Window Coverings

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Looking for opinions on affordable, but durable and nice looking window coverings. We have a LOT of windows in our house. They are all oversized (72" tall) and the old owners bought cheap wooden blinds that are breaking because they didn't take the extra slats off.

Our preferred window cover is cordless honeycomb blinds. But that is a budget buster, and we need to start replacing the blinds now versus later.

So with a toddler and 2 nosy cats who have to see what is behind the curtain, what type of window covering do you recommend, and where is an affordable place to get them from?

 

[barkley]

have you researched to see if there are any inexpensive versions of the honeycomb style? I ask b/c we had them in our prior home (as well as one of the sets of vertical blinds on a sliding glass door) and they are the only window coverings both cats and the then toddler kiddos left alone (I suspect because they were snug to the window cat couldn't get behind, and there was no enticing curtain rod for them to climb up and do 'hire wire' walking across).
the vertical blinds are a never ending battle with toddlers-and they break/bend pretty easily (as well as the little clips that hold them).

we didn't have the cordless-so we just rolled up the cord and put it at the top well out of reach/attraction to the kids/cats. we got ours through 3 days blinds-and I highly recommend with whomever you get blinds-if they offer guaranteed fit for measuring services you pay the $10 or $15 per window to have it done (one of our windows was not visibly off but after they measured it and came back to install the blinds they realized it was a bit wider at the top so they had to eat the cost of making a new blind).

our windows don't lend themselves to blinds now, so in the interest of keeping my sanity I've just gone with inexpensive curtains from jc penny. we need heavier ones b/c during the summer it's light from about 4:45 am until after 9 at night (and it's blinding in a couple of eastern facing rooms when the sun rises). they look o.k., serve the purpose-and the fabric masks the kitten clawing fairly well (and since they were cheap I don't stress over it).

 

[Gracie09]

We got ours a jcpenney. Our girls have roman shades that were inexpensive because they were on sale. The rest of the house has faux wood blinds (again on sale). They look nice. Were easy to install and inexpensive

 

[havaneselover]

I used blinds.com last year. I felt for the price, the quality was great. They also have coupons which I used. I went with faux wood blinds. Never thought I would but I liked them better than the wood.

In the past I've sunk major money into window treatments (smith and noble wood shutters) which I've loved but never got any of the money back when I sold the houses.

 

[LJSquishy]

We have white faux wood blinds. I ordered them from mybeautifulblinds.com

We do have one insulated blackout cellular honeycomb shade in our bedroom that is cordless and I love it except for the fact that the window is too tall (almost 8' tall, goes almost to the standard ceiling) and I can't raise it all of the way. It wasn't cheap, though.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I don't know whether they fit your taste and house style, but bamboo Roman shades are very affordable. The house we moved from recently had tons of windows and the owners had installed the bamboo shades on all sizes of windows and I liked the look (Mediterranean style home). They were easy for the kids to pull up and down, and very easy to quickly vacuum every now and then (nothing like the work of keeping blinds clean!)

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I put plantation shutters in 2 or our bedrooms which the windows are on the front of the house (have a ranch style house). I love them. So easy to clean. The wooden blinds the former owners had were horrible. I had to really shop around. I also like Country Curtains. A little pricey on some things but they do have good sales.