Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and did something special for Valentines. My hubby unfortunately caught the cold I had and was down and out most of the weekend, so we had lots of down town watching movies and napping.
After writing the post on Easy Ways to UpStyle Plain Window Treatments, I got a email from Cathryn asking about window treatments for tall windows. If you’ve ever had two story tall windows in your home, you know how challenging it can be to style them with window treatments. Today I’m going to answer Cathryn’s question and share a few tips on decorating tall windows with you. Many of the design tips I’m sharing can apply to regular height windows too, so everyone can get something from of this post.
The first thing to recognize about tall windows is that you do have options when it comes to how to style them. You can choose to leave your windows blank, decorate the entire window space or do something in the middle.
Some rooms with a stunning view through the windows are meant to be left blank.
Because rooms with two-story windows have more light exposure, window treatments can add warmth and softness, helping the room to feel cozier.
Most two-story window treatments are decorative only so it’s a great way to add pattern to a space.
And sometimes you might want to downplay the expansive windows and have the window treatments be nothing but a backdrop to the the decor.
Tall window treatments will draw the eye up to the height of the window and the expansiveness of the room. Hanging the window treatments to frame the lower portion of the windows helps to frame the decor and keeps the eye focused on what it happening at floor level. The window treatments in the photo below were hung at the bottom edge of the window extension so that it becomes a frame at the top of the curtain panels.
Floor to ceiling curtain panels can be hung so that they frame the outer windows only which keep the bulk of the window space open and airy. Using short curtain rods with outer curtain panels will also help to keep the outline of the windows clean.
Or panels can be hung between each window to create more visual impact and define each window separately. This treatment is great when you want to create a feeling of warmth within a room.
Sometimes curtain rods and create a hard visual line around a set of windows so a cornice box is a great way to keep the look clean and the rods and tops of the curtains hidden.
Straight curtain rods on arched windows don’t always work so using curtain tie backs to hole hanging panels is another option you have with two-story windows.
When it comes to the style of window treatments you choose, your drapes can be fancy and formal or simple and sleek.
The two tone panels below visually trick the eye with the white panel as top blending into the window casing and the color at the bottom defining the window and drawing the eye into the room.
The same split color treatment can have the same effect with standard sized windows.
Just because you have tall windows doesn’t mean you can layer your window treatments. Woven blinds can be added to control the privacy and add texture along with straight hanging panels.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind when styling two-story windows:
1) Make sure the rods or medallions are securely installed so they can effectively hold the weight of the curtains.
2) Look for lighter weight fabrics to minimize the weight of the panels. Sheer fabrics are great if your main goal is to diffuse light. You can also combine a single width decorative panel with a sheer panel to add pattern and function.
3) Hang the panels so they skim the floor–puddling two-story window treatments will look messy.
4) Use chunky rods and rings so they feel balance against the visual weight of all the fabric.
If you have a decorating question, just leave me a comment and I’ll answer your question in a future blog post.
Happy Decorating!
