If there’s one thing that we can count on like clockwork, it’s a flurry of curtain & blind-related questions in our inbox each and every day: where should I put curtains? where can I find good curtains? how do I hang curtains? So we’re here to answer a slew of them in one fell swoop. Hold onto your hats people, this could get crazy.
Q: What is your general philosophy on window treatments?
A: We believe that curtains and blinds can make for the biggest change in a room next to paint. They’re hugely important for a major makeover, and can add height, drama, breezy ambiance, softness, and even a punch of color to any space- and we definitely encourage everyone to give them a spin! We’re generally not big fans of valances, but we love the floor length curtain and blind combination and we always hang them “high and wide” as we say so often.
This means that we like hanging outside mounted bamboo blinds or roman shades a few inches below the ceiling to “cheat” a window up, and create the effect that it’s much taller and grander than it really is. Then hanging a curtain rod at the same level as the blinds, but extending the rod about 18″ wider than the window on both sides creates the look of a much wider window and allows the curtain panels to hang in front of the wall instead of encroaching on the window and blocking lots of much-needed light. When in doubt, go high and wide- it’ll make your ceilings feel taller, your room feel brighter, and your windows look HUGE!
Q: Where Do You Shop For Affordable Curtains?
A: Ikea, Target, Walmart, West Elm, JC Penney, and Bed Bath & Beyond are all great places to turn to when you’re hunting for curtains. Here are our ultimate favorites hanging on our living room window above (Ikea Vivan panels that are oh so cheap and classic- plus they come in two different lengths and have no-sew iron-on hem tape for easy installation that looks crisp and custom).
Q: How Do You Find Blinds Long Enough For Large Windows?
A: Here’s the secret: you can actually use two bamboo blinds hung next to each other to create the look of one for about a tenth of the price of a long custom blind! In fact, in our very own living room (pictured above) those are actually just two super cheap bamboo blinds snagged at Walmart and hung right next to each other (thanks to the textured bamboo material, no one’s the wiser). Beyond checking your local Walmart for a bunch of cheap bamboo blinds in many sizes, you can also try Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and even JC Penney for similar options.
Q: Where Can I Find Affordable Curtains For My Super Tall Ceilings (11 feet)?
A: For your curtain sitch in the room with the 11′ ceilings (what an awesome problem to have!) we’d suggest just hanging the longer Vivan curtains from Ikea (118′ long) since they’ll add a great amount of height and softness without needing to go all the way to the top of your 11′ walls (and they’re deliciously cheap to boot).
Q: How Should I Treat Curtains For 3 Windows Along One Wall With Space In Between?
A: Definitely go with one long rod. It will look seamless and less visually broken up… and it might even create the look of one big window instead of three smaller ones next to each other. We know that JC Penney sells curtain rods and extender pieces that can stretch those rods far beyond 12′ which should solve your problem on the double. For a visual, check out Blayne’s living room makeover that we helped her with a few month’s back. You can see how adding curtain panels where there are slivers of wall creates a breezy effect and makes smaller side-by-side windows look like one big wall of glass (and you can see how she cheated them about a foot and a half higher than the window and it looks great):
Q: What Window Treatments Should I Hang In My Bay Window?
A: Just do what we suggested for one our lovely readers (great job Nichole!). She removed her old swagged valance…
…and used a bay window curtain rod (available at Smith & Noble and JC Penney- or you can use three regular rods and remove the finials on the ends that meet to create the look of one seamless rod) to follow the contour of the bay window and hung some breezy curtains for softness along with inside mounted 2″ blinds for privacy.
Isn’t this window transformation astounding?! That’s the power of curtains, people!
Q: How Can I Use Curtains To Make A Curtain That’s Off Center Look More Symmetrical?
A: We’d totally vote for cheating the curtains over a bit for the appearance of a more balanced window. Once the panels are in place no one will know where the wall ends and the window begins! We actually cheated the heck out of our living room window and even the bedroom window with long floor length curtains (since they’re both not centered) and it adds a lot more balance and symmetry to each room.
Q: I already have inside mount blinds. Can I still hang curtains high & wide?
A: We definitely think the curtain panels would still look lovely hung high and wide with white wood blinds, but instead of hanging them right at the ceiling height, you’ll want to mount the rod about 6″ above the window so they’re cheated a bit higher but they still have a visual relationship with the blinds below. Almost everyone cheats their curtains at least 6″ above their windows these days, just because hanging the rod right at the top of the window can look oddly invasive and heavy… it needs a little air to breathe! And the bonus height and drama that it brings is the icing on the cake. Since a picture’s worth a thousand words, here’s another room makeover that we whipped up a while back to show just how lovely inside mount white wood blinds can look with curtains hung about 6″ above the top of the window:
Q: How Do You Keep Ikea White Curtains Clean?
A: With a dog and countless home improvement projects going on at all times, it’s safe to say that white curtains can be just as easy to maintain as any other color (our living room ones even survived a nearby kitchen remodel). We like to wash our Ikea curtains before we hang them so they’re pre-shrunk (in case we need to launder them to refresh them once a season, we don’t have to worry that they’ll shrink up and look like highwaters). Then it’s just about tossing them in the wash a few times a year to keep them looking bright. A lot of moms even tell us that white is their favorite upholstery color since it can be bleached or oxycleaned and always looks crisp and fresh.
Q: What Do You Do For Window Coverings In A Bathroom?
A: Both of our bathroom windows are blissfully bare. We’re lucky that they each overlook the backyard (so privacy isn’t an issue), but we like the look of shades, blinds, or even frosted window film or spray. There are lots of options for the bathroom, so as long as you don’t go with floor length curtains you’ll be a-ok. Sometimes the best idea is to peruse a shelter magazine or the internet for a bathroom you love and see how they addressed the windows and follow their lead. Inspiration is everywhere!
Q: What Do You Do About Privacy With Your Blind / Curtain Combo?
A: We actually never lower the bamboo blinds or close the curtains for privacy (we have a good amount of space between the houses in our neighborhood and we hang out in the den at night, which isn’t visible from the street (it’s behind that front fireplace that you see in our header- so there’s no front window to watch The John & Sherry Show from the street).
That being said, we do have those cheap-o white inside-mount roller shades in the bedrooms to block the light at night. The great thing is that they tuck right under our higher-mounted roman shades so no one’s the wiser that they even exist when they’re up. Anything from an interior mounted hidden roller shade to some pull-up 2″ blinds are perfect to use for privacy (since you can pull them up and “hide them” behind your bamboo blinds or roman shades when they’re not in use).
Q: What Curtain Length Do I Use On 96″ French Doors?
A: Good news! The Ikea curtains are great because they come with iron-on hem tape (no sewing, just fold the curtains where you wish they’d stop and iron the hem tape onto the bottom for an instant no-sew hem). But even though they’re easy to hem, it’s even easier to just hang those 98″ panels above your transom (wash them before you hang ‘em to pre-shrink them to make sure they don’t look too short for your perfectly mounted rod!). It’ll look great. And if you just wanted to mess around with the hem tape for fun, you could always get the 118″ curtains and hang them about 6″ above your transom for a bit more breathing room and height (and then just break out that iron, baby!).
Q: What Color Or Finish Curtain Rod To You Prefer?
A: We usually like oil-rubbed bronze or black rods best for our home (they feel classic without drawing a lot of attention to themselves), but chrome rods can look amazing and become more of a modern touch in contemporary rooms (especially with grommeted curtains). White rods can definitely work in certain situations but we find that thin white metal rods can feel a bit too dainty (you want your rods to be understated but not to look too flimsy for the long floor-length curtains they’re supporting). There are tons of gorgeous options out there though (our den ones, pictured below, are from Target), so it’s really just a matter of personal preference!
Q: Would It Look Weird To Have Different Height Curtains On On Wall? We Have A Sliding Glass Door Next To Windows…
A: I’d use the blinds and the curtains on both the windows and the sliding glass door for instant cohesion and balance. I’d also go out of my way to hang curtains at the same level (cheat one set higher so they look more symmetrical and balanced). Voila: height, softness and elegance to spare.
Q: What would you guys suggest for windows that have vertical blinds that can’t be removed (we rent)? Also, in a room that has contemporary black furniture, would you suggest white panels or black panels on those windows? Do you match your curtains to the main color of the room decor? Thanks so much!
Q: What About Curtain With Veritcal Blinds? We Rent.
A: When it comes to your curtain debacle, I’d generally steer clear of solid black curtain panels (since they can seem pretty heavy and dark) but something with a pattern that includes some black to tie them into your furnishings would be great (we love these from Ikea with white, black and green stripes). You can also choose to tie your curtains in with the wall color for an expansive and layered look or even with the upholstery on your sofa (say it’s tan, a cream curtain would complement that beautifully without feeling matchy-matchy). And when it comes to you vertical blinds, drawing them to one side and hiding them behind your curtain panels will make them virtually invisible (but they can still be used by pulling them back out when you need them). Similarly, horizontal blinds can be pulled all the way up and obscured behind bamboo blinds or roman shades when they’re not in use. Oh happy day.
Q: I know you guys are crazy about using white curtains for that light and airy look, but can bright saturated curtains work too?
A: They sure can. Check out this kitchen makeover that we helped Carla out with a few weeks back. This is her space before our accessory intervention…
And this is the same space after some paint and a few new accessories (including the vibrant green curtains that really make the space).
Q: Can I Use Blinds Or Curtain On Sliding Glass Doors?
A: Beth actually took our white-curtains-with-bamboo-blinds suggestion to heart when it came to her sliders, and here’s the amazing transformation. This is her valanced sliding door before…
… and her light and airy after:
The best part is that if you still want privacy (or are a renter) you can keep your vertical blinds pulled to the side and tucked behind one of the curtain panels to hide them when they’re not in use.
So there you have it. About a million curtain related queries and some lovely eye candy to demonstrate the power of curtains and blinds. Happy hanging everyone. And for more curtain related tips, tutorials and photos, check out our living room’s curtain & blind combination, and our den’s not-naked-anymore windows.
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Just click on this button:
Marlo says
I have a 104″ bay window with two large floating wall units on either side sitting 6″ from ceiling and 20″ off the floor. I was thinking to put the curtain rod level with the top of th wall units and hem the curtain to align with the bottom of the wall unit to make one everything even and uniform. This would be the entire wall which makes me think this is a good choice. There is a baseboard under the window and wall units which also makes me not want to have the panels floor length. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I am going crazy over this decision.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes your plan to have them all look even and uniform sounds great! Good luck!
xo,
s
Melissa Dailey says
H there! We have a 100 year old row home with beautiful window moldings. I have been killing myself trying to figure out what window treatments to do without hiding the moldings and character in the master bedroom. In the living room we just did an inside mount wood blind and it looks great. But in the bedroom i want a softer feel. Plus it is hard to find wood blinds to fit the 31″ x 64″ Windows. Any suggestions are much appreciated!
YoungHouseLove says
At Home Depot they sell faux wood blinds that they’ll cut to any size you’d like for free! For a softer feel you could go with white faux wood blinds or even go with an inside mounted bamboo shade or a roman shade made of fabric (a local seamstress could make one to the size of your window or an online window treatment place probably makes custom ones). Good luck!
xo,
s
Alejandra says
I’d like to know what color to paint my kitchen cabinets and the kitchen wall. The wall that extends from the living room to the dining room is kind of a mud or olive green and the other wall in the living room is a turquoise.
Thanks, I appreciate your input.
Alejandra
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe a soft celery color for the walls and a crisp white on the cabinets? That would look so pretty with the other colors going on!
xo,
s
Brittany says
We have recently done some renos on our basement – painting, new flooring. I am looking at buying some curtains but am having difficulty knowing what my best option is. We have 3 typical, small basement windows – approx 3 feet x 1.5 feet. Can I do standard long curtains on such small windows? Thank you.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’d do floor length curtains hung high and wide and then try to place something under the window to ground things (like a low bookcase or dresser between the curtains hanging down for balance). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
KatinaHat says
Great article and lots of good points! If you could help me to get some ideas for the color of curtains in my living room, I would really appreciate it. We have 11′ ceilings, dark blue leather sofas and blue area rug with geometrical design. The walls are white. I am thinking white or taupe color for the curtains. Do you think that would work? or is it too safe? Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, either of those colors would be lovely! White would work with the walls and feel breezy and the taupe would break up the blue in the sofa and rug and add another neutral to temper things! Can’t go wrong.
xo,
s
Robin says
Love these suggestions and the photo examples…THANK YOU!! One quick question…I’d like to get bamboo shades for my kids rooms, but would also like them to use the inside mounted cheap-o roller shades to keep them really dark – so can I not do an inside mounted bamboo shade then? Do I have to mount them on the outside? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, you’d have to outside mount the bamboo shades I think, and then use roller shades inside. It’ll look great though!
xo,
s
Katie Kuras says
I couldn’t decide what curtains to put up in my new rental, so I just went with your go-to solution of bamboo and white sheers and I love it! So simple and breezy and cheap! I got mine from Wayfair.com
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Sounds awesome!
xo,
s
Nadine says
Hi, what sort of window treatments do you recommend for a basement apartment with small windows? Love your blog, you two are very inspirational and creative!
YoungHouseLove says
I would actually do floor length curtains and then put something in the negative space under the window between each panel (ex: a chest or cabinet or bookcase) to add balance and ground the window. Good luck!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Hi There- having trouble choosing the right color bamboo roman shade- do you remember the color of the ones you like at walmart?
Amanda
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry, we don’t! I would just visit the store in person and see which one you like. We generally tried to avoid anything too green, too light, or too dark- so we went for a medium tan color in the middle.
xo,
s
Michelle De Jesus says
What great tips! And the pictures are all very helpful. I love the bamboo blinds/white curtains look and I definitely want to try it in my living room. I’m not quite sure though how to do it…My living room terrace directly faces the ocean. There are two side by side windows right by the terrace door which is mostly glass. Would it be better to hang the bamboo on just the windows or also include it on the terrace door? And should the curtain rod extend over to the terrace door or should there be two separate ones? Thank you so very much for any advice you can provide. :)
YoungHouseLove says
You could do it on the windows and the terrace doors or just the windows – we have seen both work! As for the curtain rod, if you do blinds on both, it can be the same rod, but if you only do blinds on one, use different rods. Good luck!
xo,
s
Vicky Kelly says
I am getting ready to install bamboo flooring in my dining room and will have stained-to-match plantation shutters on the sliding glass doors. I have a dark red/navy blue/cream Persian carpet and need to know what patterns I can use (if any) for the curtains? Otherwise, I’ll stick with solid colors.
Thanks much!
YoungHouseLove says
You can probably use anything! You describe such a classic/neutral space that anything can later in! Just bring things home and see what you like best!
xo,
s
Karin says
My mother in law is giving us a small amount of money to use for window treatments in our home. We live in an early mid-century modern house (late 1940s), and have 3 sliding glass doors in the living room with views that we would like to prioritize for window treatments. Privacy isn’t an issue and there really isn’t wall space to hang curtains wide so I am thinking of installing solar roller shades to preserve the view, but cut the glare and heat of the afternoon sun.
I found some inexpensive solar roller shades that are within the budget, but I don’t know whether to get them so they can be mounted at ceiling height, or if I should mount them just above the window molding. The distance from the ceiling to the top of the window molding is about 15 inches. Does the “high” rule apply when just mounting shades too (no valance)?
The other thing is, that there is enough of a price difference between the two lengths that if we went with the shorter mount, we would also be able to get shades for our bedroom (we have none currently)and our son’s room (he has some, but we’ve discovered the hard way that he needs blackout shades). I don’t want that to be the deciding factor for the height of the living room shades, but it is a factor if everything else is equal.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I’d go with the shorter mount! It’ll look great and you’ll get to do more windows!
xo,
s
Chris says
The windows in my living room are on 3 seperate walls like a bay window. I want to use your idea for one rod for the curtains, but I need some kind of privacy and the middle window has glass work at the top that I don’t want to cover with shades or blinds. Any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
They sell shades that come up from the bottom (so that would leave the glass work at the top exposed) so maybe look into those?
xo,
s
Anna says
Thanks for all the info! Do you have any thoughts on only hanging one curtain panel vice two. I am thinking about hanging 1 panel on each of my dining room windows and gathering them on opposite sides. The windows are not on the same wall.
YoungHouseLove says
I would give it a try and see how it looks. If it’s great, leave it. And if it looks off to you, just add two more panels to even things out. Good luck!
xo,
s
Anna says
Thanks! I will try it and see how it goes. Also, not related, but where did you get your couch that is in the first picture?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s by Rowe from a local sofa dealer. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Anna says
Okay last question, I promise. I have a tripple window similar to the one in the first picture, but I have white plantation blinds that are inside mount blinds. Will it look strange to have my curtains hanging just like the ones in the picture if the shades dont go all the way up to the curtain rod?
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’ll look great! We see windows like that in places like Pottery Barn catalogs and it’s really nice!
xo,
s
Kristina says
Love your Blog! Thank you so much for it! We just moved into our first home and I’m having a heck of time with living room window treatments. We have one Bay Window and one smaller regular one-about 3 ft wide by 5-6 ft long; I SOOO want to do the wood blinds with panels on the side but the problem is the window casing on the smaller window isnt deep enough to mount them inside so I would have to mount the blinds outside. Wouldnt that “puff” the panels out some-(not being able for them to flow/hang freely at the top where the headrail of the blind would be) Is there any way around that or how do you think that would look? Or should I just go with something else?
YoungHouseLove says
It’ll look great! We outside mount blinds with panels all the time since curtain rods extend from the wall so they still flow nicely. I would just try it and see how it goes!
xo,
s
Jo Steep says
So glad I found your sight as I have been having curtain dilemas for years. You have already helped with some of those. Something I’m still not sure of is how to deal with a bay window that is around a jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom. At the moment there are wooden shutters on the bottom half for privacy but no curtains. Could you give me some suggestions please!
YoungHouseLove says
In a bathroom I love frosting film. It’s clean and bright and lets in light while leaving things private. Home Depot sells rolls of it and we have tutorials on how to apply it on our Projects page.
xo,
s
deeps says
Hi guys.. found some really helpful information here. I just moved into a cathedral cieling living space. I have two 60″*60″ [60 inches by 60 inches ] windows on one side of the wall. was trying to decide if i should do blinds or curtains. I love the clean modern look of the 2″ blinds. my wall color is white and was thinking of keep the blinds in white too. what am confused is if i should blinds on the windows or only for the bottom window as the second window is almost 10 feet above ground. Please advice what you guys do …
YoungHouseLove says
I would do it in stages and see what you like. Maybe first just do the bottom window as you mention and if something looks like it’s missing add them to the top one.
xo,
s
deepak says
Thanks.. the other question i had is.. i currently have sort of beige carpet and white paint on the walls. I prefer light colors on the walland may get light gray/silver but am definitely going to get hardwood floors as soon as i have some money. what do you think would be a better color for the blinds? Keep them in white? or keep them in the darker shade of the wood which i will be getting the hardwood floors in ?
YoungHouseLove says
You can’t go wrong either way! They can both look so pretty! For a ligther and airier look go with white and for a textured and beachy/exotic look, go for the wood blinds. Good luck!
xo,
s
Kady says
In my living room, I have a big picture window with a small window on each size making one biiiiig window. Then I have about 5 ft of space and a regular size window. Our couch separates the windows but they are still in 1 room! I’m looking for suggestions on what to do! Any help!?
YoungHouseLove says
I would use one rod across the picture window and the small windows on either side of it with floor length curtains (and bamboo or faux wood blinds if you’d like to layer those in). Then just use the same treatment on the regular window that’s 5′ away (its own rod and curtains and blinds if you’d like). Good luck!
xo
s
Jessica@CapeofDreams says
I hope that you do not mind that I linked this post on my blog http://capeofdreams.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/new-blinds/
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks!
xo
s
Powerpuff says
I found your website 2 years ago trying to find out how to hang curtains (never had curtains before, only blinds in many rental apartments). So thank you for the advice on this post! Since then I’ve read all your posts from the beginning and am still reading every day :) Can’t wait for the book and the book tour schedule!
Kendra says
You may have already answered this in the above posts so I apologize if I am asking the same question, but what are/were your thoughts on using the bamboo blinds? My only hesitation about it, is that with regular blinds (we have the faux wood two inch size ones) it at least covers some of the window and you can still peek through them, but with the bamboo, you either have to have them wide open and everyone can see inside, or closed and not seeing ANYthing out of the window. I do love the way they look though! Maybe good for a bathroom window?
YoungHouseLove says
OH yes, we have faux wood white blinds in many rooms of this house and love them, so they work well too. The texture of bamboo blinds is nice sometimes too, so I like your idea for a bathroom. We had one in our first house’s bathroom and it added a really nice natural feel.
xo
s
Whitney says
Hey, I am a huge fan of you guys! I am in college and I live in an apartment with vertical blinds that can’t be removed. I was going to just hang panels above them, but they stick so far out from the wall I can’t seem to find brackets big enough so that the rod will be far enough out. Do you have any suggestions? I thought about screwing in wood and then putting the brackets in them, but I’m not sure if the curtain panels would cover it up.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Using little blocks of wood to make them sit further apart from the wall would be awesome! Hope it works!
xo
s
Erica says
Hi guys!
Love your stuff! In looking through your current house pics, I’ve noticed you do not have any roman shades on your windows. Why did ya ditch them?
YoungHouseLove says
We love them and actually want to add them (and bamboo shades back). We just have been all over the place here, so someday we’ll get there!
xo
s
Paola says
Hi!
My husband and I bought our first house earlier this year and we are loving making it our own. I didn’t make it through all the comments, so I don’t know if you’ve addressed this already, but our house has radiators under the windows, and we’ve read all over that curtains shouldn’t cover the radiators. Also, we live in Boston where you want your curtains to help with heat loss, do you have any suggestions? I hope to meet you guys at the book signing!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe lined roman shades would be the best so they can keep the warmth in when they’re down and not hang over the radiators?
xo
s
Kady says
I have another question! I am leaning towards the 2″ faux blinds in my living room for privacy reasons. But I want to do the high and wide. So in your opinion, would it look funny to have the curtains high and wide without the bamboo covering the empty space between curtains and the top of the windows? I noticed you did it in the pictures above of the bay window and window behind your bed but would you do that if you had the privacy issues? My picture window is about 6″-8″ from the celing.
YoungHouseLove says
I have seen it a bunch without the blinds covering it and it still looks great!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Fantastic inspiration – thank you! What do you think about the bay window curtains for an eat-in kitchen? Do you think it’d cramp things too much? (The eat-in area is about 8.5 feet wide).
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds pretty! I’d give it a try!
xo,
s
Mandy says
I was really hoping to do the shades and floor-length sheer white curtains, but we have baseboard heaters all around. Also, the windows are huge, nearly 60″ wide, and on one wall there are three right in a row! I think a valance would look silly whether it outlined each of the three or made it look like one humongous window. The windows are right up against the ceiling, too, so no cheating for me. I am at a loss! Starting to think NO curtains of any type might be best. This is a “sun” room. Do you have any advice? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, what about pretty roman shades? They look pretty in sunrooms with lots of windows and baseboard heaters.
xo
s
Joeline says
First of all, I love reading your advice! Great stuff.
I have a dilemma. We moved into this house about a yr ago, and it contains a’bonus’ room that we love and use as our livingroom. It has cathedral ceilings and a lot of light because of all the windows. My problem is, in the winter, it’s FREEZING in here. I mean, you can feel a breeze if you put your hand to the window. The windows don’t have storm windows and we don’t have the money to invest in those right now, so I’m hoping curtains can do the trick. ? I don’t want to jeopardize the lighting or modern feel in this room. I don’t know what to do here.
There are also a few things possibly adding complications:
1- I can’t do floor length curtains because there are 8″ high floorboard radiators around the entire room and I think that creates a fire hazard with curtains too close.
2- there are 2 levels of windows. The bottom windows are 70″ high starting around 2 feet above the floor. The top windows are about 10 ft from the floor and are only about 2.5 ft high. I don’t want to cover the upper windows, but thought I should mention they are about 15-18 from the tops of the ‘bottom’ windows.
3- Each window is about 19″ wide and 70″ high, but there are grouped together with only 2 inches between them. So one set is 5 windows totaling 108″ wide. The other is 3 windows, totaling 60″ wide.
Can you help me with this at all??
(I can email you a picture of the room if you’d like, but I don’t have a website that I can just link to)
Freezingly yours,
Joeline
Thanks so much
YoungHouseLove says
I would totally do fabric roman shades. They’ll unify everything and won’t interfere with the baseboards. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Kristin says
I have ivory blinds and neutral walls (medium chocolate tones). We chose ivory blinds when we painted to match the trim, due to the fact that our walls and trim were all ivory upon moving in, and painting the trim & ceiling white along with the walls in neutral tones was too expensive for a 3000+ square foot home. I want to brighten the room (open floor plan, dark granite countertops) up by adding floor length (108″) white curtains, but I am afraid they will make the blinds look dingy. I have seen white blinds with ivory curtains, but not the reverse. Our windows have the 3 quarter length blinds so light can shine through at the top. Any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
I would totally try them and just see how it works! White curtains could layer in nicely and look nice and breezy and they’re so cheap at Ikea (and returnable if you don’t like them). If not, I’d go for ivory curtains and you’ll be all set :)
xo
s
Jennifer says
Great job here! I love the combination of bamboo style blinds with the white curtains. It’s a style I haven’t considered combining before but now I’m not sure why.
Lisa says
I love the idea about covering the vertical blinds with curtains. I have had a hard time coming up with ideas for covering our sliding glass doors, and admittedly, I hate the look of the vertical blinds – but they seem to be a necessary evil. Using the curtains to hide them when they are pulled open is a great idea! Thanks!
Rosh says
Hey.. In our living room, we’ve got a big window overlooking the balcony, and on the same wall but with some space between it, we’ve got a door that goes into the same balcony. Its a sliding glass door. Between the window and the door there’s a pillar protruding out which i guess, complicates it a bit. The pillar can’t be removed, its a slab of the building itself. The door isn’t too wide. So how should curtains be selected for such a broken up arrangement? Also, on the other side of the window i mentioned above, is another window, overlooking the street. This window is the dining window. There is about the same space between these 2 windows as there is between the door and the 1st window. Request your help. Thanking you.
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe use roman shades since that pillar sounds like it’s in the way of a rod? Or bamboo blinds? Those are both great options!
xo
s
Rachel says
Blinds.com is a great place to buy blinds, shades & window coverings. You get all of the expertise of a store without the extra cost. They have an extremely helpful over-the-phone customer service team
Kristi says
We bought an older house with character a few months ago and still no photos or curtains up yet (just wooden blinds). I am finally getting to the curtains am struggling. We have a white wooden sliding glass door in our bedroom that is broken into small little glass squares. Would you recommend the bamboo blinds with the curtains, or just curtains? Also we have a long narrow window above our couch (in the family room) that is about 4×8 that I am trying to figure out what to do with. Any help would be awesome! Thank you so much!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
I’d just do curtains! And for the sofa window I’d do the same curtains with bamboo blinds layered in.
xo
s
Christa says
I love your website and all of your decorating advice! It’s been really helpful to me :) I have a few questions and wanted to know if you have any advice.
We are renting a house right now, and don’t have much freedom to paint the walls. So, in our living room, the walls are a light yellow (which isn’t bad), but not the color I would choose. We have a taupe couch and a neutral rug. I would like to bring in some pattern and color with the curtains, but I’m having a hard time figuring out what goes with light yellow… also want some curtains that we can use in our next home, so I don’t want them to be too specific to something going with yellow. Do you have any suggestions?
Also, we have a similar conundrum with our bathroom decor. The bathroom has so much potential, but we are not allowed to paint.. And it’s currently a very bright yellow. (similar to Arles by Annie Sloan but a little brighter). We have white and light blue towels. Do you have any suggestions for a shower curtain that would go well in that space?
Thanks so much for considering my questions!
Christa
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, for the living room I’m leaning towards just saying “breezy white curtains!” and then bring color in with pillows or a rug or items on the coffee table and art. That way they’ll work in any house and look so pretty with soft yellow walls. Same thing for the curtain I think. A nice long waffle weave curtain in white would be so fresh and spa like with color in the towels, art, and the tone that’s already on the wall. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Aura says
Important question: where would you let your curtains fall if you had baseboard heaters? We’re moving to a new place and I’m considering letting them fall to the floor and pulling them out of the way in the winter (we do this around our radiators now), hemming them so that they almost reach the heaters (might look like high waters), or just doing curtains that reach to the window sill (roman shades or something). Or maybe I’m just being obsessive, but I feel like curtains dangling on a heater would be a fire hazzard. Thanks in advance for your advice. P.S. My baby is obsessed with your book- she finds it no matter where I leave it and has already ripped a page out.
YoungHouseLove says
I think the safest bet is roman shades or something else at windowsill level. I think you’re right about something super long being a fire hazard if it touches them and something shortened over them looking like a highwater. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Lindsey says
Hello. We have two windows over the kitchen sink that we are wondering what to do with. Have another full length window in the kitchen that we are trying to coordinate with. Don’t love valances. Any thoughts? Thanks!
love your story!
Lindsey
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe a cafe curtain over the sink and a full length one for the full window? Or a roman shade over the sink and full length curtains on the other window?
xo
s
Nikki Smith says
Hi! I just found this site, and I love all of the ideas! However, I still need help for my large living room window! My living room is a long rectangle with 8′ ceilings. The window has 3 sections (the 2 end windows open, but the middle one is a solid pane), and all together it’s over 12′ wide! We have old vertical blinds hanging now, but I want something newer & lighter. My problem is how do I maintain privacy on a small budget? What can I do so people can’t see in (the house is closer to the street & the windows are so huge it’s easy to see in) both during the day and at night? Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
How about white faux wood blinds from Home Depot for privacy and pretty curtains hung high and wide on a rod for a breezy feeling?
xo,
s
Jodie says
So glad to see this thread is still active!!
I just bought my first house (OMG) six months ago, and am at a loss on how to dress my windows! We have 25-30 windows throughout the house, and the majority of them have wooden shutters on the bottom 1/2 to 2/3rd’s. I love the look, but do NOT love the sunlight coming through across my face before 7am!
I’ve looked at your fake roman shade and the shade you made for Clara’s bathroom, but wasn’t sure if it would look funky with the shutters?? HELP PLEASE!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
I bet it’ll look cute with the shutters. Maybe just pin something together (or even fold it and tape it to get an idea of what it looks like) to be sure you like it?
xo
s
Renee says
Hi, I loved your curtain guidance and was wondering if you could help me with one question. I am doing ceiling to floor white unlined drapes, and would like to add outside mounted woven wood shades right beneath the rod at some point in the future (when my budget allows). I want to make sure the hardware I buy now will accommodate it, so do you usually do an extra deep return so that the drapes extend further from the wall than the blinds and don’t get caught when you open and close them? My options are 3.25″ return and a 6″ return (distance from the rod back to the wall — I am doing a return rod, so no finials…the rod just curves back at a 90 degree angle and attaches to the wall). Any guidance you could provide would be much appreciated! Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
I would check out how deep the blinds you’ll get down the line are and see what return they work with. They might still fit behind a 3.25″ return (a 6″ return is really deep, so I’d only go that route if you have to in order to fit the blinds).
xo
s
Sara says
I know this post is a few years old, but I just came across it! Loving your house and all the renovations you continue to do, I have to ask – we have outermount blinds. We would like to hang curtains for decorative reasons. We are not sure if we should buy rod extenders that go over the mounting for the blinds or keep the rod at normal extension since the panels are not going to be closed. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
YoungHouseLove says
I think either could work (we’ve seen it done both ways and both can look great). In our first house’s living room we did outside mounted bamboo blinds with a curtain rod (both hung at the same high and wide height, lined up exactly – which worked since the curtain rods stuck out further than the blinds, so they all sort of nested). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Amit says
Hi, Can you please advise which color should I choose for my curtains? My wall color is white and the doors and furniture are dark chocolate color. let me know if you need more info
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe something with a subtle color like celery or sage green? Or a soft blue-gray color? Good luck!
xo
s
Michelle says
Hi! I found your sliding glass door info very helpful! But, my apartment is difficult. I can hide the vertical blinds, but about 4 inches to the right of the sliding door, there is a small window. How do i hang curtains for the slider and the little window without it looking weird? Please help!
YoungHouseLove says
How about extending the rod past the window and adding an extra panel on the rod, so one can go to the right of the window, and then between the window and the slider and then on the other side of the slider? Or you can do curtains just around the slider and do a nice roman shade or bamboo blind on the small window.
xo
s
Ashley says
Hi! I came across your article and I’m in awe of the info on it. I have a situation in our master bedroom that I haven’t seen posted yet, and I would love some help. We are new homeowners and are new to choosing and placing window coverings of our own.
Our master bedroom has 7 windows – 6 windows in the great area of the master and 1 window in the hallway leading into the great area. I’m only looking at covering the 6 windows in the great area. All of the windows are covered with nice white wood blinds so the room is great for light (even with the blinds shut).
Of the 6 windows there are 3 different sizes. One is squared and is niched in the middle of the wall. On either side of that there are 2 smaller vertical windows that are not niched. There are 2 smaller horizontal windows on either sides of the room, that are identical size to the vertical ones just horizontal. To add something else into the mix, our master bedroom has a 10′ tray ceiling centering the room. It’s quite a grand room from all of the masters I’ve ever seen.
We live in a city that gets winter climate and can sometimes be harsh. With fall here and winter a couple month away, our master already feels cooler than the rest of the house (feels like our air conditioning is running). I don’t want to lose heat in the winter so I would like to put curtains/drapes up as soon as possible, which means likely before buying a bedroom suite – since I haven’t found anything that I can decide on just yet. I’m unsure of the type and color of rods to buy, but I want something that will go with everything for when we do buy a bedroom suite.
Is there any advice or direction you can give me with rod choice for color, as well as how high/wide to place the rod and hang the curtains/drapes and how long for the different sized windows. Any help is greatly appreciated. :)
Ashley :)
YoungHouseLove says
I would use oil-rubbed bronze curtain rods just because they’re my favorite, but white or black or silver can work too! It’s all about what you like best. As for the windows, I would try to hang all of the rods at the same height if possible, so maybe hang the one on the highest window first and keep the rest of them at that height too so it feels balanced? As for how wide, certain things might be in way, so just go as wide as you can (up to around 12-18″ when there’s room) but know that in tight areas and corners you don’t need that much space. Good luck Ashley!
xo
s
Janel says
I refer back to this post all the time! (And I have Vivan panels in multiple rooms of my new house!) One thing I’ve run into in my new house that has me stumped: I have a family room with 3 sets of windows. 2 sets of the windows are behind a sofa, but one set is above a row of book shelves that extend beyond the window on both sides. How do I hang drapes on the windows above the shelves? Should I just pull the shelves out a few inches and hang the drapes behind (which is what I do with the sofa) or should I just not hang drapes on those windows (I think that would look weird)? I’d love to know what your approach would be. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I would try hanging them if you think they’ll look weird without and just pull them out a bit. Good luck Janel!
xo
s
Julie says
We have a large 8 ft sliding glass door and there is a window directly beside it. I want to put curtains around the sliding glass door….but what about the window? Thank you for the help. Love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
I would do curtains around the window and the doors, it’ll just read like some softness around all the glass and sort of look like a wall of windows.
xo
s
KellyAnne Wright says
I love all of these suggestions. They really are very helpful and I totally agree with your opinions. I was especially interested in your response to the sliding door issue. We also have sliding patio window/doors and I’d like to do curtains there for when we want privacy. However, there is a horizontal foot tall additional window across the top. How would you tackle that? Would you cover it with the curtains too or hang the curtains lower?
It’s kind of like what is pictured here, only it’s one long window (not divided) and there is more space to the ceiling and on either side.
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/413682/Dimensions-of-clerestory-windows-above-the
YoungHouseLove says
I would leave that small window uncovered and hang the curtain rod at the height of the sliding door, so there’s some nice light that can come through there all the time, but it won’t compromise privacy since it’s so high!
xo
s
Sam says
Ok so after reading all this I was totally set and inspired to tackle the living and dining room windows in my home. Then I realized while I love the idea of hanging high and wide and this would totally work in my living room 9 ft ceiling, my adjoining dining room windows unfortunately have a 12″ high 12″ deep bulkhead above them soooooo. F. Suggestions? Can I just ignore the height difference? I feel as though the living room windows will look ridiculous with curtains hung low to match the dining room height I have no choice about.
YoungHouseLove says
I would try ignoring the height difference and just seeing how they look. Hopefully when everything layers in (art, furniture, rug, accessories, etc) it’ll look awesome!
xo
s