The other wall in the living room looks like this. Windows are 3' wide and 7' tal.

I like this but not sure how to execute something similar.

I like that inspiration pic you posted, too!

I expanded it and it appears to be hooks or something like hand cut nails in the painted board used as trim. Then they've sewn loops at the top of the curtain panel and looped them around the nails. Easy and ingenious.

I think that look is enhanced by their nice trim around the windows. Do you have any trim at the top of yours? The 'curtain holder' could be a piece of 1" x 4" or 1" x 5" pine, and you could use regular nails painted black to keep the cost down. It looks like they may have bought softly pleated panels to sew the loops onto. If you sew, you could make them yourself.

We don't have any casing around our windows unfortunately. I thought about distressing some wood and making almost like headers over the windows. But my concern is how to fit the panels since there is only 24 inches betwee the big windows. If I do the nails 3" apart, and 6 hooks per panel, that's 18" per panel so there would be an overlap of 6" on each side of the window. Not a big deal for the two big ones, but for the narrower ones on the other side of the room, it would cover 1/3 of the window.

You don't need to cover that much of the window. You can put your hooks or whatever wider than the window so whatever panel you hang will just skim the window edge...as was done in your inspiration picture.

You can put one panel on the left of the left window and one panel on the right and leave it asymmetrical.

You can hang panels further across the windows and then use a tieback or hook to pull the panel to the side, leaving more glass exposed.

You can do hooks instead of a rod. You can use antique door knobs or almost anything you can think of to tie the drapes to...your imagination is the only limit.

Maybe the thread below will help with some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: window treatment ideas

I normally wouldn't cover any of the window, but if I do 6 nails, 3" apart for each panel, that center section is too big for one panel but too small for 2 causing there to be overlap. I was afraid if I didn't do the same overlap on all the windows that it would look odd. Does that make sense? So hard to describe with words!

Here is a photo mock up with drapes and shades (shade is like the one you have on your door). I had no idea regarding colors you like, but it still gives you an idea. You can buy rods for next to nothing at places like Ross or Home Depot etc.

This is what I love about our board. I'm going to hang my long curtains in the bath on "hooks". Have had it in my head, but the input here sealed my want. Enjoyed going back to the curtain thread too.

I love this version too technicolor.

aktillery- I like that a lot (my original plan was shorty rods), but its the other wall that I'm having issues with due to the odd space between the two windows. Do I do a slightly longer rod there and put two panels on it? The space is just too short for two full size shorty rods (or even numbers of hooks), but too wide to treat it just as a space for one panel.

AnderSuitt, you can space the hooks so one panel fills in the middle and then keep the hook spacing the same and work from the outside in toward the center for the outer panels. It will mean that the panels will cover a few inches more of the outside edges of the windows than of the center edges, but it should be ok.

You could space the hooks differently, but I think that would look funny.

Yeah that could definitely work. Maybe I could do 2.5" apart and 6 per panel instead of 3" so there would be less overlap on the outer panels.

So then the next question becomes, what do I attach the nails to since we don't have window casings to play off of? The outside of the windows have cypress headers and my husband suggested mimicking those on the inside. I thought maybe I could use pallet wood stacked 3 high and distress it to make a faux header. Would that look ridiculous? Kind of like the pic above with the distressed wood and the hooks.

Yeah, scrap lumber could work...if you want to distress it, or white wash you can, like the picture above. Just be mindful of if the blinds you have now stick out from the wall. You'd want to mount your boards out far enough so the drapes clear the blinds and hang straight.

I don't know if a distressed header with white smooth sills would look the best... I would probably just pick up some molding for the headers...??
I think panels hanging from hooks, nails, whatever will look great! so many cool creative things that can be done!

One rod in one of the rooms and two rods in the other.

It's the same room, just different walls. But, I think that idea would still look good if I go with rods. I would probably just do shorty rods to save $.