Curtain/shades/blinds help for wide window! - The DIS Discussion Forums

kellia · 10-06-2009, 07:47 AM

Our living room window is 100 inches wide, about 4 feet tall. It is on the front of the house and we are on a corner in our subdivision where the whole world can see in once it gets dark. We are getting ready to paint the room and need new curtains and blinds. Any tips on where I can find something that will give us some privacy and not cost a fortune?

When we first moved in, I couldn't find anything in our budget, so used vertical blinds for a patio door and had curtains that went to the floor. Our curtain rods are 2 smaller ones that we hooked together in the middle and used a couple extra supports in the center. Didn't look great, but worked. Then, one of my sons broke off a couple of the ends off the slats on the blinds, so I used scissors and chopped the blinds all off so they hit the window sill. That looked better, except they are kind of uneven when they are closed!

So, if anyone has any ideas to make this mess look better and be affordable, I would greatly appreciate it!

Karenj2 · 10-06-2009, 09:42 AM

You don't mention where you live, but I've got to put in a plug for the company I work for - Calico Corners. They sell blinds, shades, drapery & top treatments, so you can coordinate the whole look... You could do blinds/shades for the privacy, then just have a top treatment (swag or cornice board) to "finish" the look. (Or you could do draperies that function (pinch pleats on a decorative traverse rod) and forget about the blinds.

You'll want to keep in mind a few things while looking:
- what style do you want for the room? (formal, casual, modern, traditional, transitional?)
- what is the proportion of the window to the wall? do you want the window to look bigger/taller than it actually is? (then you'd want to place the top treatment a bit higher above the window...)
- When the window treatment is open, do you want to be able to see out the entire window? (you'll need to "stack" the treatment off the sides of the window)

(sorry - I don't even work in one of the stores, but I get excited about the possibilitites!!)

Another place you could try for just blinds is "Blinds to Go" - they're mostly on the east coast, though.

Hoppy · 10-06-2009, 09:43 AM

They now make verticals with slider shades instead of the vertical vanes. Here are some examples from JCP:

Another option would be to use the same type of track system as the verticals, more like what hospitals/doctors use in room. I think if you google "hospital curtain tracks" you'll find it.

Something I did for two weird sized windows (these were small windows) was to take burlap fabric, dip it in liquid starch, apply to the window, and remove excess starch. The remaining starch dries and holds the fabric in place. It allows light in but diffuses everything. You could try it with tissue paper too.

If you use fabric on your 100" window, I'd suggest you divide the window into three sections- possibly 25"; 50"; 25"--instead of dividing the window into two equal sections.

10-06-2009, 07:47 AM	#1
kellia DIS Veteran Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,685	Curtain/shades/blinds help for wide window! Our living room window is 100 inches wide, about 4 feet tall. It is on the front of the house and we are on a corner in our subdivision where the whole world can see in once it gets dark. We are getting ready to paint the room and need new curtains and blinds. Any tips on where I can find something that will give us some privacy and not cost a fortune? When we first moved in, I couldn't find anything in our budget, so used vertical blinds for a patio door and had curtains that went to the floor. Our curtain rods are 2 smaller ones that we hooked together in the middle and used a couple extra supports in the center. Didn't look great, but worked. Then, one of my sons broke off a couple of the ends off the slats on the blinds, so I used scissors and chopped the blinds all off so they hit the window sill. That looked better, except they are kind of uneven when they are closed! So, if anyone has any ideas to make this mess look better and be affordable, I would greatly appreciate it!

10-06-2009, 09:42 AM	#2
Karenj2 Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog! Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Philadelphia suburb Posts: 1,103	You don't mention where you live, but I've got to put in a plug for the company I work for - Calico Corners. They sell blinds, shades, drapery & top treatments, so you can coordinate the whole look... You could do blinds/shades for the privacy, then just have a top treatment (swag or cornice board) to "finish" the look. (Or you could do draperies that function (pinch pleats on a decorative traverse rod) and forget about the blinds. You'll want to keep in mind a few things while looking: - what style do you want for the room? (formal, casual, modern, traditional, transitional?) - what is the proportion of the window to the wall? do you want the window to look bigger/taller than it actually is? (then you'd want to place the top treatment a bit higher above the window...) - When the window treatment is open, do you want to be able to see out the entire window? (you'll need to "stack" the treatment off the sides of the window) (sorry - I don't even work in one of the stores, but I get excited about the possibilitites!!) Another place you could try for just blinds is "Blinds to Go" - they're mostly on the east coast, though. __________________ 03/1983 wdw Polynesian \| 03/1992? wdw Offsite \| 03/1993 wdw Polynesian \| 05/1996 wdw Fort Wilderness Lodge \| 01/2001 wdw Coronado Springs \| 04/2001 dl day trip \| 08/22-29/2002 dcl/wdw \| 2003-2004 in Dec/Jan dl day trips in while visiting BIL in CA \| 9/4-10/2006 wdw Pop Century \| 8/26-9/1, 2007 wdw Pop Century \| 8/24-28/2008 wdw All-Star Sports \| 8/8-15/2009 wdw Beach Club \| 20?? wdw Who knows when we'll be back...

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10-06-2009, 09:43 AM	#3
Hoppy Mouseketeer Join Date: May 2000 Location: Arkansas; South Carolina Posts: 91	They now make verticals with slider shades instead of the vertical vanes. Here are some examples from JCP: Another option would be to use the same type of track system as the verticals, more like what hospitals/doctors use in room. I think if you google "hospital curtain tracks" you'll find it. Something I did for two weird sized windows (these were small windows) was to take burlap fabric, dip it in liquid starch, apply to the window, and remove excess starch. The remaining starch dries and holds the fabric in place. It allows light in but diffuses everything. You could try it with tissue paper too. If you use fabric on your 100" window, I'd suggest you divide the window into three sections- possibly 25"; 50"; 25"--instead of dividing the window into two equal sections.