matchstick blinds

{before}

When I first moved into my apartment, there were some crummy Venetian blinds on the windows. 

{before}

The sun comes in pretty brightly in the mornings, but the existing blinds were so crummy, I never even bothered using them.

{after}

I've seen pictures of matchstick blinds before and have really liked the look. I found these at Target and decided to get them a try.

{after}

But Melissa (you say), these blinds don't block light OR view. What good are they?

Sigh. I am pretty disappointed with their performance. The only thing they seem to do is knock down the brightness level in the room (which is something I actually enjoyed). I do like the look of them though and am too lazy to try and return them. In the meantime, I installed the curtains from my previous closet project. I'm not sure they are right for the application (they aren't even wide enough for the windows) but they will do for now for privacy and restful sleep past 5:30am. Any ideas how to make them more functional?