How to install window blinds in 5 easy steps and under 5 minutes!
Thank you to The Home Depot for sponsoring this post! All opinions about these amazing light filtering cellular shades are 100% my own.
Installing blinds can be one of those projects that if you don’t do immediately after you move into a home you end up putting it off for a very long time. That is exactly what happened here at Casa Watkins. It’s been a little over a decade since I’ve moved in and I’m finally going to install window blinds in 5 easy steps and under 5 minutes!
The Home Decorators Collection line of light filtering cellular shades are found exclusively at The Home Depot and are the easiest blinds to install. I was able to measure my windows, have the blinds cut to size by an associate at The Home Depot, and install them throughout my home on the same day. Honestly, it makes me wonder why I didn’t do this earlier.
Measuring your windows for blinds
As you know, taking accurate measurements is not my strongest skill but I found measuring for inside mount blinds incredibly easy. Here is that point in the commercial where you see a black and white montage of someone struggling to use a measuring tape. Friends, when I tell you it’s easy peasy I truly mean it! A quick measurement of the length and width of your window at 3 different areas helps prevent improper fitting. You truly can not mess this up.
The blinds should move freely from the top of the window to the bottom. To create the sThe blinds should move freely from the top of the window to the bottom. To create the smoothest shade movement measure your window length at the top, middle, and bottom. Note the smallest measurement for your window length rounded down to the nearest 1/8″. Then, measure the width of your window on the left, middle, and right side. Note the smallest measurement for your window width again rounded down to the nearest 1/8″.
The smaller measurements will be very important when The Home Depot associate cuts the blinds. It assures that your blinds wont get stuck between the window frame midway as you pull them down. The Home Depot also has a handy measurement handout you can use to note all your measurements and hand to the associate cutting the blinds. They’ll take care of the rest for you!
For reference, my windows measured 35″ wide and 61″ in length, so I needed to use the cellular shade at the 72″ length to accommodate my window.
How To Install Inside Mount Blinds
Now that your blinds are all cut, installation will be a breeze! I ended up using the Home Decorators Collection snow drift light filtering cellular shades for my home, but there are several colors available should you want an alternative to white blinds. You can check out all the available cellular shade colors in store or online. Most windows will only require two brackets, but you may need to use 3 with large windows. Not to worry, each box of blinds comes with its own installation hardware. My windows only required two brackets.
To complete your installation, follow these 5 easy steps and you’ll have new blinds up in less than 5 minutes!
Time needed: 5 minutes.
How to put blinds on a window step by step
- Using your measuring tape, mark two spots at the rim of the window frame at least 4″ away from the window corner.
This will be your bracket placement so be sure the brackets are evenly spaced out. I marked 11″ for either side of the window corners.
- With the bracket at the rim of the window, use a pencil to mark the screw holes placements. Then, use a drill with a 1/8″ bit to create pilot holes.
- Install the bracket with the provided screws. Again, be sure the bracket is at the rim of the window frame.
- Add the end caps to each side of the blinds rails.
- Finally, install the blinds onto the bracket in an upward and push down motion.
The bracket will fit between the top space of the blind and click into place. I checked that the blinds were in place by peeking toward the back of the blind to see the metal clip attached to the blind mount.
Helpful Tip: If you love a 3D visual aid, you can also find a short and easy installation video available at The Home Depot website.
Home decorators collection cellular shade best features
I mentioned on my Instagram blinds installation video that I truly wanted blinds that would not block the light. Natural lighting is a must have at Casa Watkins and the light filtering feature of the Home Decorators Collection snow drift light filtering cellular shade is wonderful.
I still get tons of light throughout my home, plus the cellular blinds are made of soft and durable spun lace fabric allowing for energy efficient insulation qualities. The cellular shade’s honeycomb construction creates air chambers that insulate and shield your room from the outside heat or cold, helping to lower your heating or cooling bills all year round.
My favorite feature of the Home Decorators Collection cellular blinds is the self leveling capability. These shades do not use those irritating cords we grew up with where if you pulled one cord by accident only one side would raise. You inevitably ended up with a messy looking shade that you could never get leveled and just continued to get worse as you tried to fix it. Man those were frustrating!
Not only do these new blinds remove the irritating cords that were a safety hazard for children, but the self leveling is the final chef’s kiss to these easy install blinds. Now the self leveling will occur no matter how you pull down the shade, but it is recommended that you pull down from the middle if using one hand or to use two hands to pull down. There is a handy shade rail handle which you can clip onto the bottom part of the blind to ease the use of the blind too. This would be a great idea if you want to centralize where you want your kids…. or any adult really, to manipulate the shade.
Well, there you have it friends! An easy blind installation in 5 steps and under 5 minutes. I hope you check out all the possible shade window treatments available at The Home Depot. Remember you can always order your shades online and have them cut in store. For a video tutorial of my quick shade install, check out my Instagram Reel!
