With such a small amount of wall above window I would go right up about a 1” below ceiling…

I would hang then from the ceiling.

@Home Interiors With Ease and @ilikefriday I suddenly am questioning this curtain because we have baseboard heat. Is it safe to have floor length curtains here?

Yes it is fine…it is warm ambient heat no worries.

@ilikefriday thank you. I see how from the ceiling looks better! how far out should I be aiming for on the sides of the window?

Oh no for a more traditional look the rod should be on the wall…add 8 extra inches on each side of window for rod width…so if window is 40” wide add another 16” so rod would be 56” wide.

@Chris H

I'm not sure how far out on the sides. I recently added curtain panels in my living room, hung from the ceiling. I just eyeballed it. It was probably about the 8" that HIWE suggested for my approximately 40" window.

Thank you. How do you figure out how high to hang a valence? Our kitchen windows (which can be seen from the dining room) with just have balances and I like the way a straight valence looks with no visible rod. For those types of rods I always thought you install on the frame? Would a different style look better here? I’m looking at a solid navy blue or dusty/stone blue in a linen material. Here is the kitchen for reference, picture is taken from inside the dining room.

Here’s a more updated one. The table in the middle is temporary until my husband builds a workstation table.

If you have hot water baseboard heaters there might not be a problem with the draperies in close contact but if you have regular baseboards that are not hydronic, draperies coming into contact are a big fire hazard! There is lots of info on the internet, this is just one link that came up first.

Fire hazard of baseboards

@Olychick ill take a look, thanks. Ill confirm which type with my husband. @Home Interiors that thought did cross my mind. We do not need them for functional use though so I thought the money could be spent elsewhere (we have a living room with 5 windows to work on next). Just to clarify, you do mean both windows, right? I would think I have to do outside mount because of the window above the sink really being two crank windows. I only have 2.5” clearance out to the light above the sink. I cant seem to find faux wooden shades.

No valence in kitchen windows. It’s dated. A simple window blind if you want privacy or sun screening.

I ordered some color samples for bamboo Roman shades. If I can’t find a good match to the floor what color should I go? Dark? And if I’m mounting them on the outside should they be wider than the frame? And lastly, would they be installed above the frame on the wall? I can’t tag you @Home for some reason so hopefully you (and others) will see this. Thanks!

Inside mount with no added valance..just keep them up and stationary if not needed for privacy.

@Home I don’t think I can inside mount bc of my sink window. There is a frame between the two windows. Is there a way around this?

Or maybe I can fudge it by mounting them in the same location as if they were inside mounted but they’ll just stick out.

Or do two super small shades for the sink window maybe?

Here is an old picture but shows the middle frame I’m referring to better…

I much prefer a fabric window treatment whenever possible. Your kitchen windows would be perfect locations for simple swag toppers. Please do not let anyone convince you that they are dated. Woven shades are what we had on our enclosed porch when i was a child. I never liked them then either.

@grapefruit_ar thanks. I am definitely looking at all options. I ordered some wooden shade samples and I’m going to order some fabric samples as well for some faux Roman shades I found. Who knew all these decisions were so hard! I’m grateful for this forum bc I have terrible ability to decorate. I’m learning from folks around here though!

Yes the bracket can set out just a bit so the shade just sits on the middle area..it still looks like it can set in just a bit…you will love the warmth of the wood woven shades.

Hi, I agree that I would go up closer to the ceiling since there is not alot of space in between the window and the ceiling. Also the width could be wider if they were custom.

For the woven, you don’t have enough room for an inside mount. You could mount above or possibly directly on the frame, hard to see in the pic. If you don’t need or want a full shade you could consider a faux shade where it only goes down partially. Wovens are more forgiving above a sink than any type of fabric if you cook or use your kitchen alot :-). If you want texture or pattern, you could just do a simple cornice or valance. They are not dated, what dates them is the fabric, colors etc. You can go with traditinal style or more contemporary depending on the look you want.

The Smith & Noble faux shades are wonderful! had them in my last home to cover the ugly automated shades…Smith & Noble you need a designer in my area! Bloomfield Hills MI…my last home was all Smith & Noble window treatments…was so pleased!

@Kimber @Home thanks! i have so many samples coming, yikes lol. Id really love to be able to do these inset. How do these shades mount? Can I mount the brackets towards the front and if so I wonder how far forward I can. I am also wondering if they can remove the valance (from the wood shades).

I cant figure out if that center piece will get in the way. I know it wont allow a recessed shade but can I mount still inside and just rest against it? Otherwise its about a 1” depth for the actual window trim, that center frame is nearly flush with the outside trim though. The other window is 1.5 or 1.75” depth depth at the top.

Hi, the center mullion of the window def matters, that’s what determines your depth in that window. A shade can rest against it but to me it looks like less than 3/4” of an inch. What you need to think about is the projection of what you do there, considering your depth. How deep is the headrail of the product you want to use. Sometimes people want to inside mount and they don’t think about the depth which can honestly detract from pretty moldings like your. If you outside mount above the window most of your moldings AND glass will be visible, giving you full view outside as well as seeing almost all the moldings.

Brackets differ by product and often by company. You would not want to remove the valance on the front of a flat fold woven shade as it covers the mechanism needed to operate the shade. If you outside mounted you could choose a waterfall style shade and there is no front valance. See pic.

@Kimber glad to know what it’s called (mullion)! That darn thing is making this such a pain. If I go with woven wood and mount above the window I assume my goal is for the shade (when rolled up) to just barely cover the trim? and they should be the full width of the window (trim to trim)? Our cabinet molding will limit how high I can mount them on the wall.

Im also wondering, if I go with a fabric valance or faux roman shades should they be a solid color since the DR curtain has a pattern? I dont want them to clash! I thought a solid in a similar material and complimenting color. Here is a close up of the DR curtains.

Personally i think the cornice is great solution. that mullion is so problematic. you could mount a shade up inside it if you really have to have one. the cornice could be navy to coordinate with the drapes.

otherwise you can do two separate inside mount woven roman shades with small valance on each. maybe someone can do a mock up of that.

@ShannonMarie i dont need functioning shades here as it faces our backyard. I ordered some fabric samples to look at for flat valances as well.

@Home and others… here are my samples. I’m not loving them unfortunately. I did order some fabric samples as well.

These are all really nice..I even like the one with the darker thread it pulls in your black counter tops…I think they will be beautiful simple classic addition to this more modern farmhouse style you have.

I have received two fabric samples. I’m realizing my curtains might be cool toned? I wonder if this is a problem bc I’m try to aim for a warm space. Here are my samples next to the curtains. I particularly like the slub linen one but would it clash with these since it’s across in the kitchen? Still not quite digging the bamboo but considering. Waiting on some solid blue shades

@Home @Kimber and others. This site never lets me tag properly.

Ok. Hope this helps, I hung them to see. They need to be hemmed but can anyone tell me if they clash with the floors? Thanks! Ignore the wooden box. Its part of something unrelated to the dining room I just couldn’t move it at the moment.

Hi Chris…so this is the dining room that you can see or is attached to the kitchen?

The fabric is very traditional is that what you are going for?

@Home this is the dining room. You can see it from the kitchen.

I’m not sure I know what I’m going for tbh. Everything seems very plain and I liked these curtains. The rug will be replaced with a solid neutral bc I can’t figure out how to mix patterns 🤣

I also have two different curtain panels coming to see which of the three looks best in the dining room pictured here but they’re all floral like this.

The warmth of your wood floors looks very nice with blue…wood woven blinds for kitchen a rug with some blue and wall art is all you need to make the rooms cohesive.

looking firward to seeing your other drapery samples