Windows
Ready made woven blinds - see website for tips too -- The woven shades are from Levolor and are ready made blind in stock Roman shades from Lowes. I had the blinds custom cut in the store (for free!) at Lowes to fit our windows perfectly. I’m thrilled, I got the look of custom roman shades without the custom price! Just a heads up, not every window needs a ‘custom blind’ trust me! I selected the Levolor Woven Roman Shades in natural with a pricey liner. Typically in-stock woven Roman Shades don’t come with liner; in fact adding a privacy liner to most custom woven Roman shades is an upcharge and not standard. I paid only $99 each for two woven Roman Shades that fit my windows perfectly. Below is a good color representation of the new woven Roman Shades look in my living room and dining room.
Tips: When having drapes made, I love a European or Parisian pleat- it’s a slightly more modern, clean pleat than the fussier ones that fan out at the top. We use these with rings and drapery hooks. Grommet topped panels are great for modern spaces and kids rooms (and are easy to buy from retail vendors). I avoid using rings with clips as they tend to look messy. Rod pocket drapes are a big NO NO, but back tab panels can look neat and tidy with no hardware needed beyond the rods.
More tips: On a simple single window about 42″ wide we extend the rods about 8″ or so past the window trim. And as a reminder, it looks best to install the rods close to the ceiling, about and inch or two below the crown moulding. Custom rods are wonderful as they have no seams for extension and stay straight and strong and are available in a massive variety of materials. However, there are many sources for nice store bought hardware too- we use Restoration Hardware and West Elm a lot. Buy a size that needs the LEAST amount of extension- as rods bow at the seam when extended out far. So for example, on my windows that need a 55″ rod, I bought the ones that are 44″-108″ so that I don’t have to extend them too far out.
Tips: We use woven woods a lot in layering, as I said, but also alone for a simple, natural look that adds a nice dose of texture to a room. I like to outside mount these as well when used alone. There are so many places you can order these online- The Shade Store, Smith & Noble and Select Blinds being three good examples I’ve bought from. We always use the waterfall style of shade- I find the ones with valances at the top to be fussy looking. And a side note- if you layer woven woods with drapes and don’t need a blackout option- you can get away with doing stationary drapery panels which will cut down on your fabrics needs by a lot!
Roller blinds that roll up from the base of the window — bottom-up blinds — are widely available. Teaming these with conventional rollers fitted at the top is a great way to provide flexible levels of privacy.
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