Someone on here, not too long ago had posted some photos of some really great and (cheap $$) panels she had gotten but of course the store did not have the right number needed. For example, if she needed 2 per window she only was able to get 1 per window. She added 2 plain (or could be coordinating) panels towards the inside, and it really looked good. I am not usually too creative, but that made an impression - so doable. I hear you about the expense and all. Maybe you can try to find something that would work with the panels you bought which are indeed lovely. I do know I have definitely seen 96 " panel at Target in pretty basic colors and or patterns. You could at least try that and play with it at home (and if it is not to your liking, you could return).... Hope this helps~

two 44" panels = 88". This is enough to cover the window when closed. I guess I don't understand the problem.

Unless I am not understanding correctly, you don't need a rod that big. You can get a rod that goes from 48 to 84".

Do you sew? This is a look that can be achieved using fabric that you can easily obtain in Canada.

For the chevron, it's a cotton canvas, but because the grey could be difficult to match I'd choose a solid in a contrast color you may be using in the room. Lots of clear colors (by that I mean not muddy or greyed) go with grey.

So chop the panels in half, open up the side hems on one side of each 1/2 panel, sew them together and then seam them to the contrast fabric that you've already seamed to get the vertical you need.
It's not quite as uncomplicated as that, you'll have some fussing to do with the seams, lining and hems, but it's all doable. Then you've doubled your width.

For the silk with the blackout lining, you could choose a sheer for the texture contrast with the silk, and still line it with a blackout lining. It could be quite pretty. Just be sure that your lining and your sheer color are a really close match.

sheilaaus, thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely consider that. Last time I was at our target I didn't see any 96" panels, the longest I saw was 84". We don't have the selection of the US stores. I am going out today though so will stop in and double check.

I have access to Urban Barn which sells all their panels in store and 96", but it seems none of the panels will work with the clips. :( Urban Barn curtain panels

I will do some Googling though to see the look with mixed panels as I could probably find something that coordinated without a blackout lining and use it on the outside and the ones I bought from PBK on the inside.

gracie01, if they cover the window when closed, there will be a gap on the rod on either side of the window, unless I stretch them out flat. Is it okay to have a gap on the rod on either side of the window when closed? For some reason I thought they needed to extend the full rod width when closed.

As for the rod, the one I bought came in 36"-66" or 66"-120" which is how I ended up with the longer one. It does have 3 rod sections and the finials can be attached to any of the rods so I should be okay with it.

@mlweaving_Marji, that is a beautiful look! Way beyond my sewing skills though. I don't even own a sewing machine. At our last house I did sew some tassel trim onto the bottom of some curtains that were not long enough for my oldest daughter's rom, and borrowed a neighbour's sewing machine to do so, and it took me way longer than it should have, wasn't perfect and I didn't have to deal with cutting or undoing hems on the panels. Ha ha!

I did what Sheila mentioned, although I am not who she is referring to. I had sliders to cover and the curtains didn't look full enough. I also didn't want a big block of the same patterned fabric when the curtains were closed. So, I picked a solid, light, neutral color that complemented the patterned curtains and added those on the inside. It gave me the fullness I was looking for and still matched the existing elements. I don't have photos of my room, but it has a similar idea to this:

Here is a link that might be useful: [https://www.houzz.com/photos/interior-design-gallery-transitional-bedroom-orlando-phvw-vp~3454523-Design-Gallery-transitional-bedroom-orlando[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/interior-design-gallery-transitional-bedroom-orlando-phvw-vp~3454523)

One way to solve the problem is to give up the idea of exposing the whole window when the drapes are open. Use a shorter rod that extends just beyond the frame. You would have 88 inch panels covering 60 inches of window.

If exposing the maximum amount of window is important, add drapery holdbacks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drapery holdbacks

@lolauren, thank you for the picture. Very helpful and my Googling wasn't coming up with any that showed that look. I am going to see if I can make that work with what I have available to me locally. I know from shopping previously that 96" panels were very hard to find which is why I had ended up ordering online. Perhaps now that I'm not looking for something with a blackout lining it may be easier though.

@graywings, their rooms aren't large so the beds are only 22" from their windows (more room on other side but due to door placement and such, having the larger space on the other side makes the most sense) so hold backs may end up as good way for them to catch themselves, or my toddler's head on a holdback.

I also thought that current trends warranted the rod extending past the window quite a bit? Maybe it's not that big of a deal. I was trying to make everything look larger on that side since it's the wall you see directly as you are walking in, and because the rooms aren't that large (10' x 12' with space taken up by closet and double beds)

This post was edited by silvercanadian on Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 12:46

That link lolauren posted is great. I am not sure but I think it was Beverly27 who had posted a similar picture but with hers, I am not certain but I think hey were mostly going to be left open, and the patterned ones were on the outside. I tried searching and can't seem to find the post. It made a big impression on me because it was such a nice inexpensive way to make it all work...and only you will know the story behind it- it looks good and does not look like an accident so to speak.

You could try contacting the few canadian PBK stores directly and would then avoid duty charges

Here is a link that might be useful: canadian PBK stores

@mitchdesj, unfortunately, the Canadian stores won't ship. They expect you to use the global shipping program from the US pottery barn stores. I understand duty, that's not the issue really, it's that they up the cost over the US price and won't allow the coupons to be used.

For example, the silk panels are US$129 each. Once you are shipping them to Canada they are CAD$171.11 each even though the exchange rate would put them at CAD$135. Then there is still duty on top of that.

For 4 panels shipping to the US (including California tax as that's what I used as the state in the calculation) the total would be US$423.97 with a 15% coupon. The coupon cannot be used shipping to Canada and with all the fees and such, the same 4 panels are CAD$638.29. $215 more. Crazy IMO!

If you can't find the right size panels to complement, you could find fabric and make the drapes. I did for most of my rooms, and I can't sew at all. I just used iron-on tape to create the hems. :) You mentioned clips, so that would be easier if you are clipping on to the top of the fabric. If not, it might not work.

So I am liking the complementary panel idea. Now, will it look silly if the complementary panels are only in a 10" wide area on the side, while the PBK ones are in the centre covering 58"? I could extend the outside a bit but don't want to go much wider than 12" on either side. And I need the 58" to be the ones I purchased since those have the blackout liner. (highly unlikely I will find anything to buy with a blackout liner, I scoured the city prior to ordering these)

Okay, Jysk has some in 96" length, not sure if I can find something that will complement, but hopefully. Any opinions on whether the one I linked to below will work with the grey chevron panels? My daughter has a grey wall above her headboard, then the grey chevron panels, her bedding has purples so these panels may coordinate with the purple in her bedding.

My brain is a little frazzled though so at first I thought "no way!" with the grey chevron...but maybe? LOL As I look more, probably not at all!

Here is a link that might be useful: purple panels coordinate with grey chevron?

This post was edited by silvercanadian on Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 14:45

Do you live near the border? I live in Canada, but I ship things to a US border town and then drive across to get them myself. Often, I don't even get charged tax (and never duty) when bringing things back. It's great.

No, nowhere near the border; minimum of a 5 hour drive. I do have a US shipping address I can use but it's not necessarily cost effective once I pay for shipping to it, then to me. Those panels would be about $40 shipping on top of the US$425, plus tax and collection fee once it arrived, so around $525 total. Assuming the 15% coupon I had wasn't expired as well. LOL And I just don't have that right now. :(

Also found these linked below that may work with the silk ones. Problem is, it looks like there is some lavender in them so I'd have to verify that as they may not go with that child's room.

Here is a link that might be useful: shine strip panel at Urban Barn

As I stated before I am very not creative and cant always visualize very well. With that said, I am not sure if the purples will look great or close but not right. I am curious what others will think. What I was thinking originally was a nice white panel (no brainer )....

@ogoopogo, we have Fabricland! I did not check there. Thank you!

@sheilaaus122, I'd be fine with white as well if I could find it. ;) I found white with grommets, and white pinch pleat, neither of which will go with the style of the others! I'll head out today or tomorrow and see what I can find though.

My current plan is to install with about 7" extended on either side and see how it looks. If I think I need more panels, I'll just extend the rod and head out looking for panels. I'll likely post pics when I'm done so people can tell me if they think more panels are needed or not.

Do you have a Fabricland near you? They have a pretty good selection of panels.

We had the same problem in our master bedroom and I did a double rod (cheap at Jysk if you have one near you). I hung white sheets on the rod closest to the window and the real panels on the other rod. When I close them, I pull the white to the middle and the coloured panels about half way shut. I swear that the sheets don't look like sheets when hung. I got them cheap when Zellers was going out of business and dble them so they look like they are lined.

You're right in figuring a 78" rod. To clear your glass when the windows are open you need a 10" stackback on each side.
Since your panels should be 2 1/2 to 3x's fullness, ideally you should have a minimum of 100" of flat fabric on each side.
If you're adding contrast panels, all of both your original panels and the contrast will be pleated back onto the 10" when the drapes are open.
When closed the two panels per side should be evenly distributed, meaning some of the contrast panel is going to be over glass. you aren't going to be able to just keep that part on the stackback, not easily.
Does that make sense?

I think I'd be tempted to take one panel of the contrast, split it vertically, then add one 1/2 to each panel you already have. Then you'll have a 1/3-2/3 split of fabric per window, and though it'll be bit less full, it'll tend to keep the window covered more with the blackout part.
In any case you're going to have to do a little bit of sewing.

Do you have a thrift shop nearby? I'd look there for something that could work.

Fabricland had tons of stuff but nothing that would work. The fabrics were very upholstery like and not suited for a child's room. They did have some specifically geared towards kids but those were only 84".

@mlweaving_Marji, what you said makes perfect sense. Although I will have to come up with a new plan as I won't be able to sew anything together. Even if I attempted it, I don't the time. We go from 6:30am until 10:30pm every week day, and have one day's worth of free time on the weekend which is used for grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.

I could look into a seamstress but I wouldn't expect it to be cheap here. 2 years ago I got straps shortened on a top (nothing fancy or difficult about it) and it cost $25. The top was only $50. Ha ha. Hemming pants costs $20.

We installed the rod yesterday and hung the panels and they definitely need more width. Even if they are directly over the window/frame, light creeps through the sides. And it looks like it needs more width. The silk ones are really nice though and nice quality.

Unfortunately, Pottery Barn screwed up and one panel, even though it says 96" is 84". Sigh. So no matter what, something has to go back which is going to involve extra shipping costs, etc. Since I have to go through that gong show, I could see if I can scrounge up enough to purchase more panels of what I already have, but if I can't put them up without being sewn together, that doesn't help me much either.

WHY do they make panels so narrow? They are designing 2 panels to fit a 36" window? Our windows aren't even overly large for the room and they are wider than that. If they made them wider, they would still work on narrow windows but also work on wider windows.

This post was edited by silvercanadian on Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 12:18

If Pottery Barn made the mistake, I'd call them and ask for refund of your postage and postage to return them all. If you can't use one panel, it makes the others unusable, so they should pay. I bet they will. Then you can start fresh and find something you like that will work.

I have to say that I agree with olychick. For sure you should not be paying return postage for defective product...

Well it gets complicated as I noticed I had these shipped to a US address I use sometimes, because I had ordered some other items that I can only get in the USA and had everything shipped together to me in Canada. So no way Pottery Barn is going to pay to ship them back from Canada when they sent them to a US address. :( And I had the box open and inspected before it was shipped to me as well. But all the packages said 96" so I figured everything would be okay.

The thing is, it has taken me almost a year to find these. I picked the grey chevron specifically because my one daughter has lavender chevron sheets (duvet cover is a completely different pattern but shares the purple) and the wall her bed is against will be grey. So the grey chevron curtains brought in the grey and the chevron.

I'll talk to Pottery Barn and see what they can do, if anything. I just dread trying to find something. There is literally nothing in my city that have the look I want that is 96" let alone has a black out lining. And I'm pretty sure that custom made is out of my budget as I had asked about it when we had window covering folks in for the rest of the house and got shades for that. The girls have had naked windows for 2 years already. Bah.

I'll call a local place that does draperies again tomorrow to get a price range of simple panels. I really don't have more than $250 a window to spend though.

Reading this I now know why a gal years ago would have me buy things for her and ship to CA as a "gift". As I remember she said something about the dollar being better if I would purchase and ship. Duty and tax never came up and I happily made her happy without a clue.

It sounds like you'll have to send them back, anyway, because PB messed up the length.

But here's a cute photo from Tonic Living's FB page (connected to their website.) They're a Canadian fabric company with up-to-date fabrics at really good prices. They also do drapes and pillows.

The pic is from Mrs Limestone's Brooklyn Limestone Blog--her daughter's navy blue nursery. (old timers here will remember mrslimestone.) I thought of this thread when I saw the pic. Very cute to put white on both sides of the colored panels. Maybe you could even use Stitch Witchery tape--the seam would disappear into pleats. I've had good luck with my local overpriced tailor giving me surprisingly reasonable prices to hem heavy PB velvet drapes. Worth asking a tailor, for sure.

I would spend my time searching for coordinating 96" panels. I would then put them on a double rod so it gives it a more layered, intentional look. You don't ever have to move the curtains on the front rod, and when the black-out curtains on the back rod are closed, the front curtains will cover the gap.