Most RV’s come with the ugliest brown valances around the windows. In our first RV the first thing we did was put new fabric over them to brighten them up. But, when we upgraded to a fifth wheel we again had the pleasure of owning more ugly brown valances. This time they had to go.
All the ones in the living room came down and we sewed new curtains. This really brightened the place up and added some much needed color. The one in the bedroom wasn’t really a big deal to us because we are only in there to sleep. Actually the valance in the bedroom comes in handy as a little shelf. So that one got to stay. The dark brown color is actually nice too because it makes the room darker, and since it’s only used for sleeping, dark is what we want.
In our RV we had the ugly valances around the window and pull down blinds in front of the window. They are, of course, a light shade of brown. During the day they are always up and at night they do provide a good level of privacy from the outside world.
When boondocking in the middle of nowhere, they are great and get the job done. The trouble is when we are in a campground with bright streetlights, staying at a Wal-Mart with parking lot lights, or in Alaska in the summer when the sun never sets. The bedroom stays pretty bright and certain members of our family (yes, it’s me) don’t like any light while trying to sleep. I prefer complete darkness.
I looked into blackout shades, but never got any. For a while I hung a blanket over the window which blocked out light, but was in the way and would fall off. Finally I found the perfect solution. We had a bunch of microfiber towels that we got from Ikea. They were light gray, but completely block out light, and were the exact size of the window.
The ugly brown valances were going to be my savior. I unscrewed the screws underneath it that hold it to the wall and screwed them back up with a towel in it. Now during the day, the towel can be shoved under the valance and you can’t even see it. At night, I can pull it down and it completely blocks out any light. It’s easy and convenient to push up and down, and it can’t fall off like the blanket did.
This has been the easiest and most inexpensive solution to preventing light from coming into the bedroom at night. I wish I had thought of this idea before suffering through an Alaska summer. But it works now and requires no maintenance, so this one lonely and still very ugly valance now brings joy to our lives.
