I purchased the store brand of faux wood slat blinds from justblinds.com and have been happy with them for a few years. (Though, I don't like the weight of faux wood and would not buy again for that reason.)

They are 2 inch blinds and they are outside mount. I think they look fine. So, in my opinion, I wouldn't worry so much about the profile. In a previous house, I did Silhouettes as an outside mount.

I wonder whether you could adapt at least some of your existing window coverings to the new windows simply by mounting them differently.

Last year I used blindsgalore.com and was VERY happy with them. I screwed up the order (valance) and customer service was excellent in helping me correct MY mistake. Call customer service with your questions before you order....I am sure they will do a great job advising you of your best options.

I'm not a fan of mounting window treatments to molding...I prefer them inside or above the molding or up at the ceiling. You may want to look at the window treatments thread for some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Window treatment ideas

I love top-down bottom-up roman shades that I just got for my bedroom and master bath. I just moved to a condo complex with neighboring buildings so privacy is important especially in bedroom. But natural light is too. The TDBU option gives you best of both worlds. I keep TD until dressed in morning and sometimes even put the TD at night so I wake up to some daylight.

However, its not a budget option! At least the hunter douglas ones that I got.

Most of the shades mount on the "ceiling" of the window opening, so there is usually a little more mounting opportunity than the side jambs. The specs of each shade will give you the exact clearance you need.

Graywings' picture of the outside mount is very helpful. It also reminds me that it measuring to the nth degree on an outside mount is not so critical as an inside mount. You have more fudge factor on height and on width which is important in DIY mode.

Outside mount profile may be more of a concern based on the view in the particular room. Looking head on at the window won't matter much. At my last place I had wood blinds outside mounted and you entered the room from the side of that window. I wasn't crazy about the profile gap, but I didn't stress over it. I'll see if I can find a picture.
[update: Actually on further reflection, what bothered me was the gap created from the curtain rod and drapes that had to extend past the blinds valance. but only an issue from the side view. something to think about.]

Here I reluctantly spent the big bucks for the TDBU Roman Shades for Hunter Douglas for the bedroom/bath, but I have other rooms and will probably buy online for those, so I am interested in what responses you get on that part.

This post was edited by wendyb on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 12:30

Thanks all for the comments.

graywings - thanks for the picture. that helps and looks like wood blinds may be an option again for me. I'm glad you liked just blinds. I ordered samples from them and am thinking of using them.

Joanie - I'll also try blindsgalore. thanks.

Annie- I agree about mounting to the molding - it breaks my heart but is the only real option given how the windows are in the house. I don't have curtains on the windows in most rooms so above the molding or at the ceiling will look funny. I'll try to post a pic to help give a visual. Thx for the wt thread. It gives me lots of ideas!

Wendy - I'd love to see a pic of your romans. That is the direction I'm considering for some of the more formal areas. and the privacy you mention would work in my bedroom since it's in the front of the house.

Thanks all and I look forward to more comments.

You mention you won't have curtains but that shouldn't stop you from mounting above the molding (unless you just don't like that look). I just had roman shades installed in my formal living room, outside mount close to the ceiling. I didn't tell my husband they had come in and were being installed. He walked in the room, noticed the shades and immediately said how much taller the ceilings seemed. We have 8' ceilings so we are very happy the way they are mounted. I wouldn't want to mount to the molding if possible. Here are a couple of pics. In the first one you can see on the window to the right of the tree how much higher the shades are mounted than the molding. In the second pic you can see we get full view of the window when the shades are pulled all the way up. Good luck on your quest!

Here is a link to some pics of those windows with the Hunter Douglas shades. These are "Vignette Modern Roman Shades" in Linen Weave material -- color is Birch. This style is called "tiered" or "stackable" (hunter douglas terminology is a world of its own!) This style comes with a low profile headrail. As the shades are lowered and raised, the material does NOT roll up into the headrail, it just stacks either at the top or the bottom. Most similar romans have a bulkier headrail and the material disappears into the headrail when raised.

Roman Shades

mamorella, LOVE your shade mountings!

I use blinds.ca (also blinds.com) and really think they're a great budget option. I've ordered from them probably 6 times and everything has come out well. Every so often they send along 10-15% off coupons as well.

I did cordless in my family room and liked that a lot, but find the cordless works best with lighter blinds (i.e. not room darkening).

I did TDBU in my bedroom and LOVE it but hate the super long cords (my windows are about 7 feet tall). So next time I'd definitely spring for the easy up system (metal chain) or cordless.

I got cellular throughout for various reasons and the depth isn't much, maybe an inch? Something to consider if you want to still go for an inside mount. The cordless and TDBU options didn't increase the depth of the header.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 16:53

My TDBU is cordless too. Cords are a drag for sure no matter what style. I think romans in general will need a fatter headreal than cellular if they don't stack, but I think it ultimately depends on which fabric is picked. Cellular has the slimmest profile and stacking space required.

I used to not like cell shades, but I happened to glance at a display recently (Hunter Douglas again) and saw that the fabrics have greatly been improved. there was plenty of texture and color that I had never seen before. That might be an option for me if I can get past my general dislike of honeycomb shades. They are the only style that can go 102" wide to cover my two triple windows without having to do 6 individual (expensive!!!) windows. And after doing Hunter-Douglas in the bedroom, I think I need a budget break with something online for these next 6 windows.

I noticed when browsing some of the online blinds places that they carry brand names (like the box stores, levolur, etc.) as well as their own. Can anyone comment on which brand, if any, they got online? Or, if we are going for a budget-friendly blinds, why not the box stores special order? Might be nice to have a brick-and-mortar place if there are problems.

Thanks Wendy and all for your comments and pictures. We went to a local blind place that deals in hunter douglas and a couple other brands. They are still a bit pricey for the number of windows we need to cover. If it was just one room, I'd bite the bullet but since it is every room I just can't go that route.

I looked at some of the big box stores but getting service is not easy in those places.

I finally got my samples from Just Blinds.com and I think I am going to order cellular shades for one room to see how it looks (TDBU)...and maybe roman shades for my bedroom where there are only two windows....to see how they will look.

I'll post pics when they are in....Thx.

Teresa are your windows recessed even slightly??

JCP makes an very nice 1" basswood blind which I am linking. I installed these on all my bedroom windows (but not at the current price). I don't need privacy nor light control in my living areas.

They go on sale occasionally for 40% off and you can even apply other discounts.

My windows are probably only recessed something like 3/4" but I was still able to do an inside mount by only screwing in the back two screws vs all four and they are very sturdy. I don't even notice that they SLIGHTLY protrude past the window trim when open.

I have had mine for about 5 years and love them!

Here is a link that might be useful: JCP 1

Sadly we don't even have a 1/4 inch recess. The new windows come right up to the molding. I am looking into the 1" bass wood though, particularly for the bathrooms where I would prefer to avoid fabric. Just blinds also offers the 1" in faux wood.

I've enlisted the help of a friend who is an interior decorator to help me explore my options so I hope she has some good advice for me.

Thanks all. I'll keep you posted as I make progress.