Blackout curtains, valances, drapery hardware...help!!

15 years ago

My complete ignorance about this subject will be immediately apparent -- help! I am trying to create a really dark sleeping environment in our bedroom. We have a wall with three windows close together in the small sitting room area, and then two windows on an adjacent wall -- the king-size bed sits between those two windows. We put up room darkening up-from-the-bottom and down-from-the-top cellular shades when we first moved in. They do a good job, except for the light that comes in around the sides -- just a sliver, but we both really love complete darkness for sleeping!

So recently I had valances made that look great along the top of the cellular shades, and matching narrow panels for the sides of the windows, hoping they would block that light. They didn't. I went to Penneys and purchased their Eclipse blackout curtains. I love them because the fabric is lovely -- not rubberized or vinyl-feeling like so many of the black out curtains. The challenge now is trying to figure out what hardware to use to hang both the curtains and the valances.

We first put both on a 2 1/2 inch double rod, but the curtains are really too heavy for those, and they don't move easily on that kind of rod. They have generous loops at the top that makes hanging them easy, but they really need to be on a round rod. The round rod the sales person recommended mounts at least 4 inches away from the wall, and I just don't know how to put up the valance over them. Is there such a thing as a tubular double (valance) rod, that doesn't hang so far away from the wall? We got the same drapes for another bedroom, and with the rod right up against the wall (not the way the rod is supposed to be hanging) they block all the light. That's what I want for our bedroom, but I really want the valance too!

Any and all help and suggestions would be so appreciated!

Joan

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Comments (10)

snickysnacker
15 years ago
Your post is so timely for me. I really hope you receive a good answer. I work nights and must sleep in the day and am currently looking for blackout blinds and curtains. Could you tell me about your JC Penney curtains? I was looking at the Eclipse Ashby panels and the Eclipse Tristan. May I ask the style of Eclipse you purchased?
I will be following this post to see if anyone has a good solution for the valance/panel hardware.
Good Luck
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graywings123
15 years ago
We got the same drapes for another bedroom, and with the rod right up against the wall (not the way the rod is supposed to be hanging) they block all the light. That's what I want for our bedroom, but I really want the valance too!

Since you like how the rod and curtains hang in the second bedroom, buy another rod just like that and hang your blackout drapes. Then buy a separate rod for the valance. Hang it slightly higher and wider and on brackets that extend out further.

Here is a link that might be useful: 5 inch extender brackets
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Funny you should ask this, as I was just thinking yesterday about how dismally I failed at this. I tried doing this myself maybe a year or so ago using some directions I found online. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well. I used a really thick woven paper sort of material (actually, it was a woven paper window shade that I cut apart). I removed the cords from the woven wood shade, cut slits in woven paper backing where the rings were on the woven wood blind, then used Super 77 spray adhesive to spray the whole back of the window shade and adhere the woven paper backing. It worked great for a while, but over time with raising and lowering the blind, the backing worked loose and started falling down. I took the whole shade down once already and reglued it, but a couple months later, it started coming loose again. It probably would have worked better had I sewed it, but I have next-to-no sewing ability and thought the spray adhesive would work better. Live and learn, I guess. Luckily, the shades (both the woven wood and woven paper) ones were Target cheapies so I won't feel bad replacing them with something else. I'm actually looking at some woven cane paper roller shades from Country Curtains that I think will work perfectly - I just ordered swatches yesterday and am waiting for them to arrive.
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I know nothing about sewing, so I can't really help with that part of your question. However, my solution was a little different than yours and I'll post it to give you another option. I had a roll-down solar shade with a 5% openness factor (blackout is also available) on my sliding doors in a former home. I had a simple box valance made to hide the top and covered it with the drapery fabric. The draperies were pinch-pleated and hung on a rod above the door, but still behind the valance which allowed me to use a non-decorative rod, offsetting some of the cost of the valance. During the late afternoon, I could roll down the shade and block out much of the sun, but still have some natural light in the room. At night, I could draw the draperies across the doors to create a cozier environment.
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I think the rod should be about 4 feet wide gives you about 6 inches on each side so you can pull curtains to the side. One curtain could work if it was wide enough (4' if you go with that rod size) but would not look good IMO. If you are leaving that shade in the window you could maybe go with a dark grey or dark blue curtain instead of a black out and it would still darken. for height you have to figure how much space is below the window and account for the rod being mounted higher than the window. guessing from the picture you will probably need 95" inch long curtains
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orchid_ladycats
Original Author
15 years ago
Snickysnacker -- the ones I purchased are Robert Eclipse Black-out Energy Saving Panels -- Thermaweave Panel. They are really soft and drape beautifully.
Graywings -- the problem is that the way they're hanging in the second bedroom is a workaround. My husband -- who needs to sometimes sleep in there because of a bad back -- took the decorative rod out of the dip in the front of the bracket and just pushed it up against the wall. Not really a good look, and you can't really slide the curtains to open them because the rod is just resting on the back of the bracket,rather than being held securely. But what it showed us is that if these curtains are closer to the window the amount of light that can sneak over the top or around the sides is reduced to almost nothing! Why is it that all the brackets that hold round rods extend at least 4 inches from the wall? I don't need that much clearance.
Are there any alternatives?
(thank you both for responding!)
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HomeMaker
15 years ago
What about building a cornice in place of the valance?
That should reduce the light from the top.

I've attached on example, but you could google cornice box to get loads of ideas!

Here is a link that might be useful: Home made cornice box
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RNmomof2 zone 5
15 years ago
FYI-Target and Walmart both sell the Eclipse brand of black-out curtains. They come in several lengths and weaves. You may need to check out both of their websites.

I too work nights and have found that an interlined drape works fairly well on blocking light if one desires something fancier.
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orchid_ladycats
Original Author
15 years ago
That's great to know where one can buy the curtains.. I just bought two long panels at Penneys for about $36 dollars!...but I hope someone will get back to my original question about how to hang them with valances.
Thanks homemaker. I actually don't like the cornice look -- a bit too structured and formal for me. Anyone have ideas about how to hang the curtains closer to the wall and have the valance over it, on a rod that's strong enough to handle it?
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graywings123
15 years ago
Velcro on the window frames and edges of the Eclipse drapes?

Sleep masks?

You might have better luck finding a bracket that holds the pole close to the wall in Home Depot/Lowes, but not in the drapery aisle. Go to the aisle where they sell PVC pipe and see if something there would work. Since you are using a valance, you won't see the brackets. If you are desperate, you could use a simple L bracket and attach the pole to the brackets with screws, putting the curtains on first, of course.

Look at this site which sells everything imaginable related to PVC pipe. They have something called a Super Mounting Clamp (SMC)

Here is a link that might be useful: PVC Super Mounting Clamp
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HomeMaker
15 years ago
Did you think of hanging the valance to cover the box?
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RNmomof2 zone 5
15 years ago
Light does escape from the top of my drapes as well. Since you have a valance to hide the top of the drapes I wonder if you could hang the valance higher than the drapes. Next, try to rig up corrugated or something at the top of the drapes to block the light from going up. Perhaps something could rest on the rod for the valance and return to the wall. Be creative!
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annzgw
15 years ago
Below are some double brackets that may work.

If you're trying to keep out light that comes from the top of the curtain, then hang/mount your valance on a 1x board that is attached to the wall with 'L' brackets.
Here are some basics on a mounting board. http://www.ehow.com/how_4850955_valance-board.html

Here is a link that might be useful: brackets
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Blackout curtains, valances, drapery hardware...help!!

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Blackout curtains, valances, drapery hardware...help!!

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