That's about where I'd be looking for window covering alternatives like Roman shades.....where you could have them up in daytime, and down when you need privacy. They look distinctive both ways, and let in maximum light in daytime.

I have valances up to all my windows. Curtains are a joke, because there literally are no windows exactly the same size in the whole house.....because when this house was built, it predated window manufacturing. There was no reason on earth to build them to standard size.

So, curtains meant I would have to alter every curtain in the house. NOT.

Under the valances, I have wooden blinds. In the daytime, they pull up and are hidden by the valances. At night, they are let down and help to provide that insulative dead space between window and interior. The valances do not block out much sunlight at all, another factor in an old home with fewer and smaller windows than newer ones.

I really do love the fabric roman shades. I like those and I also like the wood blinds. a vallance is a good idea too. I forgot to mention in my first post, that there is a small window also in the room (big window = side of the house, small window = dormer window at the front of the house).

So, I'll have to come up with some way to match them to each other.

We have 20 windows in our house. 4 of them are the same size. lol So, I know what you mean.

I think I'd like to put the wood blinds in all of the upstairs windows. The downstairs all have regular white mini-blinds right now, which works for me.

The Roman shades wouldn't be bad upstairs either. I wonder how costly they are (I know the wooden blinds are HELLA costly ugh!)?

The new house I just moved into has a wall of windows which sounds similar to yours except the windows are also high on the wall, about 3 inches from the ceiling, which requires a 96 inch length curtain (or longer) to bring them to floor length. Standard curtains are all 84 inch length, that extra foot of curtain seems to run $20 a panel! Instead of having a black headboard, my walls are painted navy blue which makes the room look smaller. So, to brighten it up and not make the windows stick out, I went to the fabric store and bought some nice bright fabric and made my own curtains. I was lucky and found some nice stuff on sale and bought the whole bolt and, instead of just covering the windows, I covered the whole wall! LOL! OK, probably over kill, but it turned out nice. Sort of added an accent wall without having to paint. And, covering the whole wall seems to keep it a bit warmer in the room. I'm not the sewing type but all it required was putting a hem large enough to slip pole through the top and hemming the bottom. I bought several of the hook thingies that hold the large pole type rods and secured them to the wall to hold the pole. Since they stick out about 2-3 inches, it leaves enough room underneath to add sheers over the actual window so I can push the curtains aside to let in natural light and yet still have the windows covered. If you can't find fabric you like, buy extra flat sheets that match what you put on the bed and use them!

Another idea is to use interior shutters to cover half the height of the window and then put a valance across the top to cover what the shutters don't cover. You can buy the plain wooden shutters and paint them any color that matches your decor. Instead of a valance, you can run a pole across the top and swag some sheer gauzy type material across it. I did this to an odd window in my bathroom.

Just my thoughts...

I took some photos last night. The bed is moved away and uncenter right now, because of the problems with the window (we're going to have to get it replaced, because it's so old) so please ignore that. lol It will be pushed back and re-centered eventually.

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And, here's the small window in the same room, which I will have to come up with something for it too.

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P.S. Those fabric panels came with the house... not exactly my style.

Since your bed is so wide, I'd think the room would look more balanced with a valance wider than the whole window, and at least the width of the bed. Perhaps you could suspend it from a substantial and decorative rod, maybe wood. Under the valance you can hide your privacy blinds. Ditto in the nook with the seat. I'd go with some valances with swags on either side. The windows are dwarfed by the size of the furniture. You could almost go the entire width of the room with a window treatment, the same in the nook.

I did almost as Suzi suggests: a valance which extends about 2' beyond the window on each side, with enough drapery to cover. During the day, the drapes are opened only enough to show the complete window, not the wall.

BTW, making curtains or drapes is not a big deal. The worst I can say is that great amounts of heavy material can be tiring to work with, and the sewing itself is repetitious and boring. But not difficult if you can sew a straight seam. Most of the work is in deciding just which window treatment is suitable/preferable, and then accurately measuring the window area.

Not much help on the decorating options, but I have two questions: #1 Why use long curtains if they won't be seen? #2 Why cover that pretty quilt with a denim coverlet? (Is there a bed-sleeping doggie in the house?) :>)

If I'm being too curious, just ignore!

Mwheel,

#1: I don't know what length of curtains to use, so that's why I'm asking. I'm just not good at that type of thing.

#2: The quilt will be used for sleeping under (because it's thin enough to go in my NON-front loading washing machine). My washing machine can't handle the average KING size comforter, so those thin quilts (like the one in the picutres, with the Christmas trees on it) work better for me. Because if I use a regular comforter, I have to take it to the cleaners and that just costs too much.

The denim coverlet will look like a denim quilt and is something my mother and I are making together. It might eventually get quilted, but for now it's just kind of going to be for show. It won't be slept under, but will be folded and put away at night. When the bed is made, the coverlet will be turned down a foot or so, so that part of the quilt underneath will show, but won't be the main focus. The denim coverlet will also have some embriodery on it, on a few random squares.

I don't know... it's just this idea I have in my head. LOL I'll post pictures if it ever all gets done. :-)

Anything is better than that Christmas Tree quilt though. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but we've been using it for a year (not just at Christmas) and it's time for something NON-holiday themed. LOL

Tisha, thanks for indulging my nosiness. I swear I hadn't noticed that there were Christmas trees on the quilt! I saw the shapes, but since they're different colors, they didn't register as Christmas trees. I think the one you've chosen from Sears' is very pretty.

I agree with Suzy and others. You need the width of the room almost. You can make really simple valances or get them made very cheap. Just a board covered with the fabric set out from the window. Some even use cardboard or fiberboard and such. Or as Suzy said you could make a simple sewn valance and put all on a pole/rod. The curtains made out of sheets are very good ideas and work so well. As for the length, it could just be as long as the sheets are or as long as they go below the end tables would look good. Then you could have your blinds or roman shades or whatever on the windows themselves. I made this really quick sketch on paint to show somewhat what I mean. Ignore the colors.. smiles. I even toned down that headboard for ya. lol..

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For the nook, I think the curtain and the blind/shade should come down to about six inches above that ledge.

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Hi Tisha, Here's some more ideas, don't know if you can use them, you've gotten so many good ones already.

How about painting the headboard, one of the colors from the quilt? The dark brown would be as assertive as the black, and might overwhelm those quieter colors.
You could take a sham to the paint store, to help find a good color. Would you like the headbord and curtains to match, or contrast?

While you are there, you could also get a 4$ sample of a custom wall color, that seems quilt friendly, but shy. Besides the yellow, you might also try a VERY soft shade of that blue/green, to blend the quilt tones and denim. Yellows [and greens] are so tricky, and usually look much stronger than you expect, once they are up. Spread out that wall paint sample across an inner corner, to see if it's too strong.

With that sham and the paint choices in the car, look at fabrics- go to a fabric store, and, where they have sheets on sale, like tj's, or a job lot store.
When you find something that looks like a curtain possibility, compare it to the quilt sham, and paint shades. You will find it much easier, if you have them there for reference, especially if there is pattern.
If you have something denim to wear, that is similar in tone to your coverlet, that'll help even more. That denim is going to be around, so you may as well take it into account.
Strips of denim, with ribbon trim that match a color[s] from the quilt, might work for small items like tie backs or throw pillows. Try repeating soft colors in different widths, add stronger colours in narrower widths. Add areas of curtain fabric, to denim?
Scout for a rug[s] too.

In the nook, a cushion would be durable, in denim. Could huge throw pillows, make it into somewhere that you would like to curl up to read, with a foot stool/ or shelf?

I like to take things to the visual boundary, when it's so close, to avoid distraction. So, with the wonderful sketches that coconut made, I would probably nudge the edges of the fabric and/or the valences, to the ceiling, wall [and nook ledge]. Those edges might just work better as shown though, kinda like a frame. It would depend on the shapes and colors.

Those are pretty lamps, but the scale seems short for the room, and the shades are very curvy, too.
Consider making the lamp bases ~4-6" taller,[add wood block bases?]. Then! try shades that are also taller than the ones you have by 3-5". A plain shape of shade, like a tall thin drum, would go well with the other strong plain shapes in the room. Ask the shade saleslady, [k'mt?] if you can bring them back if they don't work. You will have taller, thin, lamps with plain shades.

Find colors in tones that work for you, and group those colors, in proportions that make you happy. That, and the taller lamps [ with the plain shades] will really transform the room.

The find yer style gal, on HandG, has a good way to look at a room.
It might be more fun, if you can bring a friend with you when you shop for colors and fabrics.
Good luck, and give yourself credit for tackling such a big project.

Thanks for all the tips and ideas, everything. If I ever get it finished, I'll be sure to post pictures!

Tisha I'm and interior designer and the sketches being drawn really look like a good idea..

Myself I would cover that headboard with a bit of batting and some fabric, if it is wood it can be taken around back and stapled.

I would take your rod as close to the ceiling as possible or put up a valance up there..and then extend it out to the width of the bed headboard. I would hang the curtains from ceiling to floor behind the headboard if it is possible or to just behind the headboard if not. the idea of roman shades in the center or any kind of shade in the center is a good idea so that you can open to sun and ventilate.

Can you still use some of the fabric that you've been using, especially on throw pillows,[:)] or as trim bands, in curtains? It looks like it would work nicely with the quilt.

Sorry to yammer on so much, I've been using mental images of your room, like imagining a garden.

I think there's some confusion about the headboard. It's not flat. It's like, a cubby-hole headboard. If you look really closely, behind the left pillow, you can see something yellow? That's sitting on the shelf inside the headboard. So, like, the back of the headborad is about 2 feet from where the pillow sit. I hope that makes sense.

So, covering it with fabric or something would really be strange... because you would esentially be quilting some shelves.