I’m following as we will have similarly sized windows.

what kind of blinds do you have right now?

I just had someone over yesterday to measure for roller shades. Nice clean look, lots of fabrics to choose from, custom cord length (or motorized for an additional $350-400) etc.

R.C. I have venetian blinds that are some kind of composite material (not wood, not aluminum). I'm leaning toward roller shades, either woven wood or fabric.

I purchased Bali DiamondCell cellular blinds from blinds.com which had the shortest stack available (i.e., the head rail is narrow and fabric is thin) - when equipped with a standard cord.

I like a roller blind as well as the cell Lawrence described above. Avoid motorized blinds, you will be disappointed.

I just remodeled and got motorized shades. I love them.

I opted for the kind that preserves some part of the view in an innocuous cream fabric but there were many choices available if one wanted more opaque or a design that made more of a statement. I wanted to block glare from the eastern exposure as well as preserve furniture and floors from destructive UV so mine shades are basically down in the early morning until the sun rises high enough so that I don't get direct sun but just light.

I can control my shades from an App on my iPhone which means I don't have to keep track of the remote controls. The remotes are mounted next to the electric switches and are small and blend in.

On the advice of my designer, mine are Q-Motion which were considerably less expensive than Hunter Douglas but she said were of excellent quality - just not as widely known.

One section covers the door leading to the balcony so it probably 84" high and moves quite well.

Kirsten Eloise,

If you can do an inside mount that is the preferred. Most window covering need about 4" to be flush mounted with a cassette cover for an inside mount. Cellular shades usually need about 2.5" for a flush inside mount. If you do an inside mount, always take note of how the window opens, the type of window handle and projection, and any trim dimension changes.

If you do an outside mount, you need to add a few inches to each side of the measured opening and think about how it will look with the projection.

Kirsten Eloise,

Ours are 9 foot ceilings. My current blinds are mounted on the outside. I really like the look for bamboo roller shades -- sad to learn that these are among the most expensive.

Following for new build-will be looking for blinds for master bedroom- which has 2 side lights & french doors. 117X79.5 any suggestions?? we will need to be able to open the french doors- it was suggested that we do verticals- but I really did not want too.

Verticals work better than anything horizontal on a door opening that size.

Does anyone know of a bamboo shade that would not cover a great deal of the top of a 72 inch window when the shade is pulled up?

Melissahbarlow,

All woven woods will have a stack at the top. However, there are some roller shades that look like woven woods that would only take a few inches at the top once rolled up.

Thank you! Are there any brands you know of that I could look at?

Cheryl Hannebauer - Have you thought about traversing draperies for the master bedroom? No blinds - just open and close the draperies. Or, you can get plantation shutters for doors and sidelights as an option for blinds. You can even do blinds on them.

Melissahbarlow - You can look for Pfifer Sheerweave products that have a wood look but roll up like a roller shade. Most of them have openness factors so they aren't completely private. The blackout style don't look like woven woods - but they come in various colors.

Hi Finishing Touches!!!! Good to see you here!

Vanessa, what company do you recommend for traversing rods? I don't want to pay $400

I honestly don't know what products the online companies sell! I know the products available to the design trade. I would do a google search for traversing drapery rods and see what you come up with. There are decorative tracks, modern tracks and regular old Kirsh tracks that are best covered with a valance! Traversing rods can be fairly expensive, especially if you want something that is attractive and functional.