A week ago Sunday when we were at my parents' house for Father's Day, Paul was showing his dad around my parents' house. It was the first time Paul's parents had ever been there, so they had to get the guided tour.

One of the cooler things I like about their house is the fact that the finished basement doesn't feel like a cave. The kids have a large playroom down there, and in addition to the one real window, there are a couple of fake windows on the wall. All the windows are covered with blinds, and the two fake windows have a light box built into the wall, so it just looks like, well, a window with the blind closed. There's soft light coming through, and it just feels like a normal room instead of a basement room. They're actually cellular shades like these.

Paul's dad and stepmother were pretty impressed. They've finished several basements, but never thought to create fake windows, complete with trim and windowsills and blinds and all of that. I guess there are all kinds of crazy things you can do with window treatments, huh? I mean, I'm just guessing here, since we still have a danged SHOWER CURTAIN covering the sliding glass door in our bedroom.