<p>Our move into this house twelve years (or was it 13?) ago was, of course, quite harried. I threw up el-cheapo mini blinds on the windows in the MBR for privacy and never looked back. When the painters left, I needed something quick and painless on the windows.</p>
<p>Well, we’ve already updated a couple of the more ‘public’ rooms and, you guessed it, those tacky mini blinds are still up in the MBR. Is anybody familiar with current trends, etc. in window treatments? For a bay window? I see a lot of rings and grommets in catalogs, but I’m not sure what I like. I’ve just decided to tackle painting that room myself, trying to bring in some color for a change. We have a simple life-style and don’t want anything too fancy, but I’m thinking it would be good to put something up that’s current, not trendy, as we may not get around to it again for another few decades! Are the blinds with the wider slats-- plantation blinds?–more current/less tacky than the $4.99 mini blinds? Maybe those blinds and some panels for a bit of color/interest?? All I know for sure is that I don’t want heavy drapes like my grandma had!! Help!!</p>
<p>For a MBR I wouldn’t worry about current, I’d just put in what I like. We have a linen shade with an applique insert. (They don’t carry them any more.) I like the way they look, but if I had it to do a gain I’d get a blackout shade, I don’t sleep that well and hate getting woken up by the light in the summer. I like shades softened by sheer panels, which is what I have in the living room. The sheers were from Pottery Barn and have ferns stenciled on them. I kind of like these sheers: [Smocked</a> Drape | Pottery Barn](<a href=“http://www.potterybarn.com/products/smocked-drape/?pkey=cdrapes]Smocked”>http://www.potterybarn.com/products/smocked-drape/?pkey=cdrapes)</p>
<p>Wow, how strange is this! I just told my husband yesterday that I am determined to replace our 11 year old mini-blinds in our bedroom with something more updated! </p>
<p>Our trouble is we have lots of windows - 5 in our MBR, so I can’t be getting anything too pricey…I’d rather buy something off the shelf than custom made…I’ve never been much for window coverings - I prefer most of the windows open to let lots of light in, but in the bedroom, yeah need something.</p>
<p>Be curious to see what responses you get. :)</p>
<p>we recently got white, wide-slat plantation shutters in poly wood to replace ugly old fashioned insulating drapes in our mbr. Looks terrific and blocks the light beautifully (very impt to dear H). Expensive though…</p>
<p>I love them but I don’t mind raising them every morning then lowering them every evening. When they are up they are invisible behind our cornices and when they are down they give complete privacy and blackout all light. We do have a silk draping cornices on the tops of the windows for added “softness”.</p>
<p>I like plantation shutters but if you have a view then consider you will always have it obstructed by horizontal bars. They can be made to open entirely but usually furniture is in the way. Also they are quite darkening.
I love blinds that lift from the bottom but they only work on certain windows. They can allow you to see the sky while adding privacy. They are great in a bathroom, particulary an upstairs bathroom. I was i Lowes yesterday and they had a great selection of bamboo shades with privacy backing in 4 colors and can be cut to fit. They were made by Levalor so the quality was good. Perhaps not for daily raising and lowering however.</p>
<p>I’m following this thread with great interest - we also have a 10 yr old house with “el cheapo” blinds and drapes that I made when we moved in. We also have young cats, so my choices of window treatments are quite limited :(</p>
<p>We moved in 3 years ago, but I only just did window treatments in the MBR this past spring. My issue was finding fabric in the color(s) I wanted. Anyway, I really, really dislike long drapes. I did balloon valances to give the windows a finished look – but since we’re set w-a-y back from the road, in the woods, privacy isn’t an issue. No window treatments at all in the DR, LR, or study – I’m all about letting the light in.</p>
<p>One of the newest looks is an old one - matchstick or bamboo slat roll-up blinds. I remember my grandmother having these in her 1950’s house, and they are all over the decorating scene again. Part of the back to nature trend, I suppose. I do remember that Granny’s were hard to keep free of dust.</p>
<p>I have the planatation shutters, which are great overall. You might want to sit down when you get the cost estimate - they are one of the more expensive window treatments, and a custom bay window could easily be $1000 where we live. On the plus side, they are very easy to adjust, relatively easy to clean and go with a wide range of looks. I think they look best when used consistently through the house. You can add accent drapes that you don’t pull closed if you want a softer look in a bedroom, but, unlike miniblinds and duettes, the plantation shutters look finished without any extra layers. This is a big plus where kids or pets are concerned.</p>
<p>This thread makes me grateful for our house. The MBR has a 99 inch triple window (three windows hung together), but they face the WOODS. The only things looking in are the birds and squirrels (it’s on the upper floor). We have no window treatments at all in either the MBR or M Bath. We love being able to look out and have the light come in. Both of us sleep well regardless of the amount of light!!</p>
<p>All of our other bedrooms have insulated tab curtains on wooden rods. Works well to block out the light and provides just enough “simple” window treatment for our tastes.</p>
<p>We have lace valances in the LR and DR but no other window treatments at all in our house.</p>
<p>Seems several of us are in the same boat! Thanks for the input. </p>
<p>In the OP, I’m referring to plantation blinds rather than plantation shutters. My understanding is that shutters are fixed whereas the bottom of the blinds lift, similar to the old-fashioned Venetian blinds. I’m considering these blinds with a valance/topper of some kind. Is the valance/topper look (over blinds/shades) now considered outdated? I need something that will come up from the bottom to allow for daytime light. We have a private back yard, but need to be able to lower them at night. Roman shades might work, but I’m attracted to these blinds for the flexibility of being able to let some in light and direct it at the same time. I have have honeycomb blinds in my LR and like the look, but they don’t have the benefit of light direction.</p>
<p>Check the interior angles on your bay window before ordering the plantation blinds, or get a good installer to measure them… They are extra-thick and project from the wall more than the minis; you could have an area where they rub together. Otherwsie, they are much like the miniblinds, and look bolder and more updated than the minis. They can be a little heavy or too contrasting in dark colors against light walls.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t use a hanging fabric valance, but you could do a cornice box to hide the top. It adds architectural interest and can give the illusion of taller windows if you like. Check some of the home decorating websites for ideas.</p>
<p>i’m a big fan of hunter douglas room darkening shades for bedrooms. i would suggest getting “top-down” -“bottom-up” shades. you can lower them from the top so that you can maintain privacy, yet be able to look out at whatever view you may have. on the other hand, if you want to raise them from the bottom for some open windows, you can do that, too–or even both at the same time…</p>
<p>i’ve always used those shades for my bedrooms. we moved (again) this past summer and the current home does have wood, slatted blinds. not crazy about them, but i know they were expensive, and i open them everyday so we can always see out.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of plantation blinds before (shutters, yes) - I just looked up a picture of them - what is different about these than the dreaded mini-blind? Are the slats thicker and more durable???</p>
<p>I am with Thumper, in our entire house there are only 3 windows that need covering. French doors with a PB roll down shade that looks fine, but the quality was a real disappointment and PB did not seem to care.</p>
<p>Then a bathroom that is seen from the street, it requires and in the window shade and so far I have ordered 3 different ones none of which have fit properly, so each time i give up again for 6 months. Luckily we have few neighbors as some one driving up the road at night could get a real scare when the lights are on.</p>
<p>It has been frustrating with the measuring, measure the exact opening and then the 64" shade has 1/2 inch of metal stacking out on each end and doesn’t fit. The next one had no metal sticking out and was too small. Looking now, for just right! Oh and really low price and still looking good ;)</p>
<p>The entire rest of the house opens on nature and hopefully will stay that way. Sometimes in winter some heavy velvet drapes would be nice to keep the heat in, but I don’t want to pay for window coverings.</p>
<p>I bought wood blinds from Smith & Noble several years back. I’ve been happy with them and they are always running specials. They have a wide variety of fabric window treatments as well.</p>