I would do woven wood blinds.

Thank you, Sueb20 and roarah! The photos are great. For some odd reason, I am drawn to the blinds in roarah’s 3rd pic. Where would I find something like that? :)

A blogger made those here is a link. ok can no longer post links so google Laurenhurstcraftman.com and stencil roller shades.

Ann Wallace‘s site has lovely inspiration too.

Perfect! Thank you, roarah!

I've had two plain roller shades made at the Handwerk shop in Oregon. In fact, as I just googled to get their address, I found my door and blind. A white shade is perfect for my west-facing 3/4 lite front door. However, you have to be careful with the spring tension. Too loose and they won't go up properly. Too tight, watch out!!! I've had it fly right off the brackets. Now I don't let anyone else touch it but me. I'd love to find plain, top-mount roller shades that go up and down without too much drama.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/15481192446898237/

Roarah left out the S on craftsman.

http://www.laurelhurstcraftsman.com/

Thank you, Eileen! After I got the URL error, I realized that the "Lauren" should be "Laurel" but I still wasn't getting to the homepage. I am now!

Thank you, Bunny -- I lol'd to your blinds flying off the brackets and now having them strictly off limits to everyone but you. :)

I should've caught that too even though Laurenhurstcraftsman did come up on Google. Laurelhurst is a very nice old neighborhood in Portland.

party_music, two hands on the blinds, going up or down. One hand is just courting disaster. I can't figure out how the spring mechanism works.

Bunny, have you talked to the people where you purchased your blinds?

Party, actually I have. The first one I got eventually developed a small tear, probably due to a wild leap off the brackets. I liked it so much that I ordered another one, exact same dimensions and there it sits to this day. When I ordered mine it had to be done via a phone call.

I'd been having a little difficulty contacting Handwerks before I ordered the second one, so I went to a local window covering store, explained what I wanted and the size, basically the same spring-loaded roller shade. They put some numbers in their computer and came up with an estimate of close to $1,000, including installation. I paid something less than $100 for mine and did my own installation, essentially mounting the brackets correctly.

Bunny, I did a search on spring roller shades and looked at installation notes.... I found this note about setting the tension. It may be applicable to your shades and it's worth a try!

Spring Tension should be adjusted to assure best performance and to suit personal preference. The tension on the spring should be neither too loose nor too tight. When a window shade refuses to roll up, the spring is too loose. When it won’t stay down the roller spring is too tight.

To Increase Tension: lower the shade about 18 inches from the top, and then remove it from the brackets. Roll-Up the shade all the way to the top by hand, and then place the shade back into the brackets. Repeat as often as necessary to achieve desired tension.

To Decrease Tension: remove the shade from the brackets, and then unroll about 18 inches of shade material, and then place the shade back into the brackets. Repeat as often as necessary to achieve desired tension.

I now realize that I don’t have the required depth for an inside mount of roller blinds. If I’m measuring correctly, I have less than 1.25” mounting depth. :(

Before you decide on new window treatments, it's best to make sure you know what you want them to do. Light control? Privacy? Insulation? If not, you might be unhappy with your choice if you lose a functionality you currently enjoy.

I'm not a fan of venetian blinds in general, but they do have the advantage of being able to allow some light in for the full length of the window while providing some level of privacy. They also offer complete privacy when turned opposite to the direction of people's sight lines outside. However, they are a pain to clean and they offer little in the way of insulation.

If you enjoy the full window of light (craftsman homes can be dark) then you might not be happy with roman shades. Lace cafe curtains can provide some privacy and yet let light in, but are not insulating and don't provide light control...

Just some thoughts...

Here's an article that discusses curtain styles from the Craftsman era and how they were used and installed. There are also links at the end for textiles and curtains. Cooper Lace has really pretty sheer curtains.

Eileen, your link did not work for me ("Page Not Found").

https://artsandcraftshomes.com/interiors/easy-craftsman-era-curtains

It doesn't for me either but this one does and nothing is different. Odd.

Party_music, there's definitely a sweet spot for getting the tension right. The last time my daughter was here, she pulled it down too far and it ran out of oomph (tension). I laid it on the floor, rolled up loosely (I thought) and put it back on the brackets. I could tell the tension was too tight. Repeated the roll-up, only more loosely. Eventually I got it to a manageable tension, but it still mystifies me what's going on with the inner spring.

Also, I don't have enough width for an inside mount, but outside mount is easy and looks just fine.

I’ve had a couple bungalows. One we did stained wood Venetian blinds with 2” blades (not the landlord specials). In another we did the bamboo type Roman shades. As Annie mentions you need to know what you want them to do…

When the roller shade tension is too loose and won't go up, you can take a kitchen fork and wind the metal end that isn't round till you achieve the tension tightness you want. Just be careful to not wind too much at a time and check to see if more winding is necessary. I think you can do the same thing in reverse if too tight.

Thanks, everyone! You’re right to impress upon me that I need to consider functionality. The only reason I want to replace the venetian blinds now is that I managed to cause two small breaks when I was impatiently pulling/cutting a hoya and an asparagus fern that had managed to climb into two blinds without me noticing. :) In general, my blinds stay open and my house is very airy and bright.

I agree with using woven wood blinds. Or you could use 2" wood blinds. we have 2" white wood blinds in our home as we have white trim. My blinds are open during the day and with the wider blinds, it's almost like the window is not covered. Roman shades are also a good choice, depending on how many windows (how much light) you have in your room (s). We have roman shades in our sunroom and I love them. Of course that room has 3 walls of windows so alot of light. I have the roman shades pulled about 1/3 of the way. Hope this helps!

@roarah do you have a link for the first image you shared - the gold/white patterned shade?

eta: insulation is not an issue for us

We have similar windows and I just got top down bottom up so we can still see the nice munions (Mullions?) on the top. They are not beautiful by any means, but they aren't ugly and allow us privacy while still letting in some light and, like I said, letting the wood work be the star.