fabric panels combo, but they don't offer much in the way of privacy as the shades are, well, completely see-through.  So, I started making these other kind of shades.  I basically get a piece of fabric the size of the window plus 2 inches all the way around, I fold and iron the "hem" and then  iron on an (iron-on) interfacing sheet which will not only keep the edges down, but line it for privacy.  Then I hand sew a little plastic ring on each side about 3/4 of the way down or so.  I screw in cup hooks at the top of the window, and to keep the shade open, I just stick the rings on the cup hooks.   Easy, streamlined, and you get to pick whatever crazy kind of fabric you want.  I even got out the hot glue gun and glued the ball fringe to the bottom.  Somebody stop me.

sit on it

Looking for new dining chairs?  Here are three flexible options from Ikea...

Domino even listed this as one of the new "design icons."  This is the PS Ellan, a wood-plastic composite rocker for $39.99.  Imagine you and your guests sitting around the table after an absolutely delicious meal prepared by you, just relaxing, rocking, marveling at your cooking AND decorating prowess.
A sweet little bistro chair with clean, contemporary lines, the Olga chair retails for $29.99.  I would love to see a line of 4 of these on each side of a long oak farm table.  Something organic and sturdy looking, like this.
This one I have admired for quite some time.  It is the Olle, and it also comes in a birch finish.  This could have a little bit of a country look to it, so it would look great with a more industrial or modern table. Oh, how about this one.

I chose black chairs because they can go with virtually and color and style table, and they look good with all wood finishes.  These chairs are classic enough use for years without looking dated, versatile enough to be worked into any style home, and inexpensive enough that you won't have to eat beans and rice for a year just to buy a set.  (Maybe just for a month or two.)