I grabbed these vintage bamboo stick shades at a recent estate sale, thinking that I could take them apart with my seam ripper and use the slats for wood flooring in my dollhouse. When I got the shades home, I looked even closer and was surprised to see that the shades are not meant to hang vertically, like Roman shades. Instead, they actually have loop trim sewn down the long end so that thay can hang on a curtain rod, horizontally.
Above: I hung one of the shades to cover the window of my office door, which leads to the garden outside. The door is steel, so the curtain rod is magnetic. Magnetic curtain rods can’t hold much weight, so this lightweight blind is a great solution. Also, very tidy, with relatively little stack back because the material is so thin.
Above: The loop trim, which is a little bit grody. But other than that, the shades are in great shape.
The shades were $4 for the pair — what a deal, that’s a lotta wood flooring.
Above: The back side of the bamboo shades. Hmmm…. is the wood really bamboo — or is it a different material? I do not know for sure. The feel is thicker, sturdier, that what I associate with today’s bamboo. But then, it could be that back in the day, even the bamboo was heftier. Was there such a thing as old growth bamboo once upon a time?
Doggonit: These vintage shades are too odd and wonderful to chop up into wood flooring. I presume that these were marketed as an affordable window covering for bedrooms or sunrooms. I found them stashed in a bedroom closet.
Has anyone else ever seen these, or any like these, in the wild?