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Thu, Jun. 18th, 2009, 04:07 pm
getting settled in my new house

I'm starting to get settled in my house. Instead of having footpaths through the mountains of junk, I've got little piles of boxes in random, inconvenient places.


I've started with my remodeling/redecorating:

In the bedroom, I was going to rip up the carpet, put down laminate flooring, tear down the wallpaper, and paint. I did do the laminate flooring, but not the painting. For one thing, I started pulling the wall paper and it was gross behind it. I would have had to sand it down, float it out, and then paint, and I didn't really have time for that. Besides, I hadn't decided what color to paint. I was originally thinking about some soft shade of green. Like a sage green. But then I looked at my bedding again and the green was more blue than yellow. Which means mint green. And I just couldn't handle the idea of waking up every morning in an aquafresh room.

So I settled on beadboard paneling, and in one of my rare moments of insight, I realized that the seams needed to be sealed and the whole lot of it painted. It turned out very nicely. Very fresh and cottage-y looking, which works, because my house is a victorian farmhouse.

I haven't finished the moulding yet, and there's one corner still not paneled or painted, but it's going to get done. So, for the opinion portion of this post--

What kind of window treatment do you think works in a cottage-style bedroom? When I say cottage style, what that means at present is beadboard panelling, laminate flooring and a double-wedding ring quilt in shades of lilac.

The window in the room is tall--floor to ceiling-- and about 32 inches wide, including the moulding. The glass part is 28 inches.

So far I have considered:

--white sheers
--white lace curtains
--ruffly white organza curtains inherited from grandma
--plantation shutters

My issues with the first three are the sheerness of them. This is a window that faces a major street. There's a pretty significant stretch of yard between the street and the house, and lots of trees, but still, privacy is a problem with too-sheer window treatments.

My problem with the shutters is that the window seems to be a non-standard size. Shutters mostly seem to come in 14-inch widths, and if I could mount them directly on the glass that might fit the window.

I'm not a huge fan of mini blinds, but I can get over my aversion if need be. I just really want to have a pretty, romantic, cottage-inspired bedroom and vinyl blinds don't seem to be it.

Anyone have thoughts?
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Thu, Jun. 18th, 2009 09:43 pm (UTC)
[info]threnody

Shades with sheer stuff? That way you could open the shades (roman shades are rather nice, I think) and have light but not people staring in your window.

Or, go with faux wood blinds. Much prettier than miniblinds, and come in white. Add curtains of choice...
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 01:51 am (UTC)
[info]dazzleberry

faux wood blinds? Don't think I've ever seen those. I'll look into it. Shades seem to be a common suggestion here... I hadn't thought of shades actually My grandmother always had shades and they always looked terrible, but I suppose new ones would be more attractive. I do have some concerns about cats and shades... But I have concerns about cats and everything so that isn't really relevant...

Thanks for the suggestions.
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Thu, Jun. 18th, 2009 09:51 pm (UTC)
[info]queenp71

what about using a roll down shade? You could use the sheer over them and the roll down have a more appealing look than venetian blinds do.
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 01:49 am (UTC)
[info]dazzleberry

I can see how a shade would be more appealing than mini blinds. My initial reaction was not just no, but hell no, but then I realized that all the roll shades I've ever seen have been very old, brittle and yellowed. New ones, I presume, are more attractive than the 30-year-old variety...
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 04:56 am (UTC)
[info]queenp71

yes...new ones are more attractive...you can get them in a variety of colors now depending on the brand and style (room darkening vs normal).


Another possibility would be to make your own Roman Blinds...You can use a less sheer fabric for the roman blind and still and sheer curtains for the more romantic look....
http://www.hutchal.clara.net/curtains/roman.htm

Good luck.
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Thu, Jun. 18th, 2009 10:07 pm (UTC)
[info]islandsmoke

They're kind of funky, but old fashioned roll shades could be mounted behind the pretty curtains, and lowered for privacy. They come in white, or whole bunches of colors and patterns.
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 01:47 am (UTC)
[info]dazzleberry

You know, I hadn't even thought about a roll shade, but that seems to be the leading suggestion at this point. I wonder if kitties would be more or less destructive with a roll shade than a mini blind.
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 11:59 am (UTC)
[info]islandsmoke

If the shades have a tassel pull string, that is kitty heaven, but you can just use the plastic clippy things. Regardless of what kind of shade it is, the kitties will want to be between the shade and the window, and I think the roll shades make less noise when the kitties are playing with them right over your head at dawn.

(There. Put this in the wrong place at first.)
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 01:13 am (UTC)
[info]apricot_tree

Is incoming light or heat an issue? Do you need to be able to block these out?
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 01:46 am (UTC)
[info]dazzleberry

No. The window faces south, so I don't get sunrise or sunset light, and the entire lot is tree-shaded. And there's a porch right outside the window, so the light is indirect anyway.

Heat is always an issue in Texas, and there's no window treatment on earth that will change it. I think the porch and trees do as much for the heat as anything short of an air conditioner can.
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Fri, Jun. 19th, 2009 02:54 am (UTC)
[info]apricot_tree

Our bedroom windows face the rising sun. There's always too much light.

Ikea has some really nice natural material blinds and shades (wood/grass/bamboo) that I would have gotten. They give a nice rustic feel that I think is romantic. :)
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