Ask Jerusalem – Reader Design & Style Questions – Window Treatments

Thanks for all the great response this feature has received! We have gotten several emails with great questions and we will make sure to get to all of them as we can! For now we are going to answer 1 question per week, so keep sending them in and will let you know when your question is being featured!

In this week’s Q&A we have a window treatment question from Dorothy.

Dorothy:
Thank you for your offer to answer some of our design questions!
I do have one.  I’ve lived in this house for 12 years and have never really "treated" my living room windows.  I had mini-blinds on the main window, but removed them when we recently painted. I have attached pictures, so maybe they can explain better what I will try to do in words.  The front wall of the living room (facing the front yard) has two small slanted walls with vertically long narrow windows in them.  What do I do with those smaller windows?  Privacy is not an issue. We live in the country and the neighbors we do have are hidden by trees. So, those little windows could be left alone, I guess.  But, then if I do something with the larger window, will it make it look strange to leave the  little windows untreated?  Everything just looks so "unfinished" the way it is now.
Any suggestions would be SO appreciated!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!!!!!
Love,
Dorothy
–from the Central Coast of California

Jerusalem Greer: Dorothy, thank you so much for your great email! I am sure this is a design quandary many readers can sympathize with.

Here are my ideas from looking at your pictures:

•    Do something so wonderful on your main window that the other 2 sort of disappear becoming just part of the wall.

•    Use indoor plantation style shutters to cover the windows. This would be an unusual but unique and stylish way to dress them without it looking “dinky and still let some light in. I like the bulk that a plantation style brings to a window- and the movable louvers allow you to control the amount of  light let in.

•    You could also do shutters on your larger window OR do a fabric window treatment and use a curtain rod that is stained the same as the shutters to tie the 2 window treatments together.

•    Window film is another way to go. These thin sheets work very similarly to contact paper, and come in a huge variety of patterns. They are a great way to bring interest and privacy (if needed) to an odd shaped window. Simply order, cut and stick!

•    The other option is to in fact dress your smaller windows very similarly to how you dress your large window. Here I have played around a bit with one of the images you sent me and you can see that I “drew” a covered cornice and a window panel on your large window, and on the smaller window I drew another covered cornice but added blinds under the cornice instead of a fabric panel.

•    The most radical of options would be construction. Don’t be afraid to think out side the box, at least during the dreaming state of any home project. Sometimes the best ideas come when you go the furthest with your ideal dream scenario and start to work your way back to what might be more realistic.  If these windows drive you absolutely crazy and you don’t need them for light they could always be sheet-rocked over and disappear completely. OR depending on where they fall and the architecture of the outside of your house they could be enlarged eventually to full size windows.

I hope that these ideas help you tackle your unique design dilemma- even if I didn’t provide the perfect solution, perhaps I triggered a thought or an idea that can bloom into something beautiful for your home!

Thanks so much!
Jerusalem

Links:
Window Film World
Shutter Land

Jerusalem Greer is a mom, a wife and a modern vintage gal just trying
to live the artsy life. Full of love, laughter with a grateful heart,
she enjoys creating beautiful spaces and goodies, which bring joy to
all who encounter them.When she’s not filling the role of "style and
design editor" for Vintage Indie Mag, she is busy working in her studio
at Storia Divita. Please visit her new website Jerusalem Greer.