Replacing the Master Bedroom Window Treatments and Ceiling Fan

Updated: Jul 24, 2021

Here’s a space we haven’t given you a look at yet – our master bedroom! We’ve been so focused on the kids’ rooms and other parts of the house, that I haven’t really put a lot of time and effort into our own bedroom. But isn’t that how it usually goes? Here’s a look at the bedroom before we moved in.

Master bedroom during walkthrough — Before: Master Bedroom During Walkthrough

Our bedroom is a nice size but has a few seriously unfortunate qualities. First, the arched window. I know these were all the rage in the 90s and 00s but man I hate them. Our bedroom is East facing so we need it covered for light control (I was once called Vampirina back in the day ... this girl needs her sleep!). Problem is, there are not a lot of options for covering these kinds of windows without spending quite a bit of money. The window ledge could be a great little space - it’s got a vaulted ceiling at the window, but then the builder cheaped out and cut that vaulted ceiling off for the rest of the room. So you really can’t tell it’s valuted when you walk in the room. And they installed a fan and light that’s way too big for this height of ceiling – it’s dangerously low and I have fears of decapitation when kids are standing on the bed.

Window Treatments

The color of the room is fine for now, so I decided to start updating just the things that drive me most crazy – the filthy honeycomb blinds and the fan. The picture doesn’t do it justice but you can see how the color of these blinds change from top to bottom, light to dirt. I mean dark. I truly believe that getting all of the old blinds out alone is going to improve the overall air quality in our house.

arched window with honeycomb blinds — Old Window Treatments and Arch

Before the blinds arrived, I installed a curtain rod and some lightweight curtains. I really struggle with what to do with these arched windows, and the vaulted ceiling there, so I chose to just focus on the lower windows so I could run curtains across the entire bank. It does help give more of a softer finished look even with the arch above.

I ordered the same 2” white faux wood blinds as I installed in the dining room for the three windows. Like my other windows, I got inside mount blinds, but after their arrival, I realized that the two windows on the outsides had screens so they didn’t have the same amount of space for installation as the center window. I had to take the screen off to get them installed properly. Ugh. Luckily (or unluckily?) we don’t open our bedroom windows a ton with allergies, but that’ll be another project another time to figure out an alternate game plan that allows for both the screen and the blinds.

Window treatment updates — Installation in Progress

Here’s what a DIY project really looks like! There’s no shortage of garbage and recycling in our house I’m afraid.

Once complete it was time to tackle the ceiling fan.

master bedroom with new window treatments — Lower Windows Done! Onto the Fan!

Ceiling Fan and Light

I have never installed a ceiling fan before, but figured now that I’ve got a handle on swapping out light fixtures, it couldn’t be that much harder. We found this more compact, more modern, fan at Home Depot. It has two different colored blade options and an LED light system that you can select warm to cool. Also comes with a remote.

New fan from Home Depot — New Fan from Home Depot

After I flipped off the breaker I first had to figure out how to take down the original – thank you YouTube.

The fan came with a link to a really helpful installation video online that I followed along with. Overall it was pretty simple and only took me about an hour. I chose the lighter/greyish finished blade color rather than the dark to lighten thing up a bit.

Once everything was installed and ready to go I flipped the switch and... nothing. *face palm*

master bedroom with new ceiling fan light — New Fan's Up!

Well, after some choice words and getting panicked, I realized the remote is not just an optional component but the only way to turn the dang thing on. When reading the reviews, which were all very positive, a lady said she was tired of looking for the remote and had an Etsy 3D printer shop build her a holder. Bingo! I ordered one of those and stuck it on the wall near the light switch with some Command Strips.

Technical issues aside, the fan looks great and we have about an extra 7 inches of headspace above the bed so I don’t feel like I’m going to accidentally reach up and cut my hand off when the fan is running! The LED light color options are nice to have – I prefer the mid-tone not too warm, not too cool.

master bedroom with new fan and window treatments — Let there be light!

I’m thinking about playing with a little bit of color in here and someday blowing that ceiling out to properly vault the whole thing. But in the nearer future, I’ve got to do something about that window arch covering... if you have any good ideas that don’t cost an arm and a leg, let me know!