Darn,
Heres the picture.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I would use fairly slender black rods, take them all the way across to die into the walls on the outer end and the chimney breast on the inner, and install them level with the bottom of the panel in the chimney wall. I'd hang the panels with hooks rather than rings, to keep them clear of the rod which would lie fairly close to the wall behind.

That way, you continue a line that already exists on that tall wall, which will integrate the drapery panels and rods much more cleanly into the whole composition.

And no valance, or puddling. Just simple straight panels.

That said - is that baseboard heating along the right side? If it is, the rods might need to be hung forward of the front of the chimney wall, by curving the inner edges of the rods back into the window wall. I wouldn't use finials in this case, but there are probably other good opinions on that subject.

Are you talking about hanging these from the second story, or from somewhere in between the two windows?

I think you are going to lose a lot of light with the panels, regardless of the height, since you have virtually no wall space on the outside. Also, if you are doing full height, they need to be full enough to balance the volume of the window space. Two long skimpy panels hanging two stories are going to look cheap,and I know that is not what you or he wants.

Have you considered mounting a covered cornice in the space between the two windows, and arching the bottom of the cornice to echo the arch above the fireplace? The peak of the arch would still cover the very top of the lower windows, almost to create the sense that the windows themselves were arched. Then skip the panels entirely.

My suggestion lines the rods up with the bottom of the inset panel above the fireplace, relating only to the lower windows.

And I think the windows are big enough that you can spare the panel space without losing a significant amount of light.

I love the look of asymmetric two story window treatments.

But this is a very formal, dramatic look.

For a more relaxed look, go with the one story treatment, pretending that what is above the visual waterline doesn't exist.

Oh, Annie, I love that photo - and the idea could work for movin-on, if the fabric were plain and modern enough, and the valances were draped more loosely, and weighted inside the hems instead of with the passementerie.

The enormous mirror is key to the look, too, I think...but in a less formal arrangement, I can imagine a very large old travel poster, or an enlargement of a black and white photo of the top of a big tree, or a mountain, or something that made sense so high in the line of vision?

What do you think?

I would hang fairly thick rods just at the top of the bottom window and the width of the stationary panel or at the top of the upper window, still the width of the panel.
I am anti cornice probably because I've had custom ones in my home for 15 years that I just took out....so I just got a bit sick of them and thought they seemed outdated and I think for a "guys" place might not fit in. All my opinion!

Someone else posted about this same subject a few months back. Wish I could remember who it was so I could pull up the post. It had tons of discussion and photo's of variations. Anyone else remember who that post was for?

Many thanks for the suggestions, they are making us reconsider our initial ideas.
Sorry about the mess & boxes on the floor, the house is new- no baseboard heat, just boxes that haven't been moved out yet.

I would like to add, We are not concerned about light loss because the windows are west facing, in fact, there is too much sun!
The bottom windows are 70" x 70" each.

The entire room is two story - there is a huge amount of space. If we curtain only the lower windows won't the room feel unbalanced? There is a loft with a view of the living area and upstairs bedroom - so we thought the curtain should include the top set of windows.

Also the windows do not have equal spaces on either side of the windows, will that be a problem?
Or do we treat the window as centered, with the rod placed on the inset?

I love Annies picture suggestion, but it might a bit 'frilly' for a bachelor.

He has a collection of very old African spears that he is considering placing in the insert.

Also, the TV is moving out and there is a lot of painting that is planned.

Here's the fabric he chose. Its a large pattern.

Thanks for the help, we are so open to ideas!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful:

No suggestions for you, but love the fabric!

I think you are going to need a valance of some kind. Annie's picture, while formal, proves that BIG windows need to be balanced. A panel on each side will look like you ran out of fabric/money. If you choose a valance that hangs off a rod-yes, you need a thick rod. The fabric will be heavy and you need support. An option is to hang the valance off a board (1 X 6)with the panel hanging from underneath. Are you sewing these yourself? While the construction is not difficult, the yardage will be extremely difficult to manage and you'll be on a high ladder.

I considered that fabric for panels in my master BR. Low ceilings, so mine is a completely different room than your son's, but the print was way too big for my bedroom (the repeat is something like 18 inches, right?). I am not good at visualizing these things, but I think you would want the curtains to be very long with that large print, so I like your idea of panels that cover both stories. The print is still very wide, though. Because I can't visualize, I actually bought enough fabric to mock up a panel (3 or 3.5 yards, I think). Maybe I could hang my fabric from clip rings, snap a pic, and then you could use that to photoshop in panels? I only say that because I just loved that fabric on the bolt, but it looked nothing like I was expecting as a window treatment.

Just to throw out another idea (but you didn't ask, so I probably shouldn't): another fabric that I considered that might be manly enough for him is the dwell studio gate pattern. It's more curvy, and the print is smaller scale, but he might like it. There's a nice brown (called brindle) and a charcoal. It's made by robert allen and there's a cheaper version called bella porte, which is a little lighter weight but has a very nice drape for panels.

Here's someone's facebook with panels made up (you'll have to look for the right pic):
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pu.133537443332928&type=1

Here is a link that might be useful: gate fabric in charcoal

Thanks for all the help everyone -- we are OPEN to any ideas and suggestions!

Link below shows another view of the room.

I will be sewing the curtains and have average skills :(. I have made valances before using the 1x6" idea.

This has been the hardest project, as my son just got out the Marine Corp, so he has no furniture whatsoever. We live in our motorhome, and don't have a stick house or the "extra stuff" to pass along. So yes, money has been a huge consideration. Our goal is to give him a nice foundation so that as he collects his furnishings that it will be fun. We were lucky to find this townhouse on a short sale - was vacant for four years and is brand new. Darn lucky.

We love the open design, but getting these windows under control is a challenge!

Thanks for the sharing of ideas

Here is a link that might be useful:

Of course you don't have to go so frilly as the picture I posted...it was done just to illustrate the look of a 2 story window treatment. The tricky part will be managing scale. If the valance, even if it's just a flat fabric off a cornice rod, needs to have enough scale to fit the windows or it will look funny. The fabric is nice, but hard to judge scale in the pic. You need to look at the fabric from 15' or more away to see how it reads...it may read as a solid pale color. You may need something with more color to make a statement.

One easy way to add interest to a valance is what I did in DH's bedroom here.

The valance is made of one flat panel of the gold toned fabric. Then I made pointed banners out of a coordinating fabric which I then added to the valance (I actually just pinned them on on the back side). You could make the banners any shape you want and you can add fringe or not...I added a cording to mine...your only limit is your own creativity.