I'll tell ya.
As soon as I hemmed and hung these babies (thanks Donald Trump! - Joe scored tons of drapes for me off this season of The Apprentice - which he works on every year) I realized it wasn't working. For one thing, they totally cover the moldings (casings?) that surround the windows, which zapped the room of any architectural interest and made it look new-ish and prefab.
Ick.
This is partially because I used too narrow of rods, they should be so wide that the drapes reveal the entire window when open. But then they'd cover tons of wall, which I also do not want. I want to add some cool panel molding later and I don't want the room to be wall to wall drapery.
Does that make sense?
So about a week later, I went up to Albany to an awesome salvage place, where I scored a bunch of interior shutters. They will give us the privacy we need but still let in a lot of light and the pretty views we get in the evening.As you can see they are beat to crap and really dirty. I'll have to paint them. But come on, I got 8 of them for $100 and the size is perfect.
In this shot they look too short because they're tipped, but they cover the bottom window exactly.
I'll just use the drapes in one of the zillion other rooms that need window coverings. Even the navel-height windows upstairs could use these.Here's my artsy shot of the view from the front window.
It looks like a light-brite or paint by numbers - no?
What do you guys think? It's not set in stone.
6 comments:
your shutters look much better, i think. we've also used wooden venetian blinds inside the window frame. i had antique ivory shades in my washington ave. house, again hung INSIDE the frames--very successful. if you use the drapes, you could hang them ceiling height and have them go across the whole wall, so when open the are in the corners, but i'm not much of a fan of drapes.
Light Bright.
I too, like the shutters.
Long time reader, first time commenter. And fellow upstate re-habber. Can you tell me the name of the salvage place in Albany you went to? I am looking to find some vintage doorknobs for my 1904 Catskills farmhouse.
BTW - I relate to your curtain dilemma. I have spent the last 4+ years stripping paint from the woodwork around my windows, and can't for the life of me figure out how to get a little privacy without covering up my work. I like the shutter idea.
Hi Tom - another thing that I've seen work in older homes without looking too cutesy is a cafe curtain. They look especially cool if you hang them at an unexpected height - not in the exact middle.
The salvage place is part of the Historic Albany Foundation so the money goes to a great cause
here's a link http://historic-albany.org/warehous.html
The prices are phenomenal.
But it's chilly! Only a wood stove heating the joint. So it's only for true renovation black belts :)
Good luck!
I *love* the color of the walls, and think the shutters look great.
Cool - thanks! I will check it out...maybe when (if) it ever gets warmer.
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