How about a double set of white shutters on each window??? It certainly would give you a country look. There's always a good variety of them in Home Depot or Lowes.

Love your kitchen. Baby Turtle sure looks good with your counter tops. I am thinking of putting Baby Turtle in my granddaughters room in our home. How do you think it will measure up to bedding that is off white, light and dark pink with a little green in the bedding?

gagesgranny - you could take your bedding to a paint store and have them match your wall paint right up to the green in that bedding.

Baby Turtle is very chameleon. It changes from tan, to yellowish, to very green, to khaki, to olive! Its amazing...

Yayagal - I went shutter shopping today, just at Lowes. They wanted $500 per window. (YIKES) A tad out of our budget right now. Maybe in the future, but now we are still recovering from the kitchen reno.

Any other inexpensive (somewhat) ideas for window treatments that would be farmhouse-ish? Could I cheat and just get white blinds, and then some sort of long drapes?

I would love some suggestions for what types of material would be give us a farmhouse touch - any particular patterns, fabric, colors? Should we go with something solid, or busy? Would something floral clash with the countertop? Should I look for a checked pattern?

This may be radical, but with a farmhouse look, I'd put up old-fashioned shades and sill-length curtains. I'd do a valance and then cafe curtains on clips below it, so that they could be easily opened. The only issue with shades is that they're not adjustable. I have shades in our guest room and den, as we want the privacy and blinds/shutters would not work (and are too expensive).

You might think of going to the Country Curtains website, browsing it and perhaps ordering a catalog. They will have a very large selection and many of their styles suit the farmhouse look. They are quite inexpensive and their service is superior. You can choose from solids, lace, florals, and all sorts of checks and stripes, and they will send you as many samples as you want. They also offer matching fabric with some designs. Am thinking tablecloth, placemats, pillows, etc.

I've been using C.C. for over twenty years. If I don't need something custom-made, they're the only place I go for window treatments. Many other posters here also use them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Country Curtains

Sable - that sounds nice - the cafe curtains. I actually used to get the country curtains catalog! I did order a sample once (glad I did - I ended up not liking the pattern and getting something different).

I never did order from them, so I stopped getting the catalog. I'll have to order one and check them out. Thanks for reminding me about that great place!

So.... is there any way I could work blinds into the cafe curtain idea, or would that look bad? If I used shades, would I use them just on the top half, or would I have the shade made to cover the whole length of the window? (forgive my silly questions - I am learning)

Gardenwebber - I personally would use shades rather than blinds, but that is just my own taste. I have blinds on two kitchen windows, for the sake of total privacy all the time, and C.C. curtains on the other three. But in your kitchen, which is going to be beautiful, IMO the accent should be on curtains that both relate to the greenery outside (maybe a floral that echoes the Baby Turtle?) and establish a cozier interior look. So then a shade makes more sense, but just IMHO. Also, wooden blinds do cost and I don't think faux ones would be so great. I would run the shade to cover the entire window. You could do double cafes or one set of cafes and a valance.

If you click on the link to C.C. in my above post, you'll see a section for cafe curtains. The choices are really good. But remember, this is just my opinion. Someone else might think that blinds would be perfect!

I would, well, not kill, but you know what I mean, for an eating area like yours in our kitchen. We can't even fit one chair in ours!

I like the idea of cafe curtains and shades. I just saw cellulose accordian pleated shades at Penney's and you just push them up and down with your hands - no cords - really neat. When pushed up, they would hide behind your valance and you couldn't even see them, but at night you could pull them down for privacy. But they would be more expensive than roller shades. I would go the whole length of the windows with the shades.

Sable - thanks for the compliment. Our kitchen used to exist on that side of the room (where the eating area is) and we moved it to the other side of the room. So, that wall in the pic used to have cabinets and a sink against it.

Rand - thank you for your opinion. I am really liking the idea of cafe curtains. I know I am going to have trouble picking a pattern/color. I was thinking of going with all white. Would that be boring, or two much white?

So, I've been having a little fun with my computer. Here are three choices from Country Curtains in cafe curtains.

I tried a floral, a stripe (would get the dark green or burgandy strip choice) and a white. Opinions?

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One more pic to share and ask for opinions:

This is a set of valances and tiers that I had packed away in the attic. I forgot all about them, and checked today and was pleased to see I'd have enough to do both windows! Would the colors work??

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I like your plaid curtains. I do think they blend well. I also like the white ones with the green trim around the edges. Since you already have the plaid ones, try them first. The cafe style looks really nice on your windows.

Randita - I was thinking of doing just that (trying the green ones because I have them already.) I have to buy the fixtures one way or the other, so I'll try them and if I don't like them, I'll change them.

I'm just not sure about the two greens mixed together.