Is it my over-analytical nature, or are window treatments really this hard to commit to?
There is just something special about the way black framed windows pop off white walls. So much of our home design took into account all the natural light we wanted to pour through the windows and we spent a lot of time considering layouts and framing. I really hesitate to cover any bit of these windows, but I also value my privacy, so I’m in a bit of a conundrum!
Covering the girls’ windows upstairs was easy because the priority with kids is always SLEEP! Downstairs is another story. In fact, we’ve lived with super glamorous $5 paper shades from Lowe’s on our windows for MONTHS while I over-analyzed exactly what it was we wanted. I FINALLY pulled the trigger on Phase 1 of our window treatment plan that turned into a DISASTER. Like knock me over, I’m done. So I’ve decided to handle the rest of the window treatments myself.
Go Big or Go Home
Finding window treatments for extra large windows presents a unique challenge. For one, many retailers only offer window treatments up to 108 inches long.
I’m a BIG believer in floor-to-ceiling curtains. They make most windows look bigger and draw your eyes up creating the illusion of higher ceilings.
We have 10 foot ceilings throughout the house and 12 foot ceilings in the living room, so the shortest curtains we’re looking for are 120 inches. Additionally, many curtains are a standard 50 inches wide. The windows in our master bedroom measure almost 113 across so 50” panels don’t work for us.
Honestly, I wasn’t even looking for curtains for our master bedroom until the Great Window Treatment Disaster of 2020. The story starts with my ordering custom motorized blackout shades for my master bedroom from a product rep and ends with two ill-fitting window shades with a huge gap in the middle. Long story short, since I'm being refuse a refund or an exchange, I’m eager to find blackout drapes to fix the problem for a low price!
Top Contenders
Color me predictable but I can’t get enough neutrals! I want our master bedroom to feel relaxing yet glam, so there are a lot of gray and gold tones. The shades we ordered for our windows are white so if we’re stuck with them I’d like there to be some contrast. I was also concerned about ordering the light gray curtains (my top favorite), because we have gray carpets and gray bedding.
50 shades of gray may work for Christian Grey, but I wasn’t sure I could pull them off!
See all that gray? And that doesn't even include the carpet!
The Adamsville Extra Wide Velvet Solid Blackout Thermal Grommet Single Curtain Panel (say that 10 times fast) is a really great value for the size.
The 100x120 panels are less than $120 a piece!
I'm a big fan of grommets for ease of hanging and easy sliding. They're not my favorite aesthetically, though, only because they don't look custom. On that note, most of the draperies I have in the kids' rooms have grommets. No one is trying to get fancy up there!
The Adamsville curtains also come in this Silver Gray color that I think is so versatile and would look great in many rooms! Like the ones above they have grommets and would be pretty easy to hang. Keep in mind that these large curtains are pretty heavy - one panel weighs 10 lbs - so you have to make sure to hang them on a rod that has a larger weight capacity.
I'm pretty lucky that my husband has a "yeah, babe, whatever you want" philosophy when it comes to my decor shopping, but even he might have a cow if I bought these drapes. But oohhhh I want them!!
These Inès Spotted Animal Print Room Darkening Rod Pocket Single Curtain Panels are gorgeous, but pretty pricey. I'm going to file these away under "Inspiration" and look for similar drapes for another room. I can't resist a good animal print! I think they would look awesome in our study or maybe even the guest room, though I currently have other plans for that window.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
We ultimately went with the Rhinehart Extra Wide Velvet Solid Blackout Thermal Rod Pocket Single Curtain Panel in Ivory.
Like the similar Adamsville version above, it has great neutral color options and luxurious velvet fabric. They're moderately more expensive, but still a great price for this size of drapery. I chose this style because each panel has rod pockets as well as back tabs so you can slide the curtains onto the rod directly or hang them with rings which is what I'll be doing.
These curtains also come in Silver Gray and myriad other neutrals like black and off white.
Hot Rods
Choosing the right curtains is only half the battle. I may be in the minority here, but among my list of favorites - favorite color, favorite dessert, favorite books - I also have a favorite curtain rod. It's weird, I know, but this curtain rod is both modern and affordable. Every single curtain rod in my home is this one, the Dauntless Curtain Rods from Project 62 at Target. The largest size, 66"-120" is only $35!
This design is the perfect dupe for more expensive ones from Ballard Designs and Crate and Barrel.
This rod from Crate and Barrel is $99 for the 88"-120". In general, that's a pretty reasonable price for a curtain rod, but if you're on a budget the one from Target gives you more bang for your buck. The good news about this one, though, is it goes up to 120"-170" so if you have a larger window this could be great for you. The weight limit on this one is 20 lbs so I had to nix it from my short list.
This curtain rod is from Ballard Designs and also looks really similar to the ones above. There are multiple different sizes and finish options, though the largest this rod goes up to is 88".
I also really love acrylic curtain rods. I really had my heart set on one of these for the master bedroom because it would coordinate really well with our master bathroom hardware. I really love the Cambria® Acrylic Single Curtain Rod and it comes in multiple sizes ranging from 36" to 180".
This one would have been at the top of my list, but it turns out that the larger acrylic rods require an additional bracket which would hinder the closing of the curtains without additional panels.
This Cambria® Estate Curtain Rod in Warm Gold was another one I seriously considered. It has multiple different sizes and finishes with different end cap options for whatever your style! I'm personally obsessed with the Cambria® Estate Normandy Square Finials in Warm Gold.
We ended up ordering the Oversized Adjustable Metal Rod in Antique Brass from West Elm. Not only does its clean modern design go well with the rest of the house, it has a maximum capacity that exceeds the weight of the new curtains so it won't come crashing done on me - win win! Safety first, everyone.
We also ordered the coordinating curtain rings which just made things extra easy and my words of the year for 2020 are minimal effort.
I'll be waiting not impatiently this week for our new window treatments to arrive so maybe the sun won't shine in my face bright and early every morning. Oh who am I kidding? My kid is going to wake me up early anyway.
Now that these are taken care of I'm going to refocus my efforts on ordering curtains for the living room and dining area. I'm currently pouring over fabric samples from Loft Curtains and hope I can pull the trigger on a fabric choice sooner rather than later.
Until next time! All the Radness.