The word blinds covers a lot of products. Do you have a specific one in mind?

I would want to use the valance returns, but it will be tricky. You need to know exactly how much the valance returns project both outward and on the sides.

I am a huge DIYer when it comes to blinds, but this might be case for bringing in a professional. This is a lot trickier than first meets the eye.

If you did 1 inch cellular shades, you might be able to do an inside mount.

If you need something to cover the windows in a pinch, I have two suggestions. The first is a roll of wax paper, scissors and scotch tape. The second is spring tension rods and cheap white panels.

I'm sorry, I should have said Venetian blinds. At the current house, we have 2" Venetians & they really look nice, but there is no way that those will fit inside.

I could have a pelmet (cornice board) made to hide the Venetian blind head rails. Actually, DH is likely handy enough to do that & he needs projects to keep him occupied in retirement. (haha!) I've linked to an example of a pelmet.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that cellular fit the character of the house & these will be on the front. Here's a picture of the guest bath to give a better idea of the "vibe" I'm going for:

DH already bought some of the temporary, pleated stick up shades at Lowes, so we won't be scandalizing the neighborhood . A good substitute for wax paper is freezer paper that comes in huge rolls. We had to resort to that at the old house to cover our clerestory windows while workmen were doing our roof.

Thanks for the help; much appreciated.

Jo Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Pelmet for Bay Window

Here's a source for the clearances you need for inside and outside mount blinds. If you want wood blinds, you can get them in 1" size, which might work if you have tight clearances.

Here is a link that might be useful: measuring instructions

It seems a shame to cover up all that trim with and outside mount.

You sound like me! We moved in and don't have to worry about privacy, BUT the sun is heating up some rooms, so I know it's time for window coverings. I've been meaning to post my own query about what to do for our windows...... I had been wanting different things from the last house (which were 2" wood blinds) like woven wood, bamboo-type "romans" (?), but I'm so clueless...... I'll probably just go back to what I'm used to.

Can you take a close-up of the upper portion of your trim? It looks a lot like our windows/trim. A new neighbor of mine (who had same builder and same windows) just put up 2" wood blinds and somehow, they ARE inside mount. I need to see them again so I can safely order some blinds for our house (just to make sure how they mounted them). I HATE outside mount.

Anyway, they don't sit flush inside the window opening (from window out to the room), but they do fit inside the window from side-to-side molding around the window. They "poke" out at the top, but the wood valance covers that fact. It looks like the included wood valance is what you'd get for outside mount (because it has the side "returns"). That make sense?

Next time I'm in my neighbor's house (they're away right now), I'll take some pics.

Would you like a plantation shutter look? That would definaely give you privacy then maybe a little valance?

Thanks for the replies. It's a bit frustrating to not be there to take pictures or make measurements, myself. DH says that he will try to send some pictures to me, tomorrow.

The available depth for an inside mount (backspace?) is about 1/2" which isn't very much. Probably just about enough for 1" wooden blinds. (Thanks for the reference, suero.)

tracey_b - I'd love some pictures from your neighbor's house when they get back, that would be very helpful.

I looked at the mounting requirements for plantation shutters & they would still need to be mounted on the outside because of the clearances (see link).

I know, I just hate to cover up that beautiful trim, so, even if they are outside mounted, I guess they should only be as wide at the window opening & do the center windows individually. The trim carpenter did a great job of integrating the trim of those two windows.

DH & I have decided that this needs to wait until I'm there and we can bounce ideas off of each other face-to-face. DD will just have to live with the temporary coverings from Lowes. DH is totally game for building a cornice if that is what we decide on.

Thanks & I look forward to any other ideas y'all might have.

Jo Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Mounting Shutters

Here's some pics of my neighbor's windows (which are just like mine, pictured "naked" above).

Since they had a guy come measure, order, and install them, I don't know if they were ordered as inside- or outside-mount. I need to figure it out so I can order some. I did pick up a bracket from Lowe's the other day to bring home and see how it will attach--it will attach with 2 screws to the side of the window. Hubby said he'll also drill a hole in the top side of the bracket so we can have a top screw too, for a more secure hold. There are holes in the top of the bracket, but not in the right place (because of the shallow depth of the window).

You can see that light will come in around the sides, but that won't bother me as much as having outside mount and covering up the wood-work.

I tried to get a shot that shows how the top header bar protrudes out from the window:

Im in this same predicament. I like the way the above pic shows because that is exactly what I need to do on my windows on home. I have three windows together like the pic above and will like to see how can I do this too.

If anyone has any information, please let me know.

Thanks

I too am trying to figure this out for my windows, which look similar in style to the OP's.

I have a question. I have the same windows! How would you measure in order for the windows to look like that? Trim to Trim?

Is it possible to retrieve or view Tracy's pictures. I looked at them a while back and found them really useful. I'm ready to do something similar to my windows and would like to be able to see them. Thank you.