Pulled this out of the finished kitchen thread:

Igloochic

Ok now for those windows (because I read the other post). Personally I'd do a simple box pelmet with a roman shade that would fold up into them most of the way. I'd pull the gold out of the granite and use that shade, and at the most I'd do a tone on tone stripe (I probably say this because that's what I am doing). The pelmet brings the height up to the ceiling (at cabinet level) and the gold tone would reflect the beauty of the granite and the cabinets. I would go with a washable silk in a linen weave (ie a dupioni or linen style) because the organic texture will blend well with the slate and the fossils were as a smooth fabric would sort of clash with that texture.
I would stay away from the gray because, given the great unity you have between the rooms, that would mean you'd need to use gray in the dining area and I don't feel that the color would compliment the dark woodwork as well as a gold tone would. I'd keep to that same box pelmet on all of the shades in the space and make sure to keep to a very simple roman shade verses a london shade (softer folds).

But that's just me and I'm not opinionated at all!

(Do you sew too? Heh heh) I'll take a picture of my fabric if it helps explain tone on tone when I'm over at the house this week. THe reason I like a tone on tone stripe is that it's very very subtle and works well in a kitchen setting because it hides spots better than a solid fabric. But the stripes need to be VERY subtle, not visible unless you look closely. Mine are done with just a change in the weave of the fabic, not a different color combination.

Sweeby
For your window treatments, I think Igloo's on the right track with something very simple, linear, and yes, still more warm. For some reason, I'm seeing a natural canvas, maybe even with grommets. Or perhaps a fabulous slubby silk or highly textured woven wood shade. Definitely no frou frou or hanging fabrics.

It's about time we got to these windows! Heh heh (it's been some 20 hours or so since I thought about them).

Honestly, while I do love wood blinds (and the final one you posted is really gorgeous) I don't love them for your space. They're too busy and I feel that they'd detract from the design, which is very clean in it's lines. The wood is too much texture IMHO. (I'm not terribly humble by the way).

Now in the dining area that wood would work...but given the excellent job you've done unifying the spaces, I'd rather see the window coverings be uniform between the spaces. In addition to the uniformness I think you should accomplish here, the same style in both rooms would actually make them disapear somewhat into the background, and in this case that's what should happen.

Sorry to send you on a link chase...but I can't get to just a picture of this darned shade...

http://www.wcmanet.org/2005_PIA/winners.html

Scroll down to the waverly tailored roman shade. The fabric is terrible for you, but what I wanted to show was a fabric shade, in a large fold, roman shade, mounted inside (I'd agree that's your BEST option).

Roman shades come in small fold or large. A small fold is going to result in a huge bundle of fabric up towards the ceiling when the shade is pulled up, which isn't a nice look (IMO). Especially in your kitchen. I'd prefer to see a large fold that folds in very clean and tight lines. Personally I'd like that to tuck into a pelmet made of the same fabric so that you keep the clean look when they're open. (Pelmet is a hard valance or small box covered with fabric that would sit outside of the window frame on the top, like the lid on a box).

THis is a dupioni. I wanted to show you this because it's a fabric with some texture, that is washable, and has a bit of shine which will coordinate well with the sheen coming off the granite, but notso shiny it looks bad with the slate:

http://www.onlinesilkfabricstore.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=DPS%2DNugget

I don't think it's the perfect color but I wanted to show you a close up of that fabric. See the sort of ratted up threads (or slubs) and the obvious weave of threads? That's the texture you get from dupioni. It's subtle, distinct to the fabric and would look nice with your decor.

Ok so here's a couple of tone on tone stripes:

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But what I'd really love to see best is a silk linen in a tone on tone stripe like above. This is a silk linen. It's silk,but with the weave and texture of linen. The sheen is dramatically less than your typical silk (like that high sheen on the copper...too much for you).

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DS is screaming...I shall return LOL (If you're not bored to death yet) :oP

.....Pondering.....

Definately not bored. Hah hah - I didn't get to the windows as I was giving people a day off from my spamming GW - I hit up GW with a whole batch of questions tonight - spice storage, deep drawers etc (but tried to offset that with trying to help people). Or I could just say I am holding you hostage and not talking with you about window treatments till I get to see a pic of the squirrel hardware you got!

Is this the roman shade pic you wanted to post?

Hey is the curtains I have in the living room that dupioni stuff?
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For the types of things you are talking about you have to have someone make them for you right? What kind of $$ are we looking at here?

That silk linnen (the last picture you put up) is nice and could fit in both the kitchen as it would pull the gold from the backsplash (well maybe a shade lighter than that pic) and the dining too as the walls by that window in the dining are a cream (sherwin williams "interactive cream" to be exact)

Thanks for explaining the pelmet. And I agree with the recessing up or the large folds or whatever looks good with the window covering in the fully up or mostly up position as likely that is where they will be a majority of the time (especially in lieu of splashes from the sink - with my tall faucet the window there does get dirty sometimes - but hey - its way easier to clean the than the strip of backsplash and corners would have if I didn't extend the window down - I am loving the decision to extend my windows to counter depth)

correction... did I say "counter depth" - too much fridge talk - sorry should say "counter height" or "counter level".

I reread your post and had a question - is a pelmet going to stay inside the window casing? I was unclear after reading your description. I really think only an "interior mounting" type of solution will work for my space.

Hope your DS is OK! I have to get to bed becuase I have an 8am dentist appointment to get a filling removed and a new one put in.. OH FUN. Looking forward to your reply and more window treatment ideas!

I would leave the windows. Window coverings/shades are just clutter in my opinion.

MM, FWIW, we don't have window treatments on our windows in the kitchen, DR, and LR. We like the clean, open look, and didn't want to hide our bow windows or slider anyway.

Now the bedroom and the downstairs windows are seriously lacking in window treatments/coverings so maybe when i-chic and sweeby are finished covering your windows, they can tackle mine! :-)

I really like the roman shade idea. Although I am more of a color person, "off white" plain or textured roman shades would look absolutly gorgeous in your space. It would add a pop and and slight softness. All the detailes in tile, cabinetry and art will show up even more.

OK I spent some time looking at the pics again and here's a few thoughts.

Firsta pelmet is mounted on the outside yes. THe shade would be inside (which is appropriate for your space, especially the kitchen window over the sink). I would hang it at celing height for all of the windows and the door. It would be squared off and hang just down beyond the top of the frame. This brings your eyes right up to the same level as the cabinets in all of the rooms, giving a nice balance to the space. Again, making the window coverings an accent, and not a "pop" item because the granite and the fish should be your pop items as well as the lighting. (I believe in two or three WOW factors and then the rest should be support for those wow's). Any more WOW and it all disapears and becomes crazyness. (Counting the WOW's in my kitchen now LOL ok maybe four) :oP

But then I had a thought this morning...what is the chance of being able to get the wood from your cabinets for pelmets? Basically build a bridge between the two cabinets over the sink (say a 6 or 8" filler board and a piece of crown molding crossing between the cabinets to continue the line...that would then be your pelmet. In he dining area I'd do the same with the brown cabinet wood and on those side windows, I'd use the light wood. This picture is too fancy (too much trim, too much gold LOL) but it shows you the box idea, which would basically extend just a few inches from the wall. For the kitchen the sides wouldn't be necessary:

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THose were the right pictures (and yes your drapes are dupioni...so you can see right there in person what I mean about the sheen and the texture). It's important to balance sheen and texture in a room, and yours has special challenges to it, in that you have "shiny" granite and "dull" in your slate. That's why I lean towards a linen or dupioni silk.

For the door, (sliding) I'd change that up just a bit by doing a soft drape in the same silk, lined (all of these should be lined and I prefer a light black out fabric which is a thick coton that "blacks out" the light, and protects the silk from the damage that sun can do to it). But for that slider, I'd still do the pelmet, so the lines are continuous, and I would do something with a grommet top. No pinch pleat, just a soft fold...

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I would consider doing the kitchen in a soft gold, the window at the end of the counters the same, and then going to a deeper brown to match the other cabinets in the dining room and on the slider and the dining room windows.

I wouldn't leave them undressed. I personally don't believe a home is finished without window coverings. They're the mink over an evening gown. Or the top coat over the tux ...without them, you probably look ok, but not "finished" to leave the house. If you finish them wrong (ie too much detail, wrong fabric, etc) it's going to look like you wore a puffy down coat over your tux...which just won't do :oP

Now for the cost ::sigh:: not cheap. Probably custom made, but you can shop that around. You have a lot more resources there than I do here so I learned to make my own. I use a computerized sewing machine...so heck that should be enough to get your little programer mind excited about sewing shouldn't it??? Heh heh Kidding!

If you want to save some money you can take a quick trip down to LA and pick up your fabric yourself in the fabric district. You'll find 100% silk in 120" widths for around $10 per yard or up to $40 per yard, but you won't find this elsewhere for under $100 if you're lucky to find it. You can find the perfect color matches in your sleep and you migh even get so danged excited about fabric that you buy a computerized sewing machine and make your own :oP

So what kind of savings...well I'll be making my own drapers and shades (much like I am describing to you) with the 300 yards of fabric I purchased in the district. I spent about $1000 total on fabrics and lining. I couldn't have custom pieces made for the entire house for less than $10,000 and probably more if they purchased the fabric.

I recommend Royal fabrics very highly. My silks were all from there and the quality is beyond compare.

You'll have to forgive me if I get a bit excited about your window coverngs LOL I have a passion for textiles in any form. I purchased the 300 yards of fabric BEFORE I purchased the house LOL (I'd toured it and made an offer but it wasn't accepted). I almost always design a room around textiles. My kitchen was designed with my gold linen silk tone on tone stripe fabric in hand. Fortunately I found the vulcan gold granite to go :o)

Even though I design around textiles, in my kitchen, just like yours, they need to take a back seat to the other beautiful items. One of the reasons I suggest that cabinet wood header is that they then become part of the wall of cabinets and wood, and not the show piece that they might need to be in another room. For instance in our bedroom the silk drapers will be lined with velvet and pulled back to show both sides equally, making the window and it's coverings the real lux piece in the room. The reason being that the view is what I want to showcase (we're on a lake) so I want your eyes drawn out there. In your kitchen and dining room...that's not where you want the eyes to flow :)

And now for the knobs :oP The definative "girl" portion of my design LOL

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They're all rather large...the steer is about 11 inches across and the large moose is 7". The squirrels had to have a minimum 3" door frame trim to wrap their tails around and not cover the interior inset of the door. Did I mention I'm a knob freak too :OP

I dunno igloo... my gut feeling is that what you are talking is "too much" for my space (stylisticly and price) especially the pelmet.

For example take a look at the window here:
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If I went with the pelmet that area above the window would be more of the wood color - originally that was painted the same lighter gray you see on the wall behind the hood and it just didn't sit right with me, so I swapped for the same gray only a lot darker and that just made it all POP, pulling the dark grey out of the countertop below as seen here (and the dark gray makes the stainless look brighter as well):

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I think if we start throwing warm wood pelmets on all the windows, especially the one by the sink and the sliding door, we lose that pop and the crisp clean lines.

For more example, mentally take away the gray above the sliders and on the sliders in the picture below and replace with more wood tones above and gold tones on the door:
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I think it robs away the effect of the gray in the backsplash sinking into the background. I think keeping the semi-austere feel of the grey above and the door in the transition from kitchen to dining is important (but the rich wood trim keeps it from being too utilitarian). The door takes the trim from the kitchen but the hardware from the dining.

My current thinking is along the line of the roman shade in a softer fabric in a light gold, or maybe something in off white (though if I did that I would not be able to put same thing in dining) in the window above the sink and the one over the buffet counter only. Or maybe something more modern looking like sweeby was saying about something with grommets.

To me pelmets and silk is spelling "classic old world charm" exactly like you said "a lady with furs" when my kitchen is more of a sleek (not puffy) black leather overcoat (or maybe microfiber/felt overcoat) feel. Think of my kitchen/dining as a simple yet elegant black or deep red dress (but with very nice jewelry) not a big formal ballroom gown. Each is beautiful and has their place as we've seen in kitchens here on GW.

Text below is on knobs so skip if you are just here for window coverings ;)
By the way I like the knobs - are you using all those? If so I don't feel the bunnies fit in.. they are all domesticated (the ribbon) and smooth (steer is smooth as well so it doesn't fit either). Sticking to the duck, squirrel, moose, pheasant (the phesant is really nice) and maybe the dove would do it for me. The rooster fits in style and texture but it doesn't fit with those other animals. If you are only doing the squirrel and moose then completely ignore what I just said :)

It was funny for me and knobs... I looked at all these beautiful hand crafted knobs/pulls and stressed for weeks - finally I was at a total deadlock and I threw it all out and started over by going to the local chain stores (home depot, loews etc) and bought one of almost every single knob just to start looking at basic shapes and colors and build from there - not thinking in any way would I use one of those knobs. I about had a heart attack when I put the knobs I have on there now up. It was so brilliant I felt like an idiot for not picking them from the beginning.

I love your kitchen. It's so well thought out, and all the finishes are beautiful. When I saw those pics on the original thread, I never thought about window treatments. But then, here's our new kitchen:

I just went back and looked at your kitchen pics and, again, I see no need for window treatments. I agree that the bamboo type shades would be nice in the DR, but I really don't see how you could put anything at the kitchen window while maintaining the sleek lines.

Let's hear it for naked windows!

Those of you in the "no window covering" camp, are you saying that for all the windows or just the kitchen?

To me it feels like the dining room window is a little naked..
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oooh abbycat I love the effect of those chairs and backsplash in your kitchen. Thanks for the compliments. I did not see your reply before I posted my last post.

You know what we need here....photoshop :oP

Which I won't be able to get to until tomorrow or the next day.

I would agree that silk and pelmets can sound old lady and formal...but they can be amazingly causal. I can see it in my mind, but not write it well :) I'll work on that!

I do think that you need to stay with the gold tones, and keep them very very light so they don't clash with the gray (which you've done with your wood and stone so no worries there). The only reason I'd take it to the ceiling is to keep the eye flowing up and not stopping at the frames...but that's just a trick, not a need :)

Let's see if I can get that darned photoshop going...

And on the knobs...there are 26 different knobs for the kitchen, but primarily you'll see the twisted piece that looks like barb wire sort of there in the back. We have several of those. Intermixed will be the animals. I agree on the bunnies...except that they're not shiny, it's just how the flash was hitting them, same on the steer.

The knobs will be spread around. For instance you won't see a bank of three drawers with three different pairs of animals on them...instead you might see the middle drawer having the moose heads, but the top and bottom will have the standard pull. Some will be tucked under the bay window and I'll admit they might be more for DS (the only person who can crawl under there LOL) Hence the frog and seal, which don't really jump out at me as going with the pig and squirrel...but spread about, they work.

At least we'll see :o) Now let me dig up that photoshop program...

This is what's in my head, only in an off white creamy color with border.

Here is a link that might be useful:

How about this (not too cheap though. I have the same window but with white moulding and I'm also trying to find something.

Here is a link that might be useful: potterybarn

Yes, the DR window could benefit from the texture of a bamboo blind. They come in roman blind styling, which is "richer" looking than the basic rollup.

LOL terible in my finished kitchen thread you said (re: window treatments): "Here is a visual of what's in my head.......unless you decide to go naked." I could really make some jokes about that statement but its funny enough "as is". I am sure your choice of the word naked was intended to be a little funny but if you combine it with the first part of your statement... hillarious.

Igloo, I dunno you are gonna have to whip out those fancy photoshopping skills to try to convince me becuase right now I am siding with abbycat, which is what I had in mind at the point I started the thread (roman blinds wood style).

mlraff... that is a nice idea, I've bought window coverings at potterybarn before and they are "OK" and cost more than something OK should - too bad I can't get a sample since they state they don't have those in the store. The dining window is 58.5" wide so I'd have a .25" gap on either side, assuming they were 58" wide (the pottery barn stuff I bought before was slightly smaller than stated).

Abbycat do you know who makes woven wood in the roman shade style? It looks like these bali ones are: Bali deluxe woven wood. But its too bad they don't have many wood choices in that line that would work in the space. These might work, but it might be too much texture:

Even though I am not so wild about the wood choices for the Bali shades I do love this bound edge color for the dining space:

I measured my windows and turns out that the window framing in the dining is 1/4" narrower on top than on bottom. Should I be concerned about this? All the other windows are even on top and bottom (and we redid the casing on all the windows downstairs with this project so this is only 1 out of 10 total windows that is not perfectly square)

Ok, how about this one, I love the idea of bringing a touch of black to that far wall to unifiy the kitchen and dining room. Also love the idea of the slightly lighter shade so it dosen't look to dark and brown in there. A slightly lighter color will acually make those cool tiles show up more and not get lost in a room of neutral tones. Your space is exceptionally beautiful and I think there is a way to side-track blending so much those extra details don't show up.

Here is a link that might be useful: woven wood,reed,grass w/black trim

We hung these blinds in our bedrooms. Love the texture. Lowes also sells fabric liners.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roman blinds

Thanks abbycat! I've seen a number of places that had "stock sizes" of the woven wood blinds... since I want a strictly interiour mounting I need to have custom order - thus far I have only seen that one woven wood on blinds.com that have the roman blinds style and you order to size (of course its the most expensive one).

Terible, that link is to just a valence - is that what you are suggesting? They have lots of options but none look like they are the "roman blind" style.

Update: I was not able to make up my mind in time for the open house - so we are just going naked for the open house on the 18th and the remodel tour on the 25-27th.

For natural woven (bamboo and grass type) window coverings in Roman style, try smith & noble (www.smithnoble.com). They do everything custom, the prices are close to HD's, lots of color and texture choices, lots of edge binding choices, they send free sample swatches, etc. They can also make things up quickly, so maybe you can get it done by 4/18 or 4/25. I'm not a decorator but my vote is: nothing on kitchen window unless needed for privacy; something minimal on the DR window; don't get too fussy with the details but instead respect the clean lines of your gorgeous kitchen. (Fossil fish knobs, anyone?)

I think the woven blinds are far too busy for the space. I would do 2-3" wood blinds in a color that matches your cabinets with a cloth tape color that picks up one of the colors in your backsplash. Hunter Douglas has woods blinds in lots of finishes, there are other manufacturers as well. I wouldn't do anything all cloth, like Roman Shades, at the sink. If cloth blinds are down it seems they would get stained pretty easily (I know my window has splatter marks on it).