Should I just take them down? I have a lot of dark wood in that room, so I'm not thinking anything "natural". If that makes sense. Thanks!

here is an example of a more contemporary window treatment.

The valances are outdated and block out light. Depending on what you want you can do bamboo blinds or maybe curtain panels. It seems your style is traditional?

You ave a lovely view and the room looks quite dark in the photo. Presuming you need more light and have no privacy issues that needs to be covered by window coverings I'd remove them. They look a little heavy and only cut out some of your view and light. Being dark they look a little like heavy eyebrows on the windows :)
Whatever you replace them with, I'd mount them just under the ceiling. Say you have roman blinds; they would sit just over the top edge of the window when open. I'd personally like, if it was my room, ceiling to floor curtains paired with roman blinds. Making sure the curtains sit over the walls when open, just covering the side of the window. Like these pics

I will take a photo in the am to show the differences in light. Basically I need something to cover while we are away. Under the valence is a old , heavy faux wood blind. They are super heavy to pull up and fugly! I was thinking that curtains wouldn't work because my furniture would be in the way. So excited for help! Thank you!

I think furniture looks best placed in a little from the wall :)

A few more ideas --

Seems I have a lots of dark colors in this room. I would like to lighten it up a bit, so window treatments should be white or more of a neutral? I don't think curtains would work. Do you? More of a shade? I don't need privacy but I do need something to cover while out of town. And what about energy?

They are down! The faux wood blinds have to go. You can see how heavy they are. Where is a good place to get decent quality window coverings?

I would recommend custom roman shades, similar to these ideas. If they are outside mounted on the wall above the windows and almost to the ceiling, they will give the illusion of higher ceilings. If you don't need light control or privacy, could be a great solution. With insulated lining, when they are down, you would get energy savings. It might be great to pick a light background co-ordinate fabric for your space with added texture or color. The type of window you have works perfect for this application.

These are available through interior designers, home design furniture stores and window treatment businesses like Budget Blinds and custom drapery firms.

Love this idea, but I'm not sure it would work. Mounting a roman shade higher than the window would be similar to what I just took down. Plus my windows are wide - 7feet 10 inches. I would need two shades for each window. Thanks for the ideas on where to go.

If you like this idea, with custom shades, the width is no problem. You wouldn't need two shades because many drapery fabrics come in 118" widths. I would recommend that you take the shade to the ceiling and eliminate the strip of wall above the valance like you had before. With this and lighter colored fabric, you would be amazed at what a difference it makes to mount at the ceiling. The eye is drawn upward and it has a seamless simplicity. Inside mounted cellular shades and newly designed roller shades could also work, although you may be limited by the width, as to which fabrics/materials are available. With these options, when they are up, you would not see much of anything at the window, which could look somewhat unfinished (like the pic you posted with just blinds pulled up).

Hope this helps and good luck with your project!

Fabric or woven shades would look nice to add more textures and interests to the windows. I think it depends on your budget, maintenance and look you're going for.

With a space that is so horizontal like this and what looks to be an 8' ceiling i would lean towards floor to ceiling curtain panels. They can be found ready made and lined at places like Bed Bath & Beyond for a great deal less than custom.

The window coverings would be down at most - 20% of the year. The rest of the time they would be up to enjoy the view. Maybe panels would work, but wouldn't they look odd on such a wide widow?

If you go floor to ceiling and almost all the way side to side (take down painting in the middle) even when the panels are open the room would feel a lot bigger by having this over scaled element.

Earlier comments indicated no curtains, but I agree with J.R.McDonald, floor to ceiling drapery panels, stacked back onto walls (including outside walls at corners) to keep window framed vs. stacking into window frame. Good luck with your project!

DCI: What do you mean by "stacked back onto walls"? Should the curtain rod span the width of the window? I will have a 6 foot span between the curtains.

We offer a window system with the blinds installed in the windows from Andersen E Series. We like the system 3 option that has both blinds and shades. Happy to get you more information on this.

Conrad shades in the designer line or something cheaper that mimics from from Budget Blinds would be nice. A natural grass woven roman. Romans are contemporary. Or you could do a woven textured solar shade from Hunter Douglas-I believe they do them in your width.

Good luck!

What about these from ceiling to the floor?

What about these from ceiling to the floor?

I would love to see you add a Soft not White color, Hunter Douglas Silhouette or Pirouette one per opening, giving you a nice defused light through the sheer, with a privacy option, also allowing you to get them out of the way entirely (hiding in the head rail). If the room still needs it, add decorative Panels to give you some elevation and soften the window edges. Panels would be the finishing touch.

I think what DCI meant that the rod's should go (much) wider than the windows so when curtains are open you see the whole window, and view. Here's an example of full width, and top to bottom. The curtains are only partially open here, but do open all the way.

I like the blue and white stripe roman shade or panels on each side of the window or both!

Thank you so much. Now that things are down and moving along...I'm considering new paint and some other changes. Isn't that the way it always goes? Thanks everyone for the feedback. : )

best of luck to you. would love to see some after pics. J.R.-

Hope things pull together...better than this! This is what I am very afraid of!

I take it you don't like it?

Read the above and respectfully disagree with rod and panels for these reasons:

1.your windows are very wide and you will be up for a lot of fabric to cover that much window, and therefore the stack back will be considerable. Your piece of artwork in between will not be able to stay. Grommet headings are a poor choice if the panels are to be pulled closed. They are difficult to move. They ' re a good choice for panels that will never move.

For a metal rod like the one shown above you will need MORE than one center support for that width of rod if you have panels that are meant to close.. 94" plus at least 6" either side means the rod will be 106" long.....which means again grommets will not work. You would need a traversing rod or track, probably ceiling mounted.

2. The shape of the windows really lends itself more to a wide woven shade, mounted at ceiling height. They are available in a multitude of finishes, some lovely light colored finishes that would work well in your room. It is easy to get one shade per window there and they are NOT hard to lift. For a moderate price point check out Horizon shades.

Was just about to respond when I read Julie's advice above. Agree completely with everything she said! You will need 3 widths each side for the panels to close unless you want them to lay completely flat when shut--a look I personally do not like or recommend. What is it you do not like in the photo you attached above? I would consult a local professional for help on these windows.
Also--faux wood is heavier that real wood. I would never spec faux wood for a window that wide. No wonder they are so hard to open! :)

I suggested drapes to be stationary panels not meant to open or close.

Julie Thome Draperies: Can you suggest some images for your #2 comments? Something in the lighter motif? Mounted at ceiling height and then when dropped - fitting into the window? I like this idea so much better. I am Danish - I like clean lines! I am also going to paint the room a lighter color. Everything seems peachy orangey tan brown. Want to move out of the earth tones.

Something like this?

Here is an example of a blind mounted at ceiling height.

Floor to ceiling drapes..2 panels each side sewn together for width. 2" wooden pole with 1 center support. Curtains clipped onto wooden rings for ease of opening and closing. Mount pole 10" beyond window casing so that fabric only covers casing and wall when open, getting the full view of the window.

Here is one of the light finishes from Horizon shades...
http://www.horizonshades.dphoto.com/#/album/3a597w/photo/13206578

OK! Going with the ceiling mounted Roman shade. I'm going to paint the room to give more light and then I'll pick something. Thanks everyone.

Great choice on the ceiling mounted roman shades. One more question on the space to help make it lighter and fresher feeling: Do you need the ceiling fan? If not, I would go for a ceiling light fixture with at least 150watts for wonderful general illumination. I would also find a way to light the ceiling which will make it appear higher and make the whole space brighter and happier, especially if you need to keep the ceiling fan. Two ways to do this are either high wattage torcheres (tall opaque uplights) or sconces (a more expensive solution as you would have to add electricity). Good luck!

Lighter and fresher - totally need that! Roman shades to ceiling - check. New paint color - something creamy, but NOT tan. Remove hanging speakers from ceiling and install hidden ceiling speakers - working on it. Possibly get a slip cover for the striped couch against windows...not sure. When I look at this room - I see everything one color family. I think painting will help a lot. The fan stays, but I definitely need lighting in the room beyond the track lighting. Any paint suggestions - or any other suggestions?! I appreciate the time and feedback. Thank you !

In the above pictures, the walls look kinda light, but really they are peachy. I would love a paint that is warm and creamy - not tan. Any suggestions? I think painting the wall lighter would open the room up more and then I wouldn't be stuck in the same color scheme? What are your thoughts? (On the mantel are all of my color swatches for paint!)

Thanks for the pictures...they're a big help. One great classic warm white paint color is Benjamin Moore Linen White. From what I can see it would look beautiful in your room. There are, of course, MANY other choices but this one is so tried-and-true. I would consider painting the blades of the fan the same color. That would really help to visually lighten the mass above your head. The stirped sofa looks fine to me in the pictures. You can always change throw pillows for a fresh, new look!

Have you chosen a window treatment? You should do that, paint and I agree add pillows. The large plate on the wall looks out of place there.

It's going to be a whole new room - I have to take the paint all the way into the kitchen. There is no way of getting around that. Haven't picked out anything yet. Just gathering the ideas, while the excitement grows! What else can I do? What should be done? I know, I know...paint first, then go from there. I just want to rip everything out of there!

Would it not be better to find a window treatment so as to match the paint with the drapery? Thought that is what designers suggest but I could be wrong as I am no designer.

Actually, I would choose it all first and then finalize the paint color. bevballew is correct. There are hundreds of great paint colors and many less fabric options. I would work with getting a great creamy white in a inen for the roman shades and confirm the paint color when you have them in hand. It's going to look GREAT!