I have windows a little wider than that in my bedroom, too. I bought two pair of ikea curtains and sewed them together to get two extra-wide panels--they cover the entire wall and the windows, with enough fabric to drape nicely even if they're closed. I got the sanela curtains in dark brown--they're great at blocking out the light (and I got a deal on them on ebay).

I saw a window like this on a HGTV "Design on a Dime" episode. Get a drapery rod that you can install high above the window. Get cheap panels / go to a fabric stores clearence section and get fabric to hand on rods. Make sure the fabric is long enough to "puddle" around the floor.

My sister had a similar dilemma with a 100 inch wide window. She ended up using three relatively inexpensive bamboo-slat roman shades (from Zellers, the slightly less stylish Canadian version of Target).

Hi Lindsey ~ I have the same problem except I have one additional window to the right of my triple width window. It's an L shape apt. and it can be pricey to cover these windows. I did the expensive custom thing at first. My custom shades lasted a good 9 years before I removed them. I purchased some roman shades in ivory at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. In total I spent about $200.00 to cover the 4 windows. I did not measure exact and the results although not noticeable is a half inch on both sides of the middle window. So be precise when measuring on your own. Before you install any window treatment always read the manufacturers instruction on how best to measure your windows. This is something I totally overlooked. Good luck!

I don't know why you assume that you need to cover the whole window with one piece of anything.

Use three or four panels, depending on whether you want them flat or pleated.

I had a similar window issue in my previous apartment...solution...shower curtains! I actually purchased some suede shower curtains from Target...and they worked great. They were long and wide enough to cover the windows. Suede doesn't belong in the shower anyway:)

Urban Outfitters for those 108" tapestries for $32 and West Elm for those 20' cable systems for $34. Clip the tapestries to the cable and voila!

We also have that problem. We have used the wire system from Ikea, but I prefer one of their expanding rods, that way you can use the rod in another apartment on a different sized windows. The curain wire must be cut to size.

I used to live in a loft with 7ft x 15 ft windows. I think this trick cost me under $200. You could try at Home Depot. They have canvas drop clothes that come in all different sizes. You could dye them, but the color is quite pleasing. Then you get the inexpensive clip rings, a dowel(for the rod), and you're set.

I have two windows that are 11ft tall and 5 ft wide and decided to use curtains to cover them. I agree with cielo about the measurement. I bought the fabric enough for four panels per window at length of about 13ft. each panel is about 2.5-3 ft wide (half the window). three panels this size would be sufficient but i added the extra panel to give it a more dramatic appearance.

also hardware from ikea is good. if curtains are heavy make sure you add extra support to the rods.

You could also do a series of smaller-width shades or blinds - this would allow you to raise or lower one or two to selectively allow in light.

I got super cheap jute shades at Target online (seriously - $20-30 per shade, depending on width). I meant for them to be temporary because otherwise people from the street could see into my second-floor bedroom, but they were nice enough (and happened to exactly match the color of my window trim) that I've never felt the need to replace them.

I had similar windows in my old apartment and got honeycomb shades from Smith & Noble. I purchased a shade for each window so I could have flexibility of what I wanted to see (or hide!) Love that they can block out light entirely. As for the cost - you can offer to sell them to the owner or the new renter when you move out. That's what I did, and I recouped a decent amount of the cost.

If you don't neccessarily have to have curtains, I suggest heading to Pearl River on Broadway. My living room windows are also in three parts, and the middle and outer windows are odd sizes. I picked up some great, nearly opaque bamboo shades for less than $100. They have a wide variety of shade widths, as well as different materials and colors (fabric, bamboo, etc.) If you still want the look of a curtain, you can use the shades for privacy and then install panels that sit on the edges of the windows that don't need to cover all three panes.

I saw a post recently somewhere that recommended using bedsheets with those clip rings for curtains. Its an inexpensive solution - one that you can change out if you want to give your room a new look from time to time.

I used to have an apartment with a 20ft long (but narrow) and 10ft high studio style (i.e. open) bedroom. I made walls with huge strips of beautiful, yet inexpensive semi-transparent, off-white linen fabric that I bought from a fabric store on the LES. Then I got three long curtain rails from Ikea and some curtain rings with clips to go on the rails from Bed Bath. I cut the fabric to size, but left it unfinished (i.e. lazy man's finishing), which looked remarkably funky. The whole lot cost me around $140 tops.

I recently bought wood blinds at home depot
for 40 dollars, cut to size. theyre great, easy
to install. for fabric, i strongly suggest
going to 74th street in jackson heights to
the sari shops (take the e, f, v or 7 "uptown
and queens" to roosevelt avenue, 74th street
is to your left when you exit the front of
the station, under the elevated train). It's
a quick ride and you can get lovely fabric
for 1.99 a yard). That's 74th street between
roosevelt and 37th avenues.

I also had the same issue, but with a window looking directly east with no buildings blocking off the view. This translated into blazing sun early every morning, and a tremendous amount of heat during the summer. A big problem since my bed was only a couple of feet away!

If this window is in your bedroom (or is the primary window in a studio) most of these fabric options will not give you the light control or privacy that you need. I would definitely use three shades instead (60" is a pretty standard width and can be bought off the rack at Home Depot), anything except venetian blinds should be OK.

To make the whole thing look integrated and tidy, you could add a valance of some type - for example, I used a few of those window "scarves" from Bed Bath & Beyond to loop around the top and drape on the sides (My window was only 12 feet though). Since this will be much lighter than curtains, you should be able to use one of the wire bracket solutions mentioned above without experiencing too much drooping.

Buy some cheap Japanese rice paper screens and fix them together with hinges to give the approx desired length. Attach to batons at each side of the window and fold them back during the day. They diffuse the light brilliantly when the sun is shining.
I have done this and it is a simple and cheap alternative to curtains and you can take them with you when you leave.
If you are at all creative you can have great fun painting them and adding little artworks to the rice paper or even replacing them with a different material. The possibilities are endless.

I did the bedsheet thing as a temp solution one time and it worked wonderfully. I found some sheets on sale at a discount store - two full size flat sheets were about $20/each. I didn't like the way they looked when I slid the rod through the sheet hem, but with the curtain clips in brushed stainless from Target -- they looked great. A bonus is that bedsheets can be thrown in the washing machine & dryer.

If you like more traditional curtains but don't want to spend a fortune I would check out ebay. I regularly see people selling big sets of curtains with enough panels to cover large windows like yours. Some are nicer than others, of course, so you'll have to be patient and keep looking. The best thing about buying from ebay (or some other used source) is that you have a good chance of getting curtains that are fully finished with insulating linings and hooks already attached. Beats the expensive single unlined panels that a lot of retail stores sell.

Just in case you need one more idea....I just went to ikea and they have think panels that can be move using a rail system. It would be great to layer them. Here is the link: http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15594&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=46990&langId=-1&categoryId=16168&chosenPartNumber=40078134

Yikes

Soap.

Drop a big fat wide projection screen right above the window. You pull that thing down and it kills all the city lights, dampens the noise, and you get to watch films so big your eyes will explode!!! LoL!1;!!!

Buy nicer underwear.

good timing - I just installed the Ikea Dignitet wire thingie yesterday. It was... engh.

The wire slides into a tube on one end, then you screw in two little plugs that hold it in place. Then you do the same on the other end (after cutting the wire to length). At one end is an adjustment that lets you tighten the wire up. It comes with 5 meters (abt 196") of wire, so you should be ok.

BUT - while tightening mine up, one end released. Twice. And I twisted the shit out of that wimpy-ass allen key, so it was definitely tight.

In the end, I got it to stay, but... there's still a bit of a sag in the middle, and I only have four light sheer panels. So, don't count on using it for heavy-ass canvas curtains or anything.

I used 5 shades from IKEA (3 wide and 2 skinny) and offset them like this:

------ ------ ------
---- ----

Sorry, the offset in the picture above didn't come out right - just visualize the small panels covering the gaps in the large ones.

This worked great because I didn't need to find panels that were the right size. It also gives a 3-d effect which is really cool.

I literally just moved into a new apartment (first morning here) and I have a similar problem. I bought 3 custom solar roller shades from Smith & Noble. They have yet to come because they are arriving from China, but in total it was like $300. I kept them a simple white. I like the idea that I can raise each one individually for each window. I also plan on putting drapes on either side - for a little extra drama and darkness. I bought these through West Elm's website in the "sale" section.

Not inexpensive but cute :)
http://www.zuuz.nl/window%20tulip.htm

In case you haven't already solved this problem, I have my blackout shades that I had made at Home Depot from my loft I just moved out of. I'm selling them so if you're interested you can contact me at sara at hell dot com.

Otherwise you can have them custom made at Home Depot for (I don't know what you consider expensive) less than $200. That's what mine cost and my windows were bigger (sorry I don't have the measurements in front of me).

Hope that helps.

I had the same problem in my loft. I found great linen shower curtains at Anthropologie on major sale (for them anyway) just $15/each. I bought 5 because I wanted the entire wall to be covered and hung them with a very basic extendable rod. You could probably get away with fewer curtians.

i just had to make a room divider of basically the same size. i got the ikea wire system mentioned below. wasn't that hard to install if you've got a drill (or borrow one) and then bought some extra long curtains on sale from bed bath and beyond. ikea, and the shower curtain idea would also look nice. you'd probably need 3 or 4 panels, but it'll look pretty.

If you get the drop cloths as Erin suggested (I did this when I lived in a loft and they were terrific!), be sure to get ones that don't have the company's name stamped all over them. Sometimes this printing is folded in when you buy them, so be sure!

For a truly budget solution, try the self-stick paper blinds they sell at Home Depot (etc). The plan paper ones look bad, but get the "fabric"-look type, and there is just a huge difference--they look a lot like rice paper. They install in about 2 minutes and stay put forever. Also, they provide complete privacy yet don't impede the outside light at all. To raise the blinds you simply gather a bunch of the pleats and clip them with the clips that come with the blinds. The only problem is if you leave them down with the windows open the wind will turn them into crap. (So all you have to do is clip them up when you open the windows.)

Hi guys,

I know this posting was from last year but I came upon this topic as I searched Apartment Therapy for my dilemma.

Like Lindsey, I have large windows in my bedroom, about 117 inches wide and even wider in the living area/kitchen - 211" wide!. My problems are that I can see the neighbors across the street and hear the traffic from a main avenue just a few feet away. We rent and don't want to invest a large sum in window treatments. We were thinking maybe Smith and Noble Honeycomb shades for the noise and regular curtains over that? We would consider lined, blackout curtains but they get seem to get very expensive.

I would appreciate any comments and/or ideas.

Thanks!