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Windows Design Dilemma living room

Curtain panels for large windows to preserve light

Paulina Baytler

5 years ago

I'm trying to figure out how to dress windows in my apt while preserving light. The leftmost window is adjacent to a wall....and there is very little space between the windows and the ceiling. Also little space on the right of the leftmost window. I'm going for a glam look, so wanted to see if there was a way to place (maybe) silk curtains? Should I split the leftmost window? Hang the curtains off the ceiling? Is there a way to create a glam look without rich looking curtains?

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Judy Mishkin

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

while you can mount rods on the ceiling, i'd skip the drapes as you'll need to sacrifice the same amount of glass in each location or they wont look right. if you need privacy and/or dont want black boxes at night, do a top down/bottom up shade.

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Comments (12)

PRO
M&M Interiors
5 years ago
I love the decor as is. The view is spectacular. I would not cover those windows- if you need privacy, go with a cellular or roller shade mounted above the window so that it will almost disappear when it is not down.
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I have toile curtains on an 84-inch living room window which are never closed because we live on a hill with only coyotes as neighbors on the hills across the street - and they are 50 inches wide and look perfectly fine. I have more than double that width on a large french door and a window in the dining room which we could close if we wanted to but never do because it's also completely private (25 foot tall, 100 foot long boulder with tree on top) and that looks fine too when open, but I have a slight preference for the 50" width. Even wide curtains can be scrunched together if the material isn't too thick and if you don't mind the window being covered slightly, which I actually prefer. But the 50-inch panel really would be fine, and there's not so much material to deal with.
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Check the link below and see if this is something you'd like. They hang from the ceiling. Very similar to hospital track. If you sew at all you could easily make panels to attach to the clips. I'd check first, but my guess is you could use two tracks in one line in order to fit the span of your longest window. Here is a link that might be useful: Universal Panel track
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Or if they are in a bedroom and you will only have them closed when sleeping, then save the extra money and use the standard width. They will be fairly flat (not many gathers) when pulled closed, but will cover the windows blocking the light. But Annie is correct. If you were to have made to measure drapes, they would be between 1.5 and 2.5 as wide as the window opening, depending on the fabric weight and style of the treatment. So your 72 inch window would have panels on each SIDE that were 90 inches wide. Here is the issue. Fabric only is woven in particular widths. So going wider than the standard width (which is generally the width of a single panel in ready to hang drapes) means you have double or triple the fabric expense, and also additional labor to sew the fabric together to make a larger panel.
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It's good that you came onto the Design Dilemma early before you bought anything. What everyone here is saying is that every element needs to connect, and there's an order to adding art work, new pieces, paint, window treatments, accents, etc. I'm going to chime in to suggest that before you choose upholstery you do a floor plan with all measurements so that you choose furnishings that fit well in your room. Many Dilemmas on Houzz are about sectionals that are too huge, rugs that are too small, too many bulky pieces, etc. Sometimes a change in layout will change a room for the better. For example, is that the only place for your sofa? Maybe floating it towards another wall will solve your glare problem. We don't know if you're interested in art, but a few large art works in a subject, style, and palette you like might be a great change from all the little photos you have. Then you can choose your upholstery, curtains, wall paint, etc.
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PRO
L & L Window Fashions
5 years ago
Your view is amazing!

Unless privacy is an issue, I would go with screen shades. You'll get some UV coverage and you can raise them fully if you want an unobstructed view.

Hunter Douglas Screen Shade · More Info
kulrn
5 years ago
Love your house! Can I ask what color white your using on the walls? I also agree no curtains :-)
Paulina Baytler
Original Author
5 years ago
Not sure, it came this way :)
kulrn
5 years ago
Thanks! I want your rug too!!
Paulina Baytler
Original Author
5 years ago
actually the apt was staged virtually, so im not sure that rug even exists in real life!
kulrn
5 years ago
Haha! Well at least it gave me ideas! Thanks!
leelee
5 years ago
Shades
Paulina Baytler
Original Author
5 years ago
does anyone have examples of shades with a glam look?
mjlb
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

These laser-cut shades have caught my eye a number of times. I think some are solar shades, if that's partly why you are looking for window coverings.

Delia Shades
decoenthusiaste
5 years ago
These might be a bit more glam for top down/bottom up in fabric.
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