You could do bamboo roman shades and drapes to the side. Or bottom-up shades and side drapes.

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Bring in an accent color

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deco nailed it, but wanted to add one more pic.

Jennifer and Angel nailed it best. There is often no room for even minimal blinds inside a bay window so the choice is curtains hung outside the bay (but which can close and cover it completely!), or no curtains at all. I did the later in my first house - the room was too small for curtains and it really was the only choice. The small loveseat we had fit perfectly in the bay and that helped it not look too bare.

My loveseat is kind of in the bay not sure curtains could close behind it...hmmm

So hang them as high as possible and is there a specific type of drape you recommend? In the dining room and family room I have Pottery Barn Emery Linen drapes in ivory.

So even with that soffit area you would put the rod all the way up? Also the opening is over 100 inches do I have to find extra wide drapes?

Bay windows can be a challenge. I personally like when the drapes are OM and then a decorative shade is put inside the bay .

How do I find those short curtain rods? What are they called?

I had a client get some online that were 18-22" from Bed, Bath , and Beyond. They didn't carry that size in the store. Also google curtain drapery hardware.

Can someone please advise on the soffit I have? None of the example photos have such a wide soffit. Will it look funny hanging the curtains from the very top with that soffit there.

I'm not a fan of all that empty wall space under a rod to begin with, so I wouldn't hang it all the way up. I would also just mount some romans or bamboo shades rather than curtains, if there's room inside mount, but that's just personal opinion : )

Just put the rod about half way between top of window and ceiling.

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Thank you would you do short rods on each side or a long rod over the bay window?

Me, I kind of like the short rods. Just make sure the drapes cover the frame a little on each side

of the window.

Hi, Jen--

You've gotten great advice from deco. I'm not a fan of shorty rods since, IMHO, drapery installations should always appear fully functional and ready to close as needed. With a soffit like you've got, high and wide is the conventional wisdom for rod placement so that drapes can "stack off" and won't obscure any of your beautiful view or light when fully open. If it means extra wide panels, so be it - skimpy drapes are a perpetual visual regret. Do it right and you'll never look back. Cheers with your project!