window covering ideas for craftsman style

16 years ago

i am getting ready to start my strim work for a craftsman style home. I am needing ideas on how i can cover the windows for privacy in the evenings.

examples of the trim

all pictures i see online are of a window trimed with no window coverings.

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johnmari

16 years ago

Try Googling "bungalow window". Appropriate window coverings are simple and ideally inside-mounted in order to display the trim. Wood blinds (real wood, please, not plastic, and fabric tape rather than exposed string), fabric roller shades, simple unlined curtain panels or Roman shades in plain fabrics like muslin, midweight-to-heavy plain cottons or linens; all fabric items may be embroidered, stenciled, or hemstitched. Fancier homes might use printed fabrics in patterns of the period such as by designers William Morris or CFA Voysey. Heavy macrame lace is a beautiful combination with A&C style trimwork, since it evokes the "handwork" greatly valued by adherents of the Arts & Crafts ethic, although it is best for windows that people do not have a direct view into. ( of a macrame lace curtain in place with Craftsman-style trim.) Curtains were typically kept relatively flat, not too full - 1 1/2 widths' (meaning the fabric is 1 1/2 times the width of the window) fullness rather than the more common double width.

Please don't use cheap KMart-type tension rods to hang your fabric WTs if you are interested in an authentic appearance. If you have the space for them to swing, inside-mounted swing rods aka crane rods are a lovely option; this is especially nice for windows in narrow dormers. (Tuck a dowel with a cup hook screwed into the end behind a nearby piece of furniture to move the rods.) Barrel-bracket rods, concealed-mount or visible-mount, are classic period style - Ann Wallace has a nice selection at very good prices; if you want finishes other than the classic unlacquered brass and are willing to spend more, Rejuvenation has some nice finishes. If you do not wish to drill into your new casings, hunt down decorative tension rods like the Umbra Espanna. For a period appearance, 3/8" is the preferred size rodding for inside-mounted treatments that aren't too overly heavy.

A few sites you might find useful:
Authentic-style roller shades: The Handwerk Shade Shop or Alameda Shade Shop
Curtains: Country Curtains, Ann Wallace
Reproduction fabrics: Archive Edition Textiles, Dianne Ayres Textile Studio

I'd also suggest you hit a bookstore or library and check out some books on bungalow/A&C interiors such as those by Paul Duchscherer and Jane Powell (all of their books have gorgeous photography), and read the magazine "American Bungalow".

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Comments (6)

User
16 years ago
If you really are compelled to have window coverings (and we only have our bungalow's bedroom windows covered), I'd go with a flat linen or muslin panel mounted on on inside-mount rod (as johnmari said above).

There is a reason you are only finding pictures without window coverings....
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xantippe
16 years ago
talthoff, we have gorgeous 1920's window trim that we didn't want to cover, so we used inside-mount blinds--the kind with the exposed ribbon--and we love them. They filter the light really well, and when they are pulled up, they are pretty invisible. If you choose this route, make sure to get "returns" on the valance, which will add to the period charm.
amysrq
16 years ago
Here's another source for A&C lace.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cottage Lace
addyson_andrews
16 years ago
Hi there! We have a newly built craftsmen style home and I LOVE all the trim. We had a hard time trying to decide how to cover the windows for privacy without covering all the pretty trim or the beautiful view we have. We finally decided to go with Roman Shades that are mounted on the INSIDE of the windows. This way you can still see all of the trim and the view, but we can lower the shades when the sun in shining in or for privacy.
johnmari
16 years ago
"There is a reason you are only finding pictures without window coverings...."

Because the photographers didn't have neighbors to consider? LOL

The house I live in now (ca. 1900 factory worker's cottage) is in a closely-built old downtown neighborhood. When we moved in, I couldn't afford to buy new window treatments so I flung up a mixture of sheers and semi-sheers that I had on hand - our previous house had been on a wooded one-acre lot with no neighbors to think of most of the time we were there. A short time (some weeks) later there comes a knock on the door. A neighbor is standing there. Scarlet red and stammering, he informs me that he can see right into our side windows (which had cotton-voile sheers) from his house across the street at night and early morning, and gets a lovely view of DH wandering around in his underwear or flapping bathrobe at 4:30-5:00 in the morning, and could we please do something about that? The Discover card got a whack as I ordered Venetian blinds right quick. *chuckle* (I chose blinds because I can tilt the vanes at just the right angle to allow light in during the day but obscure visibility in at night, so I don't have to go around opening and closing blinds every morning and night. The LR has nice wood ones, plastic elsewhere and I HATE 'em but they're what the budget would permit. Replacing them with wood IS on the "to-do" list. I'm actually not a real fan of blinds aesthetically but I can't argue the practicality, and wide-slat blinds are period appropriate.)