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Home Decorating

What would you do with these windows?

15 years ago

These are pictures from the Realtor's site of a home we are purchasing. The furnishings are the current owners and we aren't sure how we will decorate/furnish yet. The rooms are at the front of the house, and we will use living room space mostly for holidays, and the dining for larger dinners but we have another space for everyday meals. In other words, we won't be in there alot and won't mind the windows opened up most of the time.

The windows now are completely free of any treatments or blinds and while I don't want to take away from the nice casing & trim, there are times where we won't want to be in a fishbowl. We'd like the option of "drawing the blinds". What would you do? Decorative Roller shades? Wood Blinds? Roman? Panels on the side to give them a finished look? I just can't decide! (Anyone that knows photoshop, I'd love to see what you think too!) Thoughts???

Comments (7)

ronbre
15 years ago
the windows and woodwork are beautiful..but i can see that a neighbor house is in view next door..i might want something sheer to let the light in..and not hide the woodwork..also the view seems to be better higher than lower with the fence..maybe some bottom up or a sheer or lace panel on a tension rod at the bottom?
janjan212
Original Author
15 years ago
We are thinking we might plant something soft and whispy outside those side windows, or maybe a couple narrow and tall evergreens to take the emphasis off the fence & neighbors house and give us a layer of privacy from their side window as well.

I think panels usually give a finished look, but we don't want to hide the woodwork either. We want the room to feel casually elegant.
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This is the first (and only) time I have ever seen these things. I do attribute the reason that our children do not usually get up before 8 a.m. is b/c of how dark it keeps the room in the morning. In terms of taking them down and leaving them for the next owners - it's not that simple. They are made specifically for each window and the "rail" that the shade slides up and down in is attached to the jamb with a sort of high powered sticky tape. You pretty much render the thing useless if you remove the rail. The former owner was a big smoker and we didn't realize how much these absorbed the smell until we unrolled the one in our kitchen by our big glass sliding door -ewwww! that's when all the others came down. We managed to get the ones in the bedrooms off of the rail so that I could give them a good soak in the tub. I don't think I could change the fabric on the shade but if I can figure out a quick way to do the valance, I may do that and leave the rest up to the next owners.
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That does look really nice. I'm chiming in because I have a similar problem and am also considering both white/off-white cafes and ceiling-height panels. I like Country Curtains Hemstitch Tiers' crisp look and was thinking of those for the kitchen and carrying them on into the sitting room, which has an enclosed-porch look. Unfortunately, on trial they look too much like I cut up bedsheets. Like yours, the room is simple drywall with ceiling fan, and smooth wood floor; and, although the white works here, what I really need is texture. With my budget and looong expanses of windows, sheer coarse linen's with its lovely diffused light's out, and I suspect with kids it would be the same for you, but...texture. Those long panels posted by Amysrq and Squirrelhaven have it.
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I think.. I will leave the drapes where they are (they do just touch the floor) . The more I thought about it, one of the reasons I hung them here were because the adjoining breakfast room is paneled, with no window casing at all. It looks weird with just drapes, and I hung a valance over it to hide it... but I may revisit this again in the future! lol The shade.. I have thought of that, but using a shade I would block the entire view for hours during the day. I would see like to see the view, with blinds, I could tilt them upward and still see out & let light in. My other option I thought of is roller solar shades.... just thought maybe since the rest of the house was blinds I should go with blinds, but I feel that the opinions here is NOT to use blinds... ?
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yes, the bed goes there. you don't use curtains, you use blinds. (but not what's there) look at a nice double cell cellular, cordless, inside mount shade. Blinds.com (even comes with a remote if you want it) I have a few of them and love how they look you could just leave it open. no one can see in can they? this looks open but actually has a cellular shade inset. this one has a roller shade inset i suppose you could use curtains,,I like it better without
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brutuses
15 years ago
Here is what I'm doing to some of my windows. You might want to consider it.

This is of course photoshoppped of my curtains that aren't made yet.

I also think some inside mount roman shades would be pretty also.
tomalyse
15 years ago
We have a small living room with different sized windows with woodwork - three large almost floor to ceiling front windows and then two shorter windows over built in bookshelves flanking the fireplace. Thus, we did not want drapes or anything heavy that made the room feel smaller or obscured the woodwork. We ended up with hunter-Douglas top down/bottom up honeycomb shades in the same linen color as the woodwork mounted inside the window frame. They are generally kept about half-way up -- providing privacy, but letting in light and views of adjacent trees/sky. It is nice to open from either the top (allowing privacy/light) - or the bottom (reducing glare from sun in the morning and allowing views outside to watch kids) or fully opened or fully closed. We love them!
kden71
15 years ago
What a nice space you have. I love the trim and casing. It reminds me of soonermagic's beautiful windows
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/Soonermagic_01/?action=view&current=IMG_0264.jpg
I also like brutuses' idea.
janjan212
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh No, I can't see the pics in the link. :(
kden71
15 years ago
I'm sorry, try this and scroll down to soonermagic: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/gal0105392231131.html
Let me know if this doesn't work.

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