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Window treatments for TALL windows

K Fisher
5 years ago

Hello all,

We are in middle of updating our home (painted walls/ceilings, added new light fixtures and recessed lights, and in process of new flooring, and then the really fun part...wait for it....furniture and decor! We've removed the wooden blinds and now I don't want them back up. However, we need privacy of course. ;-) The 2 narrow but tall windows on each side of the fire place are approx 19" x 119". Ceiling height is 17'. The other 2 windows are not nearly as tall (sad face), 35" x 82.5", but would like to give the illusion of tall windows. I was thinking long drapes maybe ripplefold or pinch pleat flowy look OR light filtering shades. Need advice for my dining room as well. Ceiling height is 14-15', windows are approx 22 3/4 x 12'high (incl both windows top & bottom). Hope that makes sense. My style now is transitional or modern rustic. I'll be back later for opinions on furniture choices. ;-) Thank you in advance. Kelley






Drapery Idea perhaps



Comments (24)

  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Agree with PCC. anything on the FP windows would be ridiculous looking. Let them see you sitting by the fire! If you must block the view do it from the outside with landscaping.

    Hanging curtains on the other windows at at the height of the FP windows would add drama, symmetry, and look great. Make sure they are at least 2.5x the width of the windows for a rich, full look.

    Dont go crazy with "modern rustic," a few touches is fine, any more than that and you will date the place.

    In the DR you have the choice of curtains hung above the widoes or between the upper and lower windows. If the rooms are open to each other I would hang all the curtains at the same height if possible and match them as well.

    K Fisher thanked greenfish1234
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  • blossom37
    5 years ago

    Beautiful windows!!! I wouldn't put any in the family room either.

    K Fisher thanked blossom37
  • wednesday morning
    5 years ago

    The truth is that those windows were not made to be covered. Those are the types of windows that one might have on an estate where privacy is not a factor. But, I see neighborhood outside the windows.

    The narrow and tall windows are too narrow for any type of functional drapery.

    In the dining room you could add functional drapery to the lower windows that are behind the table.

    Is there some reason that you don't want to do the mini blinds like the other windows? That really seems to be your best option if you want them to actually function. They let the windows show and they are showy windows.

    Using the same on the short windows would bring them more in design with the more ornate taller ones. They look almost like afterthought windows. Nice, though. I like the way they go so low to the floor.


    K Fisher thanked wednesday morning
  • wednesday morning
    5 years ago

    Just a second thought about those tall windows......you COULD put some closing drapes on those windows. Of course, not the type that breaks in the middle. Have them pull and stack to one side, entirely off of the window. It could be quite attractive and would be an opportunity to add some color and design. Although I still see them as windows that were never intended to be covered, you certainly could. Truth is that you certainly could do anything that you want to do! It is your house!

    May I offer the advice that, were you to do that, you don't try to do anything matching to the shorter windows. Seeing that they are of a different nature than the tall ornate ones, I would suggest that you let them be different. I like the way they are so wide and so low. They are almost like natural light fixtures that are built into the wall. If you put some of those blinds that you can open and close in those short windows, the effect would be as if they were natural light fixtures to be turned on or off, or a view to the outside to be opened or closed. I see that as a very contemporary concept.

    If you were to try to do something to blend in the tall with the short, I think that it would be so awkward and only call attention to the difference in nature of the two styles. So, let them be different. They really are very different. Don't fight it. Use it to your advantage.

    I see this problem a lot in new homes that are built with many large and/or ornate windows. While the window style and placement makes sense from the point of view inside the house, the real truth is that the window is in a house in a neighborhood and it looks out straight to the street or the neighbors deck, or some such.

    We visited some relatives recently who live in a well appointed house in one of those new Florida neighborhoods. They have lovely windows, but one real drawback is they look out much to closely to the neighbors. When the neighbor comes to smoke outside he stands almost right outside a nice window. It took me aback at first. It looked like he was a peeping tom. It is a beautiful window, but it looks out to a view of the neighbors and straight into their beautiful windows and you see them sitting in their dining room or on their deck. Unless you are on acreage and have no close neighbors or street in front of your house, privacy is going to be an issue.

    I have seen ornate windows that were added to the fronts of houses to enhance the street appeal, yet they look right into the front "powder room" and the toilet!

    It is obvious why you seek to have some covering for your windows.

    K Fisher thanked wednesday morning
  • PRO
    Finishing Touches
    5 years ago

    Your house and the details are so beautiful! I agree with PCC. Stay classic and simple to soften all the trimwork on the windows she addressed.

    Broadmoor Home, Colorado Springs · More Info


    K Fisher thanked Finishing Touches
  • PRO
    Finishing Touches
    5 years ago


    Evergreen Modern Home · More Info


    K Fisher thanked Finishing Touches
  • PRO
    Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
    5 years ago

    Great windows! I would go with rods from molding to floor only on smaller windows.


    K Fisher thanked Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago

    Perfect celery!

    K Fisher thanked greenfish1234
  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    5 years ago

    Plantation shutters on the large windows. Nothing on the windows next to the fireplace. IMO adding drapery panels will detract from the details of your walls.

    K Fisher thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
  • simplechoices
    5 years ago

    Hunter Douglas silhouette shades are almost invisible when open. We have them and they are perfect for this. Can be put on a remote too so you don't have a cord.

    K Fisher thanked simplechoices
  • K Fisher
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    So much to think about. You all have some fantastic ideas! Thank you so much!!! I truly love the idea of nothing on the windows next to the fireplace. Once those blinds came down, we could really appreciate the beauty of them. BUT, my husband is not of a fan of no window coverings given we need privacy as those windows face the neighborhood. However, he wants to compromise. Even with all the large mature trees on our lot, that room faces the street. Leaving them bare is Perfect during the day, but at night you can see clear into the house. :-( Finishing Touches...LOVE your work too!! That is the style I'm going for. Wednesday Morning had amazing ideas as well. All have said don't do the same on tall and short windows. "Don't Fight it!" So I won't. :-) But I'm intrigued about the Hunter Douglas silhouette shades. Anyhow, I will take everyone's advice into consideration. Thanks so very much!! Thank goodness for Houzz!

  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago

    If you think about it, all you need covered by the FP is the bottom, what, 2-3 feet? A couple of lovely, mature evergreens will more than take care of that :)

  • simplechoices
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I think landscaping will block the light in the day, which defeats the purpose of your spectacular windows. Just my opinion.

    K Fisher thanked simplechoices
  • wednesday morning
    5 years ago

    I did not realize the Hunter Douglas shades were still being produced and sold. I used to have a window covering business and I sold these. These types of fabric shades are a very nice product.

    I still have some in my house that I have had since at least the mid 90's and they are just as good as when they were new. They are so unobtrusive and they function so very nicely.

    I don't keep up with the industry anymore.

    K Fisher thanked wednesday morning
  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Bgs-large shrubs will block from feet to head, everything if you are sitting. The light comes in from above.

    a 5' shrub and the neighbors ENTIRE house disappears.

    K Fisher thanked greenfish1234
  • wednesday morning
    5 years ago

    That shrub would have to be an evergreen. One that loses it leaves also loses it's privacy factor.

    I get a little creeped out with open view windows at night. You can't see who or what is out there looking in at you, but they can see you quite well. I find it unnerving.

    With windows that low, a voyeur could simply stand at the window and look in with no effort on their part.

    Creepy, creepy, creepy!!!

    I can understand the desire to have the ability to block the view.

    K Fisher thanked wednesday morning
  • PRO
    Missy Pitt Interiors
    5 years ago

    Beautiful home! Oh my goodness! I like the drapes you have selected for the smaller windows on the left. They seem elegant and well-suited for the grandeur of your room. I would do black hardware to match the mirror, lighting fixture. I would hang them between the square and rectangle moldings. For the dining I would keep the same style "say pinchpleat" but do a different fabric (coordinates but doesn't match). Post pictures and then submit them to houzz. It's definitely going to be "tour-worthy!"

    K Fisher thanked Missy Pitt Interiors
  • K Fisher
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    My windows are still bare! Thank you Missy Pitt Interiors for the compliments and advice! Yes, black hardware!! I've never requested assistance from Houzz, but I am so glad I did. I love a variety of styles (I am super eclectic!) and it is so hard to narrow down choices. Besides, I have a difficult time making decisions for fear it may be the wrong one! Wed Morning, I think I may take your advice and go with the stacking of beautiful (same color as walls to blend in) draperies on the taller/narrow windows. I love the beauty of those windows during the day, but at night we definitely need privacy. CREEPY for sure! Lol! But go with different style on shorter windows. I do want the natural light during the day. Plantation shutters can be darkening, so I've got to rethink that one. I'll play around with an app and take everyone's advice into consideration. And I thought choosing paint colors was hard! ;-) Thanks to all!

  • PRO
    Missy Pitt Interiors
    5 years ago

    You're not doing anything to the tall, narrow windows balancing the fireplace right? You should leave those alone. Only dress the other, shorter windows in that same room. Dress the dining room windows as well.

    K Fisher thanked Missy Pitt Interiors
  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago

    Curtains beside the FP is just a terrible idea. Please don't if that is what you mean. Blinds if you must. If landscaping doesn't work for you, how about this. Something in front of them. Asian screen, plants? How about foam or some light board covered in a neutral but lovely fabric that you keep under the sofa and insert every night. 5' should be enough for lots of privacy. or same idea but with spring mounted half curtains that you can remove every morning

    K Fisher thanked greenfish1234
  • greenfish1234
    5 years ago

    Here: perfectly rectangular panels in your curtain fabric. Hung on an inside mount spring rod through rod pocket. Will look like drawn Roman shade, hung at height between the wall paneling the same height as your curtains. Yank them every morning. It may sound crazy but it is definitely not crazier than hanging curtains on those windows which were never meant to have curtains. I did a mock up to see what this fabric would look like as a Roman shade in my FR. It is on a spring rod. You wouldn't even know it isn't a


    Roman, other than the fact that it's all bunched up because I didn't sew or pin it

    K Fisher thanked greenfish1234
  • cliffordhome
    5 years ago

    Here are a few ideas:

    1. Get some tall wing back chairs and place them in front of each window. My wing back chairs are 44" high. My guess is that your house is already 2 feet above ground level, so this would block people from seeing in the house at night (they may be able to see your head as you walk by). The chairs could flank the fireplace and could be placed about a foot in from the window (don't have to put them too close to wall) and they would still block the view into the room.


    2. Get honeycomb shades that lift from the bottom up- so you have nice small stacks at the bottom of the window during the day and then you raise them up as needed at night.


    3. Have a sheer privacy film cover the entire window- so the window has a frosted look and they let the light in but people can't clearly see through them at night.


    Celery's window treatment on the lower windows look perfect on those, so that would be my choice for the remaining windows.

    K Fisher thanked cliffordhome
  • cliffordhome
    5 years ago

    Look at the Darby Home Company Kay swivel wingback chairs on Wayfair- they would be perfect.

    K Fisher thanked cliffordhome