Thanks everyone for the advice. I don't know why my pic showed so small. I will get white blinds. NHB, when I checked S&N on wood vs. faux there was little price difference! Here is a bigger pic of the house-the windows on the left facing are garage-they would never be raised so I could get just one large blind there. The main ? with 3 on 1 is the upstairs window-my DDs' BR where I could see us raising the blinds some. It would be aggravating though to have to open/shut 3 blinds everyday. What is the largest size you would make just 1 blind? I thought about getting tapes for the blinds to dress them up some but also wanted the ones without holes so the slats can be removed for cleaning. Can't do both. Does anyone recommend getting blinds without the holes? Thanks again!

[Hi Bob. Thanks for the clarification. I'm more likely to listen to a professional painter's explanation of why Brand A paint is better than Brand X than I am to an explanation by a paid spokesman for Brand A, and the same thing goes when it comes to blinds. An independent voice with no vested interest in selling me something carries a lot more authority. Here's the cause of my misunderstanding: the link that you posted went straight to your blog's specific discussion of the real-vs-faux question & skipped the page--and I'm assuming there is such a page: if not, there ought to be--that explains that while you install blinds, that don't sell them, and that we can't order them from you. Maybe such a one-line disclaimer at the top of each secondary page would eliminate that uncertainty for people like me, who don't arrive via the main page of your blog, where that's probably all made clear. Please accept my apologies for the confusion, and my error in thinking that you were a manufacturers' rep. Actually, going by your comment today, it sounds like you & I are somewhat in a similar position, and that we offer similar sorts of service: that is, what we have to sell is not product, but expertise. Some decorators--including those shop-at-home people--offer "free" consultations, but that just means their actual costs (and, face it, none of us can afford to work for free) are hidden in jacked-up prices for the products they sell: in your case, blinds & curtains, in my case, those things as well as to-the-trade accent pieces & gussied-up throw pillows made out of discontinued fabric samples. I don't sell that stuff. All I've got to offer are my taste, my eye, my knowledge, my experience & my ability to put all the pieces together to help people create a good-looking room. Makes it much easier at inventory time. Likewise, it's probably easier for to to sell your expertise than it would be to always be dusting samples of different manufacturers' Venetian blinds. Best wishes for your own continued success. M.]

The curtains look great! There are two things, small details, that I would change. I would pull the top of each drape toward the center just a bit more, so that the drapes swag from the center window side of the divide, rather than the side window side. I think you will get a softer drape. Second, I would either get a more decorative tieback holder for each side and move them in a bit more toward the window, or put the hook right behind the outside edge of the drape, so that they are not pulled back so tightly. You want the outside edge of the drapery to hang straight down, not be pulled toward the tieback holder, and again you will get a bit more fullness and softness from the drapery that way. As for your pretty vase, that should really be displayed empty, I think. I would look for a piece for the center of the table that picks up on the antique brass color of the nailheads on the chair, then fill that with natural grasses and dried pods, as well as some things that pull out a bit of the plum color in the chairs as accent like dried hydrangea and artichokes.

Though you want a cohesive look, it doesn't have to be all one or the other. You need to think about what your needs are for each room - privacy, room darkening, decorative, etc. What is the style of your home and your decor - sleek and modern, traditional? Depending on the style (IMHO) homes with only hard treatments (shutters, blinds, etc.) look somewhat unfinished. Drapes and even roman shades provide softness and color (if wanted) when there are all hard surfaces. Just by looking at your pictures, my first recommendations would be traversing drapes on the sliders and roman shades, woven woods or silhouettes on the other windows. You need to take a hard look at your budget. Window treatments aren't inexpensive.