I'd install a cafe rod across midpoint and do a pocketed sheer fabric which will probably just stay drawn across for your privacy needs. You can put rings to slide the fabric back and forth,but I'll bet it will just stay across,so forgo the cost of the rings. If you are not sure about leaving the top half open,you can get the tension rods for a few dollars and position them where a rod would be,and drape fabric over to get the effect. Basic cafe rods are not costly-you can get different types in finish and diameter online-the amt of gathered fabric for your privacy is probably twice the width. Sheer poly fabric is suitable for above sink areas and non fading so no linings are needed-you'll find them with some patterns,checks,solids,etc. I love the top half there with the trim and light fixture, so I'd do the fabric on the lower half,leaving this simple and pretty.Once you get privacy dealt with,can you tolerate the roof line higher up?...can't tell from the angle of the pic. Even in the most elaborate kitchens, I prefer really simple window treatments at the sink area-patio and french doors are another matter. I think cheerful and simple and durable look the best above sinks.

Hi Theresse -- looking good!

Another vote for cafe curtains because they are so easy to make and inexpensive.

I've always been a fan of the way Jessica Helgerson does window treatments in kitchens.
Some simple cafe curtains (tone on tone neutral or just a bit of texture) might work for your kitchen.

Or, a bottom up shade so that you get light, but block the view on the bottom of the window, might work.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Have you been following Tinker 2006's renovation on Gardenweb?
Her blinds look great in her vintage kitchen. Lots of good advice for window treatments on this thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tinker's kitchen

Will covering only the bottom half of the window provide you with the privacy? If so a cafe hung on a wrought iron rod.

I had this pic in one of my idea books. This look would be nice in your kitchen . Nice job.

There is also window privacy film made by 3M and others that you can have applied to your windows so that people can't see in during the day. We have it on our windows and love it. You can literally be standing right at the window and you can't see in at all. It also strains out over 95% of uv light which helps protect flooring and fine furniture.

You could have that installed for probably about $100, and then get a nice pulldown hunter douglas roller shade for nighttime. Maybe a fabric boxpleat on top for color.

What about a plantation shutter? That would allow a lot of light to come in but also provide privacy. I think they could be easy to clean because each piece is thick enough that you wouldn't be cleaning tiny pieces. Furthermore, the painted finish would be easier to wipe in a kitchen than a fabric. Just a thought. Your kitchen is looking beautiful. I love it!

Hi Circuspeanut --

I love your curtains.
I sampled that same fabric (Iman's collection?).
It looks so great in your kitchen I'm now regretting I didn't pick it.

Yes, something like that could look great in Theresse's kitchen.
It references French lace curtains without being kitschy/derivative.

Even if the sheer cafe curtains will usually remain closed, I think it's worth getting the rings. You might want occasionally to open the window, and I know that sometimes it's hard to move that fabric over enough to do it.

Oh my goodness this is all such good advice - thank you so much everyone! I'm in love with each and every picture here!

Yes unfortunately the privacy issue is so bad that I'd need something to cover the entire window. I suppose it would look strange to have a roller shade above and cafe curtains below? I just love the look of those curtains so much...darn. Well, I guess I could just have curtains like them but for the whole window? Would that look odd?

I love the idea of putting on that privacy film - and I could totally see doing that maybe on the top parts with cafe curtains below - but what I really want to know is just how much light does it block? UV light aside, I just want as much light as I can possibly get since those are the only windows and they face North (with a house blocking the open spaces even more). Does anyone here know how much darker the room might be with them installed?

Thank you sooooo much. I'm dying here over these gorgeous curtains! Please let me know if you know how to find/buy ANY ONE of them! Oh and I have no issues with permanently installing rods since the windows are already so old and painted over and otherwise flawed.

Hi Theresse!

I have been looking at this film(http://emmajeffsshop.co.uk/) for a while now for our bathroom window. Currently I am using wax paper which amazingly enough works well! However, the remodel is winding down and the messy construction zone is turning into a real space that won't accept my wax paper... I took these photos so you could see the light transmission. West facing 2:30 pm.

What it's hiding. Note how dark the middle is when another layer is applied. For a north window it may be awfully dark, but who knows???

Here is a link that might be useful: emma jeffs window film

Why are the photos so enormous? Sorry! Anyway, my point was to try the wax paper and see how it feels. HTH

I love the idea of putting on that privacy film - and I could totally see doing that maybe on the top parts with cafe curtains below - but what I really want to know is just how much light does it block? UV light aside, I just want as much light as I can possibly get since those are the only windows and they face North (with a house blocking the open spaces even more). Does anyone here know how much darker the room might be with them installed?

There are different types, each blocking different amounts of light and offering more or less privacy. Ours is called silver-30 or something like that, and it is super-private so you can't see a thing in at all, not even shadows.

I don't know exactly how much light it blocks but it does block some. I can tell the difference between the windows that have this film on and those that don't. It's kind of like the difference between a sunny and cloudy day. At a guess maybe they block 15 to 20% of the light? But that's 80% to 85% brighter than drawn curtains, which is what our alternative was pre-film! (My husband is kind of nuts about keeping all the shades drawn. Drove me stark raving crazy until we found out about this film. Now we're both happy.)

We had ours done by a window film installer and when he came to do our estimate he brought a sample book of the different types and we tried several of them from both inside and out before deciding. Kind of like a fabric consultation, but with window film.

I'd recommend you look for an installer in your town and ask them to come out for a consultation. Search under window film or security film to find them.

Cluelessincolorado -

Love that site - thanks for sharing! Thanks also for the pics. Yes they do look like they get pretty dark however I'm wondering if maybe the window film you can buy will let in more light? Hmmm... I think that could be a great compromise - film on the top and cafe curtain below. Although even then I get weird about not being able to look up and see what color the sky is (easily)!

I'm wondering... what do you think a simple but slightly scalloped shade would look like with a decorative or period-appropriate ring hanging beneath it? Would it be too plain?

Here's a place that sells craftsman shades and it turns out they're local:

http://www.thehandwerkshop.com/

Would this work in my space, or is it too common (the whole bamboo look, sort of, you know)? Would the style/color work? I don't like the lighter version:

http://www.countrycurtains.com/product/040547309+textured+woven+shade.do?sortby=ourPicks&filterby=#

Here's the above shade but with a hint of what it might look like to pair it with white sheer (but shorter) curtains:

http://www.countrycurtains.com/product/010150351+sheer+linen+rod+pocket+panel.do?sortby=ourPicks&filterby=

I'm not sure about these...
http://www.countrycurtains.com/product/010150178a+hathaway+tier+curtains.do?sortby=ourPicks&page=2&filterby=

Taggie - thanks a lot! That helps a lot. I'll look them up.

Hi Teresse:

Here is a picture of Tinker 2006's newly installed shades.
Don't they look great in her vintage/cottage kitchen?

{{!gwi}}

I love blinds, but hate cleaning the slats. In a kitchen they get gross no matter what you do.

I like cafe curtains, too, but hate their blow-y-ness. I have used tension rod curtains in the past, which keeps them safely against the window.

Film: I bought a pretty, rice paper kit at Lowe's. I've attached a link, but you'll have to weed through all the colored ones. I put it on with a water squirt bottle and a credit card. I love it. Privacy and light at the same time. It might be nice with cafe curtains.

It sounds like you're really looking to have someone tell you a shade with scalloped edges would do the trick. Well, it would. :) Very timely, very in keeping with your beautiful kitchen. I'd look at a small, matching valance, which is also in keeping.

I'm interested to hear the name of your gray green paint. I'm using a Duron color that's so gray green that on a monitor it looks gray, in sunlight, green. I love it.

Wow - gorgeous pics here! Theresse - sorry to go a little OT, but can you tell me about your tile backsplash? I think I asked in an old thread, but didn't hear back. Thanks for your help, and for sharing your beautiful kitchen!

Francoise47 - I LOVE Tinker's kitchen. Drool! Those look so nice and simple yet elegant in her kitchen but yes I agree about cleaning them. I don't think I'm willing to do that. I also don't find blinds to be all that user-friendly. Things always seem to go wrong with me and blinds!

CEFreeman - I don't see the Lowe's link (?) but I can google it now that I know the location, thanks! I think a valance would block too much light, but the strip of horizontal wall color just above the windows acts sort of like a valance-of-sorts actually! The paint color is Benjamin Moore's Fieldstone a.k.a. Fieldstone gray. Thanks!

Lake Girl - thanks for the positive feedback and sorry I didn't see (or don't remember) an old link in which you asked about the tile. I wanted something that was white and cheerful though had a little bit of gray and tan in it so I could warm up the coldness of the stainless countertop (and so I could have both warm or cool colors in the kitchen in general). Hence, calacatta. It was a PITA (although at times sorta fun) and here's what I did: I bought 12" x 12" pieces of calacatta marble from a local stone and tile business. I then called around and found a good fabricator to hone and cut the tile into 2x6" pieces. THEN I pulled out all pieces that were either too dark or busy or too plain white (although I did throw in the occasional plain white piece here and there to keep the backsplash from being too busy looking) and then I had what was left installed! OY! Not quite as easy as stopping by Lowe's, eh?! :: Funny thing was, when the guy was done installing the tile, there was almost no pieces (of the good stuff) left! So it turns out that I ordered the exact right amount since wasting the other pieces couldn't be helped. I can no longer remember the grout color but if you google my name along with the name gardenweb and type in something about grout color, it might pop up. I'm not crazy about the light gray color and wish I'd gone with white but oh well. I don't dislike it that much.

I wonder if I could sell the left over pieces. I don't think anyone else would want gaudy pieces either though - especially in those less common dimensions.

Thank you!

Oh please, more more more! Theresse, this is such a timely topic for me. I'd really love to see and hear more about what people have done. Please post your pictures! I have been agonizing about window treatments for longer than I care to admit now!

Thanks!!

Thanks for the info. The tiles look great, grout and all. But I'm not sure I've got it in me to do that much, since it's diy. BTW, I think a cafe curtain would great on your window!

I had a similar problem in my 1930 bungalow's kitchen - the window over the "main" counter where I do most of my prep work is about 5' from my neighbors' backyard, and I needed something to cover the entire window pretty much all of the time. My "big" renovation and expansion is still several years off, but as part of the mini-reno/refresh I did I ended up getting linen roman shades for all of the windows in the kitchen, and I just leave that one down all the time, unless I'm mixing something in the kitchenaid that I'm afraid will splatter. They've been up for about 6 months now, and I've been very happy with them. Here are a couple of pictures (sorry for the crappy quality - I took these with my iphone) that show the the window at issue with the blind down, as well as what they look like when up (I leave them up all the time on the other 3 windows in the kitchen, since privacy's not an issue with those).

Also, as an alternative to the window film, you can actually have the glass permanently etched, which I think looks a little nicer and allows you to add a border or design, if you'd like. My front door is original to the house, and has a glass panel that is approx. 2'x3'. The prior owner had just hung a lace curtain over it on the inside for privacy, which drove me nuts as it would whirl around and get caught in the door every time I tried to close it. I looked at the window film but after a ton of internet research found a guy in my area who does glass etching and he did the door with a nice border - it looks awesome and lets light in without making me feel like anyone passing by could look directly into my living room.

Blinds have not been a problem to clean since the invention of the Swiffer.

I hung a new valance in my kitchen last week-end; here's how it looks during the daytime:

and here is the nighttime view, lit from inside:

The fabric is Kuba Cloth from The Congo and is made from raffia obtained from palm trees and is woven, dyed, and stitched all by hand in Africa. The view from the window is only of our outside wall and the garage next door - there is no street or yard view. In the morning, too much light comes in, and I wanted to filter that a bit. I plan to apply a UV treatment to it, but I haven't done that yet. I am also going to change the hangers to a different color and iron some of the wrinkles out.

Lars

hlg222,
I hope the person asking if they should replace all their perfectly good cathedral doors should see your kitchen.
Very, very nice!

Let's see if this code works better, otherwise, you can visit the link below for my kitchen gallery.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of kitchen