Curtain Call
Finally! Our living room window limbo is no more. This weekend we actually got around to picking up some bamboo blinds to bridge the gap between the top of the window and the curtain rod. Gotta love making windows look bigger and taller while introducing some texture in the process.
Here’s the w.b.b. (window before blinds) totally begging for something under that rod:
And the finished product thanks to two wood blinds from Wal-mart (for 25 bucks a pop) and John’s manly muscles (free of course):
We actually have the same exact blinds in the den and above the laundry nook in lieu of pricey cabinet doors. We love that we could tie them into yet another space to keep things consistent and create the illusion height. White Ikea floor length curtains flanking these simple wood blinds is absolutely our favorite combination for big picture windows (and one that we often suggest to everyone who will listen) but what say you lovely readers? Think we did our home’s biggest window proud?
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Comments
Hey Liv,
Yeah, a lot of people still hang their curtain rods right above the window so there’s not much space to fill, but I love cheating them up as high as they’ll go and filling the space so the window seems about a foot and a half taller. You can’t tell from the before and afters above, but being in the room it feels like the ceiling is much higher since we hung the blinds to make the window look taller. Just adding more vertical interest to the top part of the room makes the whole space magically seem much taller. Yay for optical illusions (our ceilings are only 8 feet tall).
xo,
Sherry
We currently have fabric vertical blinds that we are planning to replace this summer with some Cream colored curtains & white sheers on a double-rod. I like this idea of making the ceilings seem higher with blinds (whithout actually having high ceilings to clean cobwebs from!). Two questions:
1. Do you think the blinds would work with a double rod?
2. Did you have to alter the blinds at all to make them fit into the space so perfectly?
With our windows going up to the ceiling we won’t be able to do that, although it looks sooo great!
I wanted to ask about your courtains from Ikea. Which ones did you use for your sunroom? Are the ones here also from Ikea?
They look great and feel airy but not too thin.
And I do think that huge window is a happy one now :)
Amy- I think that blinds will definitely work with a double rod, just hang them as close as you can to the rods so that everything visually becomes one window treatment to the eye (too much space between them will make things seem disjointed). As for the blinds, we had a 96 inch window and just ended up purchasing two 48 inch blinds from Walmart and hanging them next to each other. We made sure to get them really close together so there was no telltale gap, and the point where they connect is barely noticeable thanks to all the texture going on. Keeping them opened to the same height also helps them to feel like all one blind. Purchasing one 96″ custom blind would have definitely cost us at least $100 more than picking two up for a total of $50, so we’re happy to hear that you think they “fit into the space so perfectly”- yay!
Gracia- Oh you lucky girl to have such high ceilings. I’m jealous! As for the curtains in the sunroom- yup, they’re also from Ikea. They’re called “Vivan” curtains and we get the longest ones they have (they usually come in two lengths) so they go all the way to the floor. They seem kinda sheer when you see them hung in the store, but at home on a window they let in the perfect amount of light without being too thin and flimsy. And you can’t see the wall or the window frame behind them which is great if you’re trying to cheat your windows wider. A good Vivan curtain tip is to wash the curtains a bit on the gentle cycle and then throw them in the dryer (on tumble dry low so you don’t shrink ‘em too much) and hang ‘em up as soon as they’re dry. They’ll be wrinkle free without the use of an iron, and they look so much better than the crushed, folded things that come out of the package. Hope that helps!
xo,
Sherry
How funny, I was just thinking about your window this weekend - I’d remembered you’d said you were going to put some blinds up and I was wondering if you had. (Okay now I feel like a stalker for admitting that!!) I think they look perfect, a lovely touch of warmth and texture and really finishes off the illusion of height. Great job.
I was totally not feeling the rod-higher-than-the-window thing — until I saw this post, that is. It looks great! Good job, as usual :)
I love it! I’ve struggled with wide windows and was always afraid to hang two sets of blinds next to each other. I will definitely have to try that; I could not even tell there were two from your pic! I just posted something on my new blog about high-hanging curtains; I love the effect that has!
Love the “after”! That is very creative, what a great idea!
Liv, the Ikea 95″ curtains are great bang for the buck! I bought a bunch from my previous ikea road trip (the closest ikea is 4 hrs away). Unfortunately it didn’t work for my window as my windows are too wide and the windows/walls are too high.
I love the look! I actually have two bamboo shades that I was dying to use when we finally got our home. Sadly our windows are totally strange and the blinds don’t fit any of our rooms! It’s too bad because I adore that look!
Jen M- Couldn’t love you more for thinking about the state of our curtains. That totally makes my day.
Beth, Jaime, Angeline, Megan, Aimee- So glad you likey. That also makes my day. The hubby deserves a nice dinner tonight for all his drilling and holding and anchoring!
Chelsea- The curatins are called “Vivan” from Ikea (these are the 95 inch ones, but they also come in a shorter version). They seem a bit sheer in the store, but they’re much more opaque than they seem under the harsh lighting. You can totally cheat a window taller and wider without anyone being able to see what you’re up to through the curtain. Hope that helps:)
xo,
Sherry
I like it. I never thought about filling the space between curtain rod and window. Probably because none of my curtains are even up yet and I haven’t had to stare at that space!!
I just bought some 95 inch IKEA drapes this weekend. I’ll have to see how they look without a “space filler.” Thanks for the idea!!