Help! Window coverings.....

[dyna]

I need new drapes, blinds something that is reasonably cheap yet will be some what energy efficent block heat an cold.

I have a total of 6 windows very close together all along front of house. Total of about 20 ft wide inside house it's my dining an living area part of house. the windows are like 6ft tall. We are talking a lot of space to cover here.

Right now I have pinch pleated drapes with pinch pleated sheers under them 2 sets of 1 way draw rods actually 4sets as the sheers are also on a draw rod along with the drapes.

The sheers seems to be in good shape the drapes tho are old an thin not insulating at all. I could keep the sheers but the drapes needs to go.

I could also replace everything rods an everything if it's cheaper to do so but with WHAT?

I hate the curtains no draw rod method, DH has a hard time figuring out blinds mini an vertical.

OHHHHHH an the windows face west so need to be fade resistant to the late evening FL sun.

 

[HM]

I have some tall windows that I bought drapes for at Walmart.com. I found some that said they helped insulate and came in solid colors. Bought a set of four for our family room and then another set of four later for our bonus room once we decided the first set looked good and worked well. I spent about $100 each time.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Not super budget but a good buy. We got 2" blinds to replace old vertical blinds about 2 1/2 years ago. We got 7 windows measured and installed for about $800. They are all cordless - push them up or pull them down from the bottom panel. Even my toddler can do it! They really cut down on the heat coming in our south facing windows, which are about 7 ft tall! We had to wait for a good sale at lowes, but it was a great purchase for us.

 

[quikah]

The cheapest option will be to just replace the drapes with a new set. just go to BBB or JCP or ?? and see if any of the premade ones will fit. If you need to get custom sized ones the price is going to go up. Get them with blackout liners to improve the insulation.

For blinds, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot to look at their displays, see if there is anything you like. There are a LOT of options for blinds so best to just go look at the displays. This is going to be a more expensive option.

Vertical and mini/regular blinds aren't going to give very good insulation.

Cellular blinds can give good insulation if you get double or triple celled blinds. I don't like the look though for very large windows.

Another option would be roman shades, you can get them insulated. They look pretty good IMO.