Window Wednesday: Too-Low Windows

November 11th Update:  Steve began changing his windows!  Check it out at An Urban Cottage...

Steve from An Urban Cottage was one of my first followers (thanks again, Steve!), and the first to email me pictures of his window dilemma when I announced my new Window Wednesday feature last week.  So, he gets to be first up as we journey toward making windows beautiful everywhere!!

Steve has been painstakingly and lovingly restoring and furnishing an 1842 Greek Revival cottage in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He's now looking for solutions to his too-low windows. When Steve moved into the house, his room and windows looked like this...

Nothing makes a window look short and squatty like hanging curtains on the casing.  And, hello, the length of them doesn't help, either!  He told me that having the curtains hung on the casing (by the previous owner) made him feel like he had to hunch-over as it made the ceiling feel really low.  Keep in mind that this is an antique home and the ceiling can't be all that high.

Steve was right on when he hung rods almost to the ceiling when he redid the room.  He likes the light the sheers let in, but he still feels like he needs to do something about the over-sized gap.

Ready to invest more in his furnishings, he tells me he'd like to upgrade his window treatments and address that nagging space.  Steve's thinking about adding some Roman Shades, but doesn't know at what height they should be hung.  I totally agree that romans, either in fabric or perhaps a woven wood blind of some sort, are the way to go.  Here is a quick sketch of how I see the windows...

My color choice aside (it's what my kids had in the art box), I'm thinking "dead hung" or "dress"(non-operating) panels will improve the illusion of height, by drawing the eye to the ceiling without the distraction of the angular lines created by the current sheers (thereby highlighting the gap).  In this situation, the top of the shade ought to be about 3/4 of the distance up the wall between the top of the casing and the bottom edge of the drapery rod.

I like that there is breathing room between where Steve hung the rod (I made it longer so that the panels "stack" off the glass completely).  By doing that and hanging the romans a bit under the rod (instead of directly behind it, an option for a different scenario), the length of the shade will remain comfortable and proportional to the eye and the windows will look larger.   (I should have drawn the bottom edge of  the left shade a little lower so that no wood shows -- woops!)

I hope that helps, Steve!  It was fun to feature your windows this week.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

 If you would like me to solve a window issue, suggest a treatment,  critique what you have, or anything window related, please send me an email and picture to SofasandSage@gmail.com.  The only requirement is that you 1.  Become a Follower in the right hand column, and 2.  Leave a comment on this post.