Window treatment ideas?

gelato_cat

Hi all

I'm making my own window treatments for our new house but need some inspiration please.

I'm not keen on curtains at all and really want Roman blinds in the front room, however I'm aware these don't provide any privacy when they're open. Our front room is luckily not right on the pavement (front garden is about 15ft long), but I don't feel good (security-wise) knowing that people could see everything in our front room if they wanted to, esp since our big TV and other AV stuff is near the window.

Both of us hate Venetian blinds with a passion and we need something fabric-based anyway, to keep the heat in the room from being lost through the windows. Therefore shutters aren't really an option either. I don't think nets would look good or work well under Roman blinds and nobody else seems to have them these days.

The windows are very large - sort of a half-bay 1.5m tall and 2m wide in total (was thinking of making three Roman blinds to go across).

Any ideas? Is it possible to have, say, flat voiles under Roman blinds? Or would that look stupid?

I also have some questions specifically about Roman blinds but will start another thread for them.

TIA

Suze

jackieb

How about something like this? http://www.changingcurtains.co.uk/blinds/Roman%20blinds/blackout%20roman%20blinds%20fitted%20behind%20voiles.html

Sunnyday

We ended up with vertical blinds on our living room windows, not a look that i was particularly keen on but they were a practical option that wasn`t too expensive. Once we got used to them we decided to put them in most of the other rooms too.

They are easy to adjust depending on the level of privacy that you need at different times and if you want clear windows just open them and push them to one end of the window so you have a clear unobstructed view outside. I do this a lot in summer.

HTH

SD

gelato_cat

Looks very interesting - thanks! I wonder how practical that would be, or whether it would be quite fiddly. My windows aren't very recessed so there wouldn't be a lot of space at the top for a curtain rail and the folded-up blinds in the up position. Hmmm...

Suze

jackieb wrote: »

How about something like this? http://www.changingcurtains.co.uk/blinds/Roman%20blinds/blackout%20roman%20blinds%20fitted%20behind%20voiles.html

gelato_cat

Ah, hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea. I'm attracted to some sort of fabric solution, to keep the heat in. Are the vertical blinds good for keeping the room warm?

Suze

Sunnyday wrote: »

We ended up with vertical blinds on our living room windows, not a look that i was particularly keen on but they were a practical option that wasn`t too expensive. Once we got used to them we decided to put them in most of the other rooms too.

They are easy to adjust depending on the level of privacy that you need at different times and if you want clear windows just open them and push them to one end of the window so you have a clear unobstructed view outside. I do this a lot in summer.

HTH

SD

greenbee

Friends had a similar problem in an old Victorian police house. They had roman blinds may of very lightweight linen (which were left permanently down, so don't worry about bulk at the top) with heavy thermal lined blinds over the top (couldn't have curtains, as the radiators were under the windows). This solution worked very well. The lightweight blinds were flat against the frame as they weren't needed to keep the draughts out - the heavy ones covered the frames to make sure that nothing got through!

I guess you could use muslin to make the lightweight version. I have wooden venetian blinds on my south facing windows, with muslin curtains on a wire fixed to the curtain pole, so that they sit behind the heavy curtains.

Sunnyday

Suzey wrote: »

Ah, hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea. I'm attracted to some sort of fabric solution, to keep the heat in. Are the vertical blinds good for keeping the room warm?

Suze

THB i don`t think that anything keeps the warmth in like proper curtains, our verticals are great for privacy and letting in the light but for warmth they are not so good.
You could make your own slats out of a thicker/thermal material and these would be better than the standard ones but there will be narrow gap around the sides if fitting the blind into a recess, i have a recess with a blind in on one living room window and a bay with verticals too both in the living room.

I also have poles up at both windows with tied back curtains which just stay tied back all the time for most of the year or i remove them completely in summer. This winter after reading tips on the preparing for winter thread i lined the curtains with fleece and closed them at night and the difference in warmth has been amazing. I like the tie back curtains over the blinds as they are more decorative and frame the window nicely.
I was thinking of having a change last year but as the blinds are so practical i ended up with new slats rather than lose the convenience.

HTH

SD

Jei70

If you really like Roman blinds but are worried about privacy, how about sticking an opaque film on your windows? It makes it look like frosted glass.

I've seen this in my street, and they haven't completely covered the window panes but left a clear border just inside the frames. Almost like panelling. It looks rather elegant.