I'm in the process of installing (faux) wood blinds in my living room. There are four windows, each 36 inches wide, in a row along the only long wall. They have always been covered by pinch-pleated draperies spanning a total of 18 feet. Pinch-pleats are very true to the 1950s MCM style but not particularly to my taste, and I wanted more options for light control and view-screening - the windows face south and the view is unattractive.

In my quest to de-fustify the house, I had been thinking about removing the draperies anyway, but it turns out that I have no choice: because the design of the windows doesn't allow mounting the blinds inside the casings, the draperies won't draw past the blinds.

However, the cornice (and the traverse rod) extend another foot beyond the ends of the windows, so I'm thinking of hanging stationary panels at the ends, using the existing hardware. (The rod doesn't draw correctly, but it's sound enough to use for fixed panels.)

The question is, what kind of panels (fabric and color)? On the TV shows that I unfortunately watch, they always seem to use dupioni silk in red, but that doesn't seem right at all. The long walls, including the gaps between the windows, are currently cream but will eventually be repainted in grey. The end walls are paneled and there's a bluestone fireplace. The only large upholstered piece is "biscuit" (tan) and the accent colors are orange and blue, but there's not a lot of either.

Here's a picture, showing one window with the new blind. Please keep in mind that the headers of the blinds and the existing traverse rod will be covered by the front panel of the cornice, which I had to remove to install the brackets for the blinds.