Hey buddies, it’s Ginny—former EHD workforce member—proper right here with the first installment of Design Agony 2.0. In case you’re a longtime Em Hendo reader, you could keep in mind the Design Agony posts that we used to do plenty of years prior to now (take a stroll down weblog memory lane proper right here to see what I suggest). Successfully, we’re once more by well-liked demand. In Emily’s put up from February saying the weblog’s upcoming relaunch (and a handful of various good data), we made a reputation out for reader submissions with design points that needed expert choices.
We had a bunch of good Qs can be found in, and, not surprisingly, most of the questions revolved spherical window remedy challenges. Off the once more of this put up in March, it was evident that people really wrestle with simple strategies to type out awkward window placement inside their properties, and rightly so…can we merely stop developing weird properties with weird window areas?!? Architects available on the market…do you hear me?
Anyhow, let’s dive in. I picked through the emails to pluck out points I assumed is probably primarily the commonest. For each, I’ll give you notion as to what I’d do to resolve the issue and hopefully help further than merely the readers that submitted the questions.
Design Agony #1: Awkward Nook Residence home windows
From reader Emily Redding: “Our house is specified by order that a number of the house home windows are bunched into the corners. Small residence home windows subsequent to larger residence home windows, they often’re so close to the corners that figuring out simple strategies to costume them accurately has been sturdy. I can’t decide if we must always at all times do Roman shades, a mix of Roman shades and double panels, or a curtain rod that bends through the corners and covers the entire residence home windows, with panels for every.”
Chance #1: Physique Every Residence home windows With Prolonged Panels
Emily (Learning, not Henderson) has this drawback in nearly all the bedrooms in her residence and for me, she has the right idea by together with shades and materials. I’m personally not crucial fan of getting one materials panel for a window, though, because of (I really feel) materials must physique out a window on both aspect. That being acknowledged, there are circumstances the place it does work larger and is necessary for purposeful features. I keep in mind Emily (Henderson) and I going forwards and backwards deciding whether or not or to not do one or two panels in her earlier family room and customer mattress room. On this case, efficiency obtained because of how shut the doorways had been to the wall and it could be super annoying to want to keep up going behind the fabric to open the door.
Throughout the case of Emily Learning’s question, I might add two materials panels to each window. That will not solely give good gentle safety when needed however moreover, it will actually really feel super cozy. I might moreover elevate the fabric rod so that it’s a couple of inches lower than the ceiling since there isn’t quite a few header home above the window. This may help the room actually really feel taller, as correctly. Scorching tip: Using clip-on rings helps the drapes accumulate further rigorously so there isn’t an enormous bunch of fabric on both aspect of the window (considering how tight that nook is).
Chance #2: Two Items of Panels with Roman Shades
With this state of affairs, I might profit from the deep window recesses and add a Roman shade to each. This would possibly not solely block out the sunshine very properly, it will moreover help to soften the house home windows, detracting from the completely totally different sizes. You would possibly do this with each a material Roman shade or woven shade.
Chance #3: Rethink Separate Materials Rods
When doing off-the-shelf materials and rods, a way to help it actually really feel seamless is to utilize an elbow connector for the nook. These screw into rods and will probably be angled as a lot as 90 ranges for circumstances like this. These are glorious for tight corners the place there isn’t loads room to affix rods to the wall, so your panels end up correct on the perimeter of the window in its place of some inches out (like they must be). Elbow connectors will even be used for bay residence home windows (which I’ll contact upon later). As far as the place to position the panels, Emily might nonetheless use two-panel models, amassing two of them inside the nook.
The one event the place I might stay away from doing materials inside the nook is that if the window was a full wraparound, like this mattress room underneath from Amber Interiors. This might end up blocking the sunshine and look at. A wall or ceiling monitor will possible be your most interesting guess for what to utilize on this restore.
Listed beneath are plenty of numerous sorts of elbow connectors. You’ll must match up the diameter of your curtain rod with these (some are thinner than others), nevertheless they’re moreover considerably regular. Moreover, these can be found in plenty of finishes:
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1. Drape Rod Nook Clips | 2. Materials Rod Nook Connector | 3. Iron Curtain Rod Elbow 90 Diploma | 4. Cambria Full Nook Connector
Design Agony #2: The best way to Add Drapes to Bay Residence home windows
From reader Nicole Rowland: “Your put up as we converse on window cures impressed me to ship you some images of my entrance room. I’ve been looking for and researching some cheap curtain selections for a really very long time. Then in your weblog put up, you advisable hanging Roman shades with no level out of curtains. Are curtains on a regular basis a ‘no’ within the case of bay residence home windows? I’ve linked a picture and hyperlink of the curtains and rods I purchased. I am planning to carry a bay window rod with 4 curtains—one on both aspect of the three residence home windows. Do you suppose these will work or is it larger to do a Roman shade in my state of affairs? The lounge moreover opens up into the consuming house the place there’s one different common window, so I was going to carry an equivalent rod and the equivalent curtains in an prolonged dimension to match. Want to know if I’m doing the right issue!”
Now, Em wrote about bay residence home windows in the ultimate put up addressing what to do with awkward residence home windows nevertheless she solely touched on together with shades as a solution and didn’t focus on simple strategies to work panels in. Nicole (who submitted this question) was involved in our concepts to placing in materials. Rising up inside the UK with Victorian-style houses, we have quite a few bay residence home windows which I fully love! For Nicole’s window, I might counsel going with what she already had deliberate and use a readymade bay window rod and materials panels. She has the home for them to assemble correctly with out lowering the sunshine and it’ll be a nice, comfy backdrop for her sitting house. Nonetheless let’s converse through her totally different selections in case they happen to work for a further definitely one among you readers.
Chance #1: Use Bay Window-Specific Materials Rods
We are going to’t take full credit score rating for the bay window remedy inside the consuming room on the lead of this half, because of they’d been put in sooner than we started engaged on the endeavor, nevertheless it certainly’s a fantastic occasion of how materials can work. This rod was a personalized piece to swimsuit the home, which you will inform because of it’s solely linked inside the center and the ends. This makes it so that you simply solely must have two end drapes that shut inside the heart, nevertheless that’s not the one technique. Are you aware that there are readymade selections significantly for bay residence home windows? These are good because you’re not having to splurge an extreme quantity of, nevertheless the draw back is that they’ve plenty of wall attachments, which implies you could have a drapes the place the nook angles meet.
Chance #2: Try Separate Rods
If Nicole didn’t want to trouble with a superb space of curiosity decision, she might also merely use three separate rods. The rod have to be free of any large finials (or else they’d butt into each other), and may in all probability hit merely on the perimeter of the window, nevertheless it certainly’s doable.
Chance #3: Suppose Exterior the Corners
There’s on a regular basis the selection to simply not handle the plenty of corners of a bay window the least bit and easily put draperies straight all through the wall exterior of the bay window. This solely really works when you might have little to no furnishings inside the window nook (or have a built-in bench). For Nicole (must she want to go this route), I’d advocate shifting the chairs and desk out from that house and onto the rug. That technique the curtains might shut she they need to.
Chance #4: Skip the Panels Altogether
Lastly, for a cleaner look, another choice is to utilize shutters. This is not uncommon inside the UK and primarily executed because of we have radiators beneath our residence home windows, so together with materials will not be the simplest decision there. That’s moreover why you might even see half-height materials executed so sometimes over there…I do know, we’re nuts!
While you could positively use the elbow connectors inside the roundup above, there are moreover rod strategies made specifically for the bay window, as I mentioned. Listed beneath are 4 of the most common sorts (each is offered in a handful of finishes):
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1. Blockaide Bay Window Curtain Rod System | 2. Umbra Bayview Bay Window Materials Decision | 3. Rod Desyne Jordan Double Bay Window Rod | 4. Rod Desyne Bay Window Row
Design Agony #3: Vaulted Ceilings & Extreme Residence home windows
From reader Julia Ditto: “I’ve a very beautiful entrance room, nevertheless I’ve on a regular basis puzzled what I have to be doing with the house home windows. We dwell out inside the nation, so privateness isn’t really an issue, nevertheless just for the look of the room—and to dam the photo voltaic when it hits good—it seems to be as if I must have some window dressings. I’m torn between warming up the room with window cures and easily leaving them bare. The house is a recent farmhouse mannequin, nevertheless the lounge can lean barely spare and ‘YMCA gymnasium’ feeling should you notice what I suggest. We now have electrical roll down shades on the upper and among the many lower residence home windows, because of these get some specific sunshine. I’d prefer to see your deal with simple strategies to costume these residence home windows!”
This really is an unimaginable open home. Whereas I actually just like the expanse of the white wall, it does actually really feel choose it desires one factor to current it some depth so I say materials all the best way during which!
Chance #1: Use the Full Span of the Wall With an Extra-Prolonged Rod
I really solely see one decision proper right here (nevertheless will break it out into two non-compulsory fixes for variation). Throughout the inspiration shot on the excessive of this half, whereas the room isn’t pretty as tall as Julia’s (and granted, these are doorways versus residence home windows), I actually like how intentional the drapes actually really feel. They’re spaced out enormous ample so that they allow most gentle through and the height offers a nice drama nevertheless doesn’t actually really feel identical to the wall is being reduce in two.
Julia’s room is already considerably vertical, so together with a set of drapes to each window will extra enhance that in not a great way (to not level out what would happen with the situation of those sconces). What I might counsel is to do like our inspiration image and add one prolonged rod that spans every residence home windows. Our peak is dominated by the sconces proper right here, so I might solely go as extreme as 5 to six inches underneath these to current them some respiratory room. BUT I might make full use of the wall span so you could have an excellent accumulate on both aspect. Nothing worse than skinny curtains!
Chance #2: Add Shades to Chance #1
As soon as extra, it’s maybe good to layer the panels by using a woven or Roman shade. This may add some warmth to the home, significantly as a result of the partitions and the window frames are all white and the house home windows are barely far apart. As far as the uppers go, if the sunshine wasn’t an issue, I’d be tempted to depart them be. Nonetheless since that could be a disadvantage Julia launched up, I’d use the equivalent woven shade supplies from the lower residence home windows, which may help to draw the eye up and steadiness that super extreme wall. One advantage of woven shades over Romans is you don’t have in order so as to add a lining. So it will block out the direct daylight nevertheless will nonetheless have the pure glow coming through and by no means block it out altogether.
For every restore selections, Julia goes to want some extra-long rods, so we rounded up 9 of our favorites correct now that modify in max width from 108” to 170”.
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1. Matte Bronze Curtain Rod Set | 2. Mid-Century Wooden Rod | 3. Cast-Iron Drape Rod & Wall Bracket | 4. Barnes Antiqued Brass Curtain Rod Set | 5. Blackout Curtain {{Hardware}} Set | 6. Sculptural Wood Rod | 7. Cast-Iron Drape Rod | 8. Brass With White Marble Curtain Rod | 9. Custom-made Lucite Curtain Rod
We’re on a regular basis in quest of further reader questions, so when you might have a design quandary that’s defending you up at night, drop us an e-mail at designagony@emilyhendersondesign.com.
Ginny xXx