I recently have taken down the drapes in my living room and trimmed out around the windows with wooden trim. It significantly lightened and brightened the room, and the trim really added a finished look. I would like to trade my white plantation blinds with some bamboo shades. The plantation blinds look OK, but there is no contrast with the white trim. I love the texture bamboo adds to the room.

My problem is the size of the windows. Lowe's and Home Depot carry some nice decent priced bamboo shades in standard sizes including 35, 48 and 72 inch widths. I have 4 windows--2 are 35 inch, one is 47.25 inches, and the last one is 71.25 inches. Obviously, the builder used standard 48 and 72 inch windows, but because of faulty building techniques, the window openings are too small to accept the standard sized shades. I would have to order custom sized shades, which are almost double the price all because of a 1/2 inch difference. I know those stores can cut wooden blinds to fit your windows exactly. Has anyone ever found a way to cut bamboo shades? I wonder if I could carefully snip a tiny bit off the sides of the shades to make them fit.

I read on another site that someone successfully cut their bamboo to size with some type of little saw. They tightly rolled up the shaedes and then cut the whole thing at once. Any suggestions? I would think there would have to be a way to make those suckers fit, especially when they are off by such a small amount.