My previous house had 2 windows in the kids bathroom that faced the street. I didnt want to have to worry about opening or closing blinds....wish I had plantation shutters in that home, but I didnt. This is what I did to their bathroom...this is not silky curtains, but silky sheers can be lined and then they are not see thru. I picked a sheer for my living room and had it lined and inner lined, you would never know its a sheer. The bathroom cafe was hung higher so you could never see in when the blind was left open.
{{!gwi}}

gk5040 thanks for posting. your living room drapes are beautiful.

i actaully wanted to keep them sheer on the top 2/3 portion so the sun light would come through and when in restoom or walking by you could see trees etc. i really only want to block out the bottom quarter if possible. i love cafe curtains but the style doesn't go it the bathroom. i will try to post picture of window in question tomorrow all kids are asleep and I don't want to wake them with light and flashes going off:)

I know this isn't exactly what you are talking about, but kind of the same concept - drapery that is mostly sheer, with a solid fabric on the bottom.

madison wool sheer with como border

The one thing that I might consider is having a narrow band of the solid at the very top of the drape (where it would have the rod pocket or grommets or whatever) which would create a visual link with the wider solid band on the bottom.

It will help to see the window, tho, to know exactly what length and proportion you are considering.

If you keep the weight of the lower portion the same as the sheer, you'll be fine. A nice silk (or rayon) would be good. Anything heavier would look awkward.

Les that is exactly what I am thinking !

Peskey1 I agree I need some sort of shimmery material. I will most likely stay away from silk since it is kids bath.

Measurements of window 29"wide by 44" length and that includes all the moldings. I was thinking nice chrome bar hung 3 inches above molding with then 32-33 inches of sheer material then 15-16" of solid. The solid would fall just below the bottom molding. What do you think?

This would be a fairly inexpensive project I would only need 1 1/4 yard of sheer. I just wish I could sew with sheer material.

Window in question. Sorry I can't resize just tried and for whatever reason photobucket freezes up my computer whenever I resize. I know you can't tell but the sheer portion is teal in color.

I think it's a brilliant idea.

I've never seen curtains like this, but that shouldn't make any difference to you.

I have been trying to find a similar solution to my son's bathroom, and this would work perfectly.

Do it!

And please post photos when you're done!

I think it's a great idea. I have wood blinds in my boys' bathroom and they always close them. But if they're closed no light comes in and even the hallway is dark. Go for it!

Oo! I love the tile on the floor.

I think you should give it a try. The nice thing is that the window isn't that big, so you don't need tons of fabric (in case it ends up not coming out quite as you wanted). Something I was thinking of, is since the window IS small, how much of the block will you be able to see? What about getting a piece long enough to cover the window, and then lining the bottom part with a coordinating fabric (either the green or blue -- whatever you want to bring out)? That way you can see more of the pretty block fabric. I don't know how it will look, but you can maybe look at the fabric with other fabrics to see what you think. Just a thought.

I'm not sure about this idea due to your color choice. The light coming from the window will be filtered through this teal fabric which I don't think will be pleasant. A white sheer on top with solid on the bottom would be a better choice - it would look fresh and clean next to the beautiful wall color and it wouldn't draw attention from the gorgeous tile floor and wall color. As for mixing a sheer top with solid bottom - great idea and I've seen it done but don't remember where.

Another idea to kick around is using the window contact like paper that obscures the view but lets the light in.

I think skypathway made a good point. I think both ideas are great -- the contact paper is a great option (they make some really cool options for windows these days).

However, I think since it's not much fabric, she can give it a try and see how it comes out.

Here is something similar just to give you an idea of how it would look. They even have an aqua colored one (of cours the panels would be too big).

Here is a link that might be useful: jcpenney

On a window that small, I think it may end up looking like you weren't able to get enough material and so you added something on.

Why don't you just get some of the frosted window wallpaper to cover the bottom window, and then make the entire curtain out of the sheer fabric? The window wallpaper will give you the privacy, and then you can still have the light coming through.

Oh, I wish my mbathroom curtains were finished so I could show you a picture. I am having mine done in sheers too but they are putting grommets on the top so I can pull them back if needed. I have blinds on the windows already but I don't open them bc I need the privacy but with the sheers I will be able to at least open them a little.
I agree with Les - put some of that privacy stuff on the window and then you can just use sheers - and I think that material is PERFECT for your beautiful bathroom.
Show us pictures when you are finished!!

I have the privacy contact paper on a window that faces the street in our bathroom, because the fire station is right across the street, and I know it works!

Having a sheer curtain or Roman shade on the top half is the way to go for light.

What a great find, that fabric matches your tile so perfectly. I think making the panels out of just the sheer fabric would be simple and stunning.

Thanks everyone for responding I love to hear all the opinions.

Before I go with the privacy paper I think I am going to try to make these drapes with the help of my Mom:) of course. I do think Les had a great idea about putting the solid on the top where rod would go throgh and then sheer and then solid at bottom. I think the sheer is only 14 dollars a yard and the solid material can't set me back too much. If I don't like I am not out an arm and a leg. So now onto shopping for the solid and give it a try.

Hoyaman I would love if if you post your pic when drape is done. I am not going to get started on this for about another week or two. I have to wait until my mom (thank God for a mother that can sew) has time.

I just returned from the beach and the hotel where we stayed had this exact thing as a SHOWER CURTAIN. The top 1/4 was sheer and the bottom part was solid. You could actually look out through the sheer part while you took a shower. The header was reinforced with something and it had LARGE fabric type grommets in it that the shower rod went through. Their's actually had the bottom solid part attached to the top with snaps. I assume this is so that section can be laundered or replaced more often.

I'll see if their website has any pictures of the baths that show this.

Love that bathroom. What color is the wall? It looks so great with the white trim. So refreshing.

Found a picture. Hope this works.

Here is a link that might be useful:

paddy - my curtains should be up this weekend. I didn't put a different color on the bottom though I had thought about it. They are putting a "buckrum" I think that is what he said, so that the sheer material will be stiff enough to hold the grommets. My grommets aren't that large - just enough to go on the rod that I had purchased about 2 years ago LOL.

Great idea though and the pic of the shower curtain is awesome!

Buckram is a stiffened fabric.

Here, from wikipedia:

buckram

I made some curtains almost exactly like what's been described here. I had some really pretty blue material that was mostly sheer, but not enough to cover all of my windows. So I just divided the piece I had by the number of windows. That made the width of the blue stripe somewhat arbitrary. I had green above it and green below. I think the green above was roughly as big as the blue stripe, but then that blue stripe was only about 10 inches tall.

Anyway, my friends thought they were gorgeous and they liked the contrast of the sheer and the opaque. I bet yours will be fabulous.

Greenmtn--Awesome pic of shower curtain. Thank you!!! I love it. I think it might work. It looks like they put the solid/stiffer fabric on top and on bottom like Les suggested. Les you got some eye. I love the white tone on tone. I might vist that look too (white top white sheer white bottom).

Hoyamom can't wait to see. I might change my mind after seeing yours and just do sheers.

I have 2 weeks to decide.

Sheilaaus the wall color is BM Peacock Feathers. It is a fun bathroom to go into. It's almost everyones favorite. The glass tiles are actually more beautiful and colorful in person.

Paddy, I'd definitely go with Gallery Glass (faux stained glass).

I've been scarce around here lately because I'm working on the GG window for my huge transom. I'm really excited about it and will show you all when it's done. I've posted the pictures of the other two GG windows I've done around here so many times, I'm sure you must have seen them.

Something like this would look much better than any curtains in your bath, IMO, and you can do it yourself and have fun doing it, plus be so proud of yourself. It will last for years to come and unlike curtains it doesn't need to be laundered. Further, you can decide for yourself how much of the window to "frost" and how much to leave clear see-through.

{{!gwi}}

Oceanna- that is beyond beautiful.
Don't know what else to say.
(I think you may be "selling yourself short" to say that it is easy to do and anyone can do it.)

I think it would work. I would consider clip rings or grommets or tabs to get the fabrics into equal folds. I don't think a fabric dense enough for privacy on the bottom will gather together equally with lightweight sheers on the top. I think the bottom would want to stick out awkwardly. Folds can be taught to stay together.
They should go just to the bottom of the window apron though. Not beyond it. I'm looking forward to seeing them finished.

Salonv, isn't that pretty? I didn't make that one -- that's a real stained glass window and I saved the picture. That would be a pretty darned easy pattern to make, really (you should see the one I'm doing right now). I think anyone, well just about anyone, could learn to do this. And I think that particular window would look stunning in Paddy's bath. Dunno if Paddy has seen this, though.

paddy: That sheer fabric is beautiful. I can't wait to see what you end up doing. Your bathroom is just so pretty already! You're getting a lot of great ideas here. Good luck making a decision. :)

greenmtn: the last place we stayed had those same shower curtains. I was thinking of them also when I read this thread. I liked how they let more light into the shower than standard curtains do.

oceanna: That stained glass window is fantastic. Is it the inspiration for your new work of art? Can you show us how it's going? I'd love to see it in progress. Have you decided how it's going to hang. (sorry, little OT, I know)