Curtain Sizes *sigh* (shutters, vinyl, floor, panels)

[Hopes]

Curtain sizes are driving me insane. We have 63" long windows. The trimng around the windows is probably 6" deep. 63" only cover the actual windows in a half-assed sort of way with the trim sticking out on top of the windows.

In most rooms of the house, I can solve this problem with curtains that go to the floor. But I don't want to put curtains that go to the floor in a teenager's bedroom. I've done sheers in the past that simply covered the glass, leaving the trim evenly exposed all around the window, but my son needs more privacy than sheers now that he's older. Plus his room is South and West facing so he needs something substantial to keep the sun from baking his room during the Summer.

I don't won't want to buy blinds. I'm replacing blinds with curtains because the teens always break them. It doesn't matter what type of blind I install eventually they get broken.

Am I going to have to sew curtains myself? I've done it before, but I'm just too busy right now. My son's room needs curtains like yesterday!

[Decorchallenged]

Does it make a difference how the curtains look from the outside? If not, you can hang a valance and drop the curtains down. The curtains won't cover the top of the window but the valance will, and you will have more length in the bottom of the curtain.

Or just buy the longer panels to begin with, cut them down and hem them.

[sanrene]

How about something different, like shutters?

[BstYet2Be]

Wouldn't using a spring rod inside the window casing with 63" curtains do the trick? That way, all of your window glass is covered, all trim is exposed and no hardware to install!

I've even used two spring rods in the same window before, one for sheers and one for the curtains... and where I had a deep casement (12") with a window seat, I put the spring rod for the sheers right next to the blinds (in your case, the glass window itself) and then the spring rod for the curtains just inside the casement almost even with the wall, creating a kind of window frame of curtains tied back on each side.

[fallingwater]

In my spare bedroom, I have a built in ledge underneath one window. All the curtains I found were too long. I raised the curtain rod above the window trim and found curtains at JcPenney. They sell custom sized curtains of various sizes. They were not expensive either. My son has a blind in his room. It is a plantation blind from Lowe's. It is very heavy and I would be shocked if he could break it.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Decorchallenged

Does it make a difference how the curtains look from the outside? If not, you can hang a valance and drop the curtains down. The curtains won't cover the top of the window but the valance will, and you will have more length in the bottom of the curtain.

I've done that in the past. You can't even tell from the outside because the curtains are covering the entire window. The valance is only covering the trim.

But I'm not a big fan of valances anymore. And I love the architectural detail of our trim. I don't want it covered entirely when the curtains are open.

Originally Posted by Decorchallenged

Or just buy the longer panels to begin with, cut them down and hem them.

I was thinking I might do this. It will be faster than sewing new ones. But I really don't have time to hem curtains right now. I wish I did have the time!

Originally Posted by BstYet2Be

Wouldn't using a spring rod inside the window casing with 63" curtains do the trick? That way, all of your window glass is covered, all trim is exposed and no hardware to install!

I've covered just the glass only with light weight fabrics, like sheers, with a slightly stronger rod just on the edge of the trim. But a spring rod won't work for heavier curtains AND my son would accidently yank it down everytime he was trying to open/close the curtains or window.

Originally Posted by BstYet2Be

I've even used two spring rods in the same window before, one for sheers and one for the curtains... and where I had a deep casement (12") with a window seat, I put the spring rod for the sheers right next to the blinds (in your case, the glass window itself) and then the spring rod for the curtains just inside the casement almost even with the wall, creating a kind of window frame of curtains tied back on each side.

Sounds beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have a deep casement. Just wide trim and big windows. My livingroom windows are even longer and wider.

Originally Posted by fallingwater

In my spare bedroom, I have a built in ledge underneath one window. All the curtains I found were too long.

My windows all have large sills too. I made my husband build them that way because I love a windowsill.

Originally Posted by fallingwater

I raised the curtain rod above the window trim and found curtains at JcPenney. They sell custom sized curtains of various sizes. They were not expensive either.

That's similar to what I was planning. Since he is hard on everything, I was planning to install a very sturdy double curtain rod above the window anchored into the studs. There's about a foot between the top of the rim and the ceiling. I was going to put the rod halfway between. I wanted curtains with grommets so they would easily slide back and forth so he woudn't pull on them.

Thanks for the tip about JC Penny. Hopefully they have a 68" curtain.

Originally Posted by fallingwater

My son has a blind in his room. It is a plantation blind from Lowe's. It is very heavy and I would be shocked if he could break it.

Whatever I put on his windows will get constant use. He opens and closes regularly to adjust sunlight and privacy. He often opens and closes his window to adjust the room temperature too. He's messing with his windows multiple times per day. It's like he needs industrial strength window treatments.

He has broken roller blinds. He has broken vinyl slat blinds. He has broken wooden slat blinds (which I believe are plantation shutters). He has pulled rods off. Of course, all of this has been throughout his lifetime, not all in one year. The reason he needs curtains desperately is because he recently broke the blinds on one window. They fell off. He has had a blanket on one window for the past four days!

My other problem is that the outside of my house is white. When I had plantation blinds in the past, they looked like crap from the outside. People with darker or earthy colored exteriors can get away with dark window treatments, but I need to have white or off white on the outside. As a result, I was thinking of putting sheers on spring rods behind bamboo blinds. If you ever watch Two And A Half Men, check out the window treatment on the kitchen window. That's where I got the idea. But who am I kidding, he'll pull those spring rods down in a second.

I can't believe it has taken me 18 years to realize that window treatments aren't just decorations for his room. They need to be utilitarian and extremely sturdy.

Originally Posted by sanrene

How about something different, like shutters?

Shutters are pretty and very sturdy. It's just such a big project and my husband is having surgery next week. I'd have to install them myself. I know the limits to my mechanical capabilities. I could install them good enough for asthetics, but I couldn't install them sturdy enough for his daily wear and tear.

[sanrene]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Shutters are pretty and very sturdy. It's just such a big project and my husband is having surgery next week. I'd have to install them myself. I know the limits to my mechanical capabilities. I could install them good enough for asthetics, but I couldn't install them sturdy enough for his daily wear and tear.

Hey, have the kid do it. Maybe he won't be so hard on his own handiwork.

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I've covered just the glass only with light weight fabrics, like sheers, with a slightly stronger rod just on the edge of the trim. But a spring rod won't work for heavier curtains AND my son would accidently yank it down everytime he was trying to open/close the curtains or window.

Actually, they DO have very large sturdy spring rods now that will carry the weight of heavier curtains, not those slim light ones of yore. And, some people even use the shorter shower rods for the same purpose.

Anyway, good luck to ya... boys WILL be boys. Other than issuing a "hands-off order", it's going to be hard to come up with anything indestructible that you haven't already tried!

[golfgal]

I would get longer curtains, cut them down, use that iron-on hemming tape to finish the bottom and hang.

I have 3 teens and they have never broken a blind. Both boys have black-out cellular shades in their rooms and DD has wooden blinds. Maybe tell your kids to take better care of the blinds or THEY can replace them??

[Decorchallenged]

Now that you've explained a bit more about the fact that you want to be able to see all the trim, I have two other suggestions:

Grommet curtains on a pole rod are super easy to open and close. You can extend the rod far enough so that every bit of the window and trim shows when they are open.

The curtain tracks that you hang from either the wall or ceiling are indestructible. The only negative is that you have to order them on line because, at least in Maryland, there are no stores that carry them in stock. But I think they are the easiest to operate and the sturdiest of all possible solutions.