With a view like that.....no WT.....
If you aree afraid passers by will find your house cold at night....leave a couple of lamps on in that room.
To me there is nothing more inviting than looking at a softly lit room...makes me want to go in and chat.
What does strike me about your decoration and the PO's is the lack of lamps....only one floor lamp in the whole room? You must not use it at night.
Get a couple of small lamps with say 25 W or 40 W bulbs. When it gets dark, light them and go drive by your house.
Linda C

I'm a window treatment person, so I say, yes treat them...but not like they were. The problem was is the rods are too close to the window making them appear cut off and then the window gets blocked.

I would treat the entire wall by creating a single valance across the top, ceiling to bottom of the top window frame. From underneath the valance, I would hang dummy panels (that don't close) to fill the wall space between the windows and hang such that they just skim the edge of the glass part of the window. Do a matching window treatment on the single window, treating just the single window.

As an alternative, I'd get tension rods and place them inside each of the window frames so the woodwork shows, and hang a valance off of them, just to add some color and warmth to the top of the window and not really block the view.

I love window treatments, also, and feel that the room feels cold inside without them. We also have a beautiful outside view from our living/dining room, with two large windows such as your center one, and two french doors, so the whole wall is glass filled. I personally think I�d hang just one rod as close to the ceiling moulding as you could, and have light weight, sheer straight curtains.

What nanny said. One simple rod as high as possible.

Because I love the view, and the open feeling, my first instinct is NO window treatments.

But, looking at the view inside, your furniture is all very dark and kind of heavy, except for the couches. So I think you need something to balance all the inside weight.

I would also do dummy panels between the windows and at either end, but no valance Decorative short rods just wide enough to accommodate the fixed panels. Done in a muslin or a linen, not sheers.

I also have to ask, with that view, is there any way to put the two couches at right angles, so the one doesn't have it's back to the window?

Thank you ! I should have noted, that the furniture is all old stuff, except for the 2 sofa's! I do have plans to change some tables, and the chair near the windows.

That said.. some say one rod, some say individual rods...lol which brings me back to "what should I do?" lol.

I'm into valances, but i know they're out now....I guess my whole house is "out", but I'm happy with it. It matches me...and I've been "out" for decades!
;)

But I can see 4 shorty rods mounted at the top of the wall with sheers or light weight fabric panels hanging down full length to the floor as les suggested.... and I've seen where people then use the space above the window between the sheers for decorating with a stencil or something else.....

In the 2nd owner's pic who is that picking up the dog poop in the yard? I ask because I am wondering how "public" that area in front of the house is.

In the day time it wouldn't bother me because the inside is dimmer than out and generally hard to see into, but at night I would feel very exposed with people walking by.

I might want some top down/bottom up shades that spent all day down on the sill and could be raised a bit to maintain seated privacy while still allowing the view from inside.

Annie, I love valances!! I played around with valances, and it really chops the water view.. that is why I'm against any valances, blinds, etc.

Palimpest! lol.. you're somewhat close to who is in the front yard, as it has to do with poop! lol. On this day we were viewing the house before we purchased, and we had a septic company out there, who happened to be in the front when I snapped the picture!

I've pulled out all my "old house" books, hoping they will offer inspiration! I would like to have a "vintage" feel to the home, but not old.. if you know what I mean!

No valances, but straight panels on one long rod that could be divided to stack at both ends and (with less fabric of course) between the windows so they could actually close at night. Rather than sheers, I would go all out with a vintage tropical print barkcloth that would give an "old Florida" look to the room that would be very appropriate--- and fun!

Annie, if you're "out" because of valances, then I am too! I love them and always will. I'm not a trend follower.

I'm going to have to disagree on one thing. And that's putting the curtain rod way up high. They need to be higher than in the picture, but too high just looks weird to me. I think the look only works on very tall windows.

When did hiding the wall between window and ceiling become de riguer? What happened to individualism per home?

Well, I got that off my chest, didn't I? lol

I'll echo the one long rod mounted as high as possible. I have a stretch of windows like yours 13' wide and I have a single rod mounted halfway between the window and ceiling (our ceilings are 9' tall). I have a nice view as well so I keep the curtains pulled all the way to the sides most of the time. Sometimes when I want a softer look, I will pull a couple panels in between the windows. It doesn't obstruct the view either. I think a beach-y fabric, like linen or muslin would be nice. And I love the look of them softly blowing when the windows are open.

I love your house and your view, but am no help with the WT. Am trying to find answers for those myself. I do like les and kswl's suggestions. Can't wait to see what you choose!

I am interested in the brand/source of your sofa's if you would care to share.

Liz

Huh, I don't like valances but I still have a set up in my beroom because it's a alrge room and I really wanted to pull some of the bedding pattern over to the other side of the room. So you're undecided about WTs, and I'm a hypocrite. Happy Monday. :)

I like one long rod. I think windows and sometimes even doors that are in close proximity to each other (say a foot or two) and/or not separated by some other feature like a fireplace, always look best when treated as a single feature. If you'll be closing them, I'd use at least 4 panels (one on either end, and one at each break/wall space in between).

The panels in PO's pictures aren't the right length for the windows. They look like they're a good 3 - 4 inches above the floor, and I'm thinking that may be why they don't look quite spot-on.

I like high rods, I have them myself, but I have 9 foot ceilings. And I don't have them super high in all rooms, just where the height is balanced by the room size and window width. Panels hung ceiling height on little 24" windows flanking a fireplace always look like someone is trying to hide little windows (IMO).

I like the white panels, but it makes me crave a deeper wall color. If you're keeping the pale wall color, I might like to see soething like a persimmon color, which would also pick up your flower, throw pillow, and arm chair.

Tinker, I was thinking about your living room when I read this old post at Cote de Texas. Joni has a similar wall of windows, and, like you, she was hesitant to treat them because they looked pretty darn good nakey. She took the plunge and then wondered why she waited so long. They look fabulous! I think this look would work well with the simple, classic, elegant vibe of your home. Even if you do something completely different, this is a good example of hang 'em high.

http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2011/04/decorating-updates-at-cote-de-texas.html
(scroll down, the first pic is her client's family room)

On a side note, I am thinking of ordering the Ballard's Davenport sofa. That's what you have, right? In the off-white twill? I can't find any reviews for them though. How do you like yours? Are they as comfy as they look? Quality slipcovers?