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Silly rant: outside mount Roman shades

melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

The relatively new windows in our 60s ranch house don't have trim, just a minimal sill and apron with the rest being drywalled--which appears to be a common CA ranch house design. Our last house was the same, but we had them all trimmed out when they were replaced.
Since I wasn't going to hang curtains here (previous owner had curtains plus old inside mount shades) I went ahead and ordered new Roman shades, outside mount. And I went ahead and ordered them in taller/wider size for drama... not that they are dramatically bigger but they do enhance the otherwise plain windows.
Now that they are here and DH is installing (and I think they look great) he's griping they aren't as functional as the old, janky shades because they are blocking the space above the window and preventing us from hanging something above the window. I think he's referring to storage shelves. Well I agonized for months over the type, style, size of shades and he KNEW it... wasn't that the time to tell me he wanted the space for shelving? Maybe he assumed we were getting inside mount again like the old shades. :-/

Comments (3)

melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
Original Author
4 years ago
shadylady2u
4 years ago
I don't think I've ever seen shelving on top of windows. Usually next to them.

That said, they don't look like they're that high up off the window.
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melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
They aren't that high...maybe 3-4 inches above the windows; 8' ceilings. Still need to install the minimal valance to the top

I googled how to decide between inside or outside mount, and it sounds like inside mount is typically much more common. I thought these turned out nice, mainly needed for privacy. I've seen Roman shades installed right at the ceiling -- looks great but I thought it didn't make a lot of sense for the top-down option.

I think he was imagining a built-in all around the window of the office plus the wall. It's a cool idea; I don't think the shade necessarily prevent that...

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