a photo from last summer: We have these, from Smith+Noble, with a blackout liner (these windows face due south). On the middle window we have the continuous loop and love that feature! I would've done it on the two flanking windows only they're too narrow to qualify for that feature (S+N only offers it for windows over a certain width). I don't think I have a photo, but in our penultimate house we had a window just a hair under 11' wide, and there we also had a Smith+Noble woven roman shade with blackout liner and continuous loop, and S+N was able to make it as one shade (not two or three on a header). But I just have to say I wish wish wish I'd found this site with all these incredible insights earlier, before I ever did any projects! Those cordless blinds sound fascinating ....

I just reread the original post. You may want to see an actual shade with the type of wood you are considering. Depending on the thickness and how they rise, they will hang differently. Notice lkplatow's stack behind the hanging shade. Because my HD's have the privacy liner, the stacking depth is thicker and they do NOT look like a valance at the top when they are fully raised. Also, I chose a sort of round wood, not flat so it is thicker. If you notice in most catalogs and magazines, they show woven woods lowered half way down the window. They usually don't show them all the way up b/c they don't look that great. Also, if you mount them 6" above the window, because of the way they stack, when you raise them they might get caught on the top molding.

Order the free samples, and if you are considering room darkening/blackout, order those too. They are different colors. I ordered cellular shades. They had a couple of shades of bright white/blue white, which were actually too blue/gray for my bright white paint (BM white). Sometimes my paint looks blue and sometimes yellow. So you really need the samples of the exact actual fabrics, preferably not in a book, so you can hold them up to the window and let the light shine through. Order all sample shades from white to cream, and try a couple of subtle patterns. They are all different and you may prefer a greige variation rather than a cream variation. My white roller shades were actually cream. The cellular shades had a lot more white color options. I think it's risky to try to match the white exactly. There are times when it won't match. You need the samples to decide what is acceptable with regard to variation. I have a white patterned cellular shade in the bedroom which is not the same color as the white paint, but it looks like it is close and it goes fine with the paint. Sometimes a subtle texture/pattern can make the pairing for forgiving. Another thing to consider is will the fabric discolor over time.

Good fabric, good interlining and lining and one has a curtain that will last more than 30 years and still look good. Obviously, if one is of the "I like change and often" school of decorating, it would be madness to spend a lot on curtains. I've always been an "investment decorating" kind of gal. If I love a fabric, I will love it for decades. I don't change things just for the sake of change - why would I if I love what I did in the first place? The DR curtains I replaced (and still loved!) were made in 1985. They lasted until 2016. The cream background had yellowed on the valances and I couldn't just remove them due to festoon blinds underneath and valance boards, whose removal would have destroyed the wallpaper, long discontinued. Didn't want to get into that! But oh, I loved those curtains - pretties ones I've ever had. I would used the same fabric again but it's now printed in the Far East, not in the UK, and it just doesn't look the same. Plus the trim has become prohibitively expensive. I went with another Colefax and Fowler fabric and the only trim is a fabric trim on the bottom of the valance, which is also simpler. They're lovely but they don't make my heart sing the way the old ones did - they were once-in-a-lifetime curtains. Grapefruit, I would agree that very few people today are willing to spring for lovely custom curtains - even wealthy people. They're a huge investment and most people today prefer change or what they see on TV, regardless of their wealth. But curtains can make a room, and if the headings are done properly, they can move from one house to another. It's really all about whether one is looking for trendy or timeless.