I was just talking about this recently on another thread. Our property was covered with violets when we moved in. There are a lot of them in the lawn too. It is a violet that I do not enjoy. White, large leaves, no fragrance. It is easy to pull up, with a spade. Pulling alone usually just gets the leaves and not the root. I don't find them that difficult to get out. I have not had that much trouble keeping them out of the garden beds, but I gave up on them in the lawn. I did decide to actually add violets..lol. Since I wasn't going to lose those I didn't like, I decided I might as well have something I did like. I've added labrador violets that have a pretty heart shaped small leaf and purple flowers and a viola odorata that is a very dark purple and very fragrant. So far I am enjoying those and I am hoping that if they get to spreading around, at least they might compete with the ugly one I don't like. [g] pm2

I have double Cellular blinds (Alta from Budget Blinds) in my home office and love them except I dislike the long cords that keep tangling. I also wish I had gone with Hunter Douglas to get one big light filter single cell Duet blind on my two windows with retractaible cords. For my bedroom, I bought the Architella Duet Hunter Douglas Cellular blinds with the retractable cords in a 3/4" size. I love the bigger pleat size, I like the soft look, I love the insulating properties, and I love the top down/bottom up feature with no cords tangling and all cords staying the same length. I am just not crazy about the Linen color at night since it gets too brown for the look I wanted in my bedroom and I wish I went with the Daisy White.

Of course, you should also pre-shrink your fabric before you cut it if you intend to wash the slipcover (and even if you don't then preshrink with steam.) I would never make a slipcover without this step even if I intended to dry-clean it for most of its life. Eventually, I know I'd want to wash it and still have it fit even at that late stage. Make sure any lining material that you plan to use (like for skirts or pleats) has the same, or less stringent fabric-care characteristics. Pre-shrink, or wash it, as well. I'd also wash scraps of both to discover if one, or more colors run. Regarding piping, if you are going to pipe the slipcover, I recommend removing the existing piping if there is some on the upholstery now. Two layers of piping can make the piece look odd, plus the under-layer bump tends to soil very easily. You can cut it off with a carefully-wielded mat knife. Piping is easy to make: particularly if you use bias strips of the fabric or contrast fabric. (Of course occasionally you can buy pre-made piping in a shade you'd like, but I haven't always been happy with it, quality-wise.) I always make a new, linen, tight cover for anything I'm going slipcover. This can serve as the model for the slipcover, or not, as you prefer. If you don't make a permanent cover of the muslin or linen, then keep it rolled up so the next time you can easily make another slipcover for this chair. Just write on every piece which item it is for, and which way the fabric grain should run. If the padding, webbing or upholstery need perking up, the time to do this is before you invest time in making the slipcover. I sometimes make twice as many seat cushion covers since I have pets and they aren't good at keeping off. Then alternate them in use to keep them looking roughly like the rest of the cover. If you can't manage zippers, you can buy gripper tape or use velcro, or in some cases ties. And keep in mind that slipcovers aren't supposed to look taut like upholstery. The look is usually slight loose. I always need to remind myself of this once I've finished a slipcover project as I am so critical of my own sewing. Oh, and if your fabric doesn't have a clear, undisputed overall pattern to it, do you self a favor and before you cut it run contrasting basting threads at intervals parallel to the selvedge so you never lose track of which way is with the grain and which would be a railroad placement. Try to look at a good book on slip covers before you plan your project. There are some "rules" about where to place design elements for a large pattern, like a floral, in relation to seat back, arms, seat, etc. It's worthwhile reviewing the "correct" options, even if you decide afterward to to do it another way. There are subtle things that we're used to seeing, some so subtle they don't occur to you unless you inadvertently do it wrong. Better to have that mental conversation with yourself before you pick up the...

Becky - don't know if you remember my room and link from up-thread but I've continued to follow your situation and thought I'd give you an update on mine since we have similar large, private settings and goals for views. Much as I love roman shades whether fabric or some kind of woven wood/bamboo, I just didn't want to cover up that much glass with the stack height. We did a test run with a textured roller shade on 2 windows in our living room. That way if we hated them it wasn't an investment in every window and we'd keep looking. Here's what we have, a roller shade behind a cassette. You can see the texture, it's not room darkening but offers excellent light/glare control and privacy. When they're open, they are very unobtrusive and leave the glass bare. The cassettes aren't invisible but if you match your wood they will disappear as much as anything can. Mine are in between my wall and my wood color so they have a bit of warmth to them. We are probably going to use these throughout the house where we need light control. Some of those windows may get additional decoration with curtains, and that's an opportunity to add some pattern and color. Personally, I don't think these have a modern look or really any definitive style look because I chose a neutral to basically disappear. If you chose a wood tone or a color of course they will be a focal point and that to me is where the clean lined modern look comes in. But as a first layer with curtains or even on their own matched to your wood, IMO they can work with any home or decorating style. Hope that helps. It's a tough decision and a lot of money, that's for sure!