Window Treatment Help!!!! ** PIC ADDED **

[GJM]

We just moved into a brand new house. I don't know what to do with my windows and need help!

They are 3 windows with about 10" between each window and then about 3" with a door that leads to the screended porch.

We have 2" wooden plantation blinds on the windows - my DH thinks we should leave it because we look out onto a lake -

It just looks so bare I don't know if I should put up sheer panels - a valance or just leave it. I HATE anything to do with window treatments! It took me forever to get curtains up in our old house.

HELP Please!

 

[CEDmom]

I have no advice for you but I do feel your pain. In June we will have been in our brand new house 1 year and we still have paper blinds on the windows . I know what I want (plantation shutters) but I really can't spend that kind of $$$$ so I just haven't made it a priority to look for anything else.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have no advice for you but I do feel your pain. In June we will have been in our brand new house 1 year and we still have paper blinds on the windows . I know what I want (plantation shutters) but I really can't spend that kind of $$$$ so I just haven't made it a priority to look for anything else.

What about a valance that goes across the top of the entire thing? OOPS meant for the OP.

 

[MareQ]

I have no advice for you but I do feel your pain. In June we will have been in our brand new house 1 year and we still have paper blinds on the windows . I know what I want (plantation shutters) but I really can't spend that kind of $$$$ so I just haven't made it a priority to look for anything else.

We were here 5 years last month - I have ONE ROOM with curtains - our bedroom - the kids have roll down shades - other than that I have NOTHING!

I have commitment issues. Plus we have nice big windows and I don't want to block the view.

OP - I have a hard time "seeing" stuff in my head - do you have a picture of the wall you are talking about??

 

[GJM]

I did take a picture and will try and post it. I just plain stick at window treatments -

Trust me my blinds wouldn't be up either except my DFIL came up that weekend we moved and put them all up for me plus some extra shelves in my closets. If it was up to my DH I would have nothing up or it would be a mess!

 

[golfgal]

I have custom valances on most of our windows. They do finish off a room. At first I wasn't going to put more then just blinds up but those weren't quite right either. THe nice thing about the valances is that while they dress up a room/window, they don't block your view of anything.

 

[CEDmom]

I did take a picture and will try and post it. I just plain stick at window treatments -

Trust me my blinds wouldn't be up either except my DFIL came up that weekend we moved and put them all up for me plus some extra shelves in my closets. If it was up to my DH I would have nothing up or it would be a mess!

Can I borrow your DFIL ? You're not too far from me.

 

[GJM]

Well I am actually in SC now & DFIL lives in FL!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I never have window treatments! I see them in other people's houses and they look great, but I can't seem to get the job done here.

If you have plantation shutters, I'd leave those alone, though. Those are pretty enough to stand alone.

Trust me, after awhile, you're going to forget you ever wanted treatments! You'll get so used to seeing them bare, that you'll forget that you didn't like it!

 

[GJM]

Another question - if I was to do window treatments should I do one rod going across or a rod for each window?

I wish I could just have someone come in and do all this for me! Is it expensive?

 

[golfgal]

Boy, that is a tough set up to figure out what to do. I wouldn't put a valance over the door-it will always get in the way when you shut the door. With so little room between the door and the last window you really can't put something up that goes past the frame of that window either. One thing you could do is get a pole that goes across all three windows and put a panel between the each window and the wall and one between the window and the wall on the left if there is room.

What I might do in your situation is hang some colorful prints or a long iron scroll type piece across the top of the windows/door if you want to add some color there otherwise I would put in a 1/2 round window treatment in each window that is mounted where the blinds are. It would cut your view some but not much.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I would suggest against doing one rod that goes all the way across, it'll look super cheap. Break them up and it will really make each window pop. My suggestion is to do an upholstered cornice board valance with stationary side panels in an accent fabric pattern over each window. Absolutely nothing over the door. You can easily get a local drapery shop to do the work for you and I'd say the cost would be somewhere around $100-$150 per linear foot, including installation. Just don't be afraid to negotiate. IMO, not a bad price for an important room in your home. Oh, and for the record, I do this kind of stuff for a living, only on a commercial level (hospitals/hotels). Don't get overwhelmed by the process. It's supposed to be fun!

 

[golfgal]

Ok, I did a quick search and not that I am advocating this for your room but something this SHAPE

One section of this shape of valance in each window, not the whole thing with the panels, etc.

 

[golfgal]

I would suggest against doing one rod that goes all the way across, it'll look super cheap. Break them up and it will really make each window pop. My suggestion is to do an upholstered cornice board valance with stationary side panels in an accent fabric pattern over each window. Absolutely nothing over the door. You can easily get a local drapery shop to do the work for you and I'd say the cost would be somewhere around $100-$150 per linear foot, including installation. Just don't be afraid to negotiate. IMO, not a bad price for an important room in your home. Oh, and for the record, I do this kind of stuff for a living, only on a commercial level (hospitals/hotels). Don't get overwhelmed by the process. It's supposed to be fun!

Is there room between the last window and the door to do that though?

 

[MareQ]

Ok I would go with 3 rods and a valance over each window - I wouldn't do anything with the door.

I would avoid decorative rods as it will interfere with the door and look weird - so get those white "wrap around' rods and get a nice valance that matches yoru colors and then it will look finished off.

 

[DawnCt1]

Another question - if I was to do window treatments should I do one rod going across or a rod for each window?

I wish I could just have someone come in and do all this for me! Is it expensive?

Now that I have seen them, I think I would do separate treatments for each window and not include the door. I think valances would be nice. I didn't have window treatments for years and then I made my own. It was easier than I imagined.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Is there room between the last window and the door to do that though?

Absolutely. You use the stationary side panel to hide the fact that you're shorting the window on the door side. No one looking at it would know the difference. That's one of the great things about window treatments. You can hide all sorts of imperfections or weird dimensions under them, as long as it looks balanced to the eye.

 

[golfgal]

Absolutely. You use the stationary side panel to hide the fact that you're shorting the window on the door side. No one looking at it would know the difference. That's one of the great things about window treatments. You can hide all sorts of imperfections or weird dimensions under them, as long as it looks balanced to the eye.

Where would you mount the cornice--above the window? The bottom of the cornice would have to be at the top of the window trim for that to work and then you still have the issue of the door and the panel getting shut in the door all the time.

 

[brasswillow]

I think floor to ceiling panels of fabric between the windows would be really pretty.

You could put the same curtain over the door as well.

Kind of like this:

 

[rie'smom]

You could put a rod over each window and have rings on the curtains. Each curtain when not closed could be pulled into the empty spaces between each window. Get a matching curtain,or in a coordinating color in a size to fit your door (or cut to fit your door).

or a shade with a valance in a matching color:

I have to have a covering over my door. It's a quirk.