Seems like plantation shutters would be a perfect choice for this space. If you don't like those, I would think about woven woods with a blackout liner.

Looks like a very cool home, with WONDERFUL architectural detail. Love the coffered ceiling!

Seriously - I just want to know if I can move in w/ you?!

Are you partial to any particular style such as drapes, shades, blinds, shutters or valances?

I love gorgeous silk drapes & in our home (which is in town on a street corner) we have them paired w/ matchstick blinds at all of the downstairs windows. That way we can have filtered light or complete privacy.

The home we will be moving to is on a country road w/ nobody walking by so I plan on using plantation shutters in the LR.

I have the woven woods that Les is talking about. We love them so much we are planning to add a few more.

Levolor has a wonderful selection. You can look at Lowes to see the colors and options. We did cordless and are happy about our decision.

Ended up ordering them online from Stardecorating.com. Their prices were MUCH better than the leading online window places (by as much as 50%). Service was great too as I changed my mind about the color after the deadline period and their customer service made it happen.

I would not rush into anything until the furniture was all in and got a feel for the room.
I find the temporary paper pleated shades that they sell at Home Depot for very little dollars is a good solution for awhile. I know people who have used them for even a year or two and they look quite nice.

I agree with lyban - not to rush into buying custom until you get settled & get a better feel for the room and the light issues. In the meantime, if you can use tension rods, I would buy some blackout lining at the fabric store and fashion a shade over the rod for temporary black out.
Your room is beautiful - love the detail. Top down, bottom up pleated shades will offer you the ability to adjust both the top of the shade or the bottom to control both the light & the degree of privacy from the street without closing the windows completely off from the outside.

We're so excited about this house. We're giving up a huge yard and about 1000sf to downsize, but DH and I plan on living there forever. We walked in the front door and our mouths dropped open. Yep, they had us at "hello".

It's so different from every other house we've owned that I'm throwing my current style out the window. We're selling most everything and starting fresh. I picture the room polished, but simple and casual in shades of cream, brown, and a hint of green.

I love the woven blinds, but we had them in our last house and they didn't block enough of the light. I wonder if there's a blackout option for some styles. I'll have to go to Lowes to see the options in person.

I think we'll eventually do stationary panels just outside the woodwork, but I don't know about operational drapes. Would they be too heavy or formal?

Plantation shutters are gorgeous, but boy are they expensive. I thought about just covering the bottom with shutters for privacy, but then light is a problem.

I agree it's not a good idea to rush and buy everything before we even move in, but...hmm...well, I don't really have a good argument for not waiting. Is impatience a good enough reason? LOL!

The woven blinds do have black-out options.

Gorgeous room!

I'd be tempted to do something for 'all-day everyday' privacy screening on just the lower portions of the windows. Maybe a half-height wooden shutter or top-down pleated shade? You'd want to test the height with Hubby from a pedestrian angle to get as much privacy as you need without sacrificing that wonderful light.

Then for 'blackout' purposes, lined heavy silk drapes sound absolutely divine.

I'm glad to see another New Urbanist on board! Your home looks gorgeous and has the usual attention to detail you see in NU/TND developments. But, I know exactly what you mean about how close they are to the sidewalks, which get a lot of traffic.

I liked your idea of stationaries-- full shutters, mounted on the inside? I've seen that in a bunch of decorating magazines lately, and it seems like a style that would fit perfectly with the home and your furniture.

You can also get different kinds of window film, but I imagine that you want to see out and don't mind the visibility at certain times, and want the option for full privacy. so, you can get black out liners put on any drape panel. Roc Ion makes the kind they use in hotels, which I have on my windows (also helps with heat and cool retention- passive solar savings). You can also get fabric at the fabric store to line any drape or curtain with.

Not knowing the climate for your new home, I'm not sure what I would go for, but I would want something that could be both airy and offer full privacy. Nothing too much, nothing that takes away from the architectural details or makes the room feel stuffy.

Enjoy your new community and congratulations:-)

We have similar windows in our LR and I had custom hobbled Roman shades made for 5 windows. They are inside mounted and when pulled open, the top hobble forms becomes my valance. I chose fabric that coordinated with my sofa and loveseat so the room looks finished, but I was able to still showcase the window trim and keep that open and airy look that drew us to the home.

My shades are lined in white blackout fabric which not only gives us complete privacy at night, but also gives a uniform look from the outside.

It's been six years since we got ours and I still love them. I ordered mine from blindsgalore.com and had excellent service and results.

I vote for plantation shutters too. I think the price will probably be comparable to custom window treatments with top down and/or black out features added. It wouldn't hurt to price them out. Around here we have independent contractors that you can find in the yellow pages. Their prices are usually more reasonable than the brick and mortar stores.

Your house looks wonderful btw.

I am not a fan of plantation shutters or blinds for the most part. I don't like the way they block the view from inside.
First, do you want to be able to look outside during the daytime while you're in the room?

Most people won't be able to see inside during the day unless they come right up next to the window.

Personally, I prefer the look of floor length drapes that can be closed at night for maximum privacy. Even plantation shutters and blinds have small gaps that can allow peeping toms pressed up against a window to see in. I've had one before!

I would mostly likely choose some kind of wood shade and heavy lined panels. No valences. Each morning I would pull the shade all the way up.

Your new home and furniture have a beautiful, tailored style, and I would go with that and use roman shades in a nice fabric with a blackout lining. If your furniture and colors are all neutral shades you might want to do something with a textured fabric or a print that ties everything together. I'd ask a professional for help with this, though. They have access to fabrics that are to the trade only, and are well worth the extra effort. Most designers work on a cost plus 15%, so it is even possible to come out cheaper in fabric costs than buying retail on your own.

These are some photos I took at a home show last year, they will hopefully give you some ideas about your window situation.

angc: "We're moving into our new house next month. One reason we loved it so much was because of the wonderful trim window and period style windows. The house is in a planned New urban community where the houses are very close to one another and to the sidewalk. There's lot of pedestrian traffic and the windows are 7 ft tall, so privacy is an issue..."

Ha! Sounds exactly like our 'old' community (1890's small town Victorian) house! The more things change, the more they stay the same. I've grown accustomed to life in a fishbowl with passers-by being able to see right into the DR, although the LR is shielded by the front porch. If I know the person(s) walking by admiring my garden, I just wave. I'm not a big window treatment person, so I have sheers on the windows that obscure the view but still let in all the great light (most of the time I have them pulled back with holdbacks). I suppose that's an entirely unsatisfactory solution for anyone else but me, so perhaps one of the remedies mentioned above would do the trick.

How about Hunter Douglas Silhouettes? I love them, but they are spendy. I would do my entire house in them if I could. They look great alone or with curtains.

You really do need to have something at night to cover the corners of whatever you choose. Lots of window treatments have little gaps at the sides and someone could see in.

I went out today looking at and pricing plantation shutters. They're not as expensive as I had imagined. I looked at a few of my inspiration pics and noticed many of them did have wide slat single plantation shutters. I don't really want to look out the window, but it looks like the wide slats allow for maximum sunlight when opened.
A top down bottom up blackout lined woven shade could also work, and they're 1/2 the price of the shutters.
For either option, I can make simple stationary linen panels easily and inexpensively.
We have the Silhouette shades in our MBR now. I love the look, but they're a haven for dust and bugs and difficult to clean. Just a word of caution.
I love uncovered windows during the day. The first thing I do every morning is pull back the drapes or raise the blinds. Nighttime is a different matter.
It is funny how the newest thing in homebuilding is a throwback to how things were for hundreds of years.
Thanks for the pics from the home show. I really like the window treatments that don't cover the woodwork. It's a great choice for rooms where privacy isn't an issue.

I vote for Roman shades with blackout lining. I think shutters will add another 'architectural feature' that your room doesn't need. I'd prefer something softer like a Roman shade.

I am WTI* and also moving into a New Urbanist setting soon, so I will be watching this thread!

The way windows in our row of houses are planned is that we have most of our big windows facing south, toward the side of the next house over. On their north side (and ours, as well) we have smaller windows, set up higher in the wall. The only room that faces the front walk is my bedroom since we opted to use the "family room" as a first-floor master.

How did you second showings go, btw?

*Window Treatment Impaired

amy-
We have our 4th second showing today. At least we're getting looked at twice, but no offers. The first couple bought house #2, another couple decided the back yard wasn't private enough for a pool, the 3rd couple is still weighing their options. The folks today came to the Open House this weekend and are coming back with their Realtor.
Cross your fingers!

Fingers and toes crossed!!

We had two "very serious" lookers before our three's-a-charm buyers came along. One even sent out a builder to quote on a remodel. Buyers are taking their time these days, as I'm sure you know.

Hoping for some good news tomorrow!