apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Off topic but I love the fact that guy has a bag over his head in the first photo.

Ditto. Very, uh, anonymous.

The bag head guy is cracking me up!

Bwah! to the bag on the head.

If you like that style of curtain, just get a longer pole to hang them on so you can push them back farther so you can see the smaller windows. Then just get drapes that you actually like.

I'm baffled - Do they want to allow light in from the side windows but cover the french doors? Do they want to cover/leave exposed the entire thing?

If it were my space, I'd choose a heavier/longer rod and mount it at the ceiling - and get draperies that hit the floor and are wide enough to completely cover the full width, but when opened stacked back to cover the wallspace on either side of the windows.

I agree with bepsf. It looks like there's plenty of space on each side of the doors/windows for draperies to hang when opened. And, moving them up to the ceiling is a great idea.

BTW: What's with that square thing plunked in the middle of the rug in front of the couch? Is it a coffee table? But, it looks like it's soooo far away from either the couch or the chair with the bag head guy in it. Where do you put your glass? And, what's with the lonely magazine in the middle of it?

Don't mean to pick on someone's home, especially cause she didn't ask, but I'm just sayin...

thecompanystore.com and the theshadestore.com both have custom blind options. You can order them with or without a liner for more or less opacity.

Simple solution that is semi-permanent.

Mix up a small batch of wheat paste; recipe here:
http://myhandboundbooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/making-paste.html

Get sheets of Kinwashi paper, or any other light colored, decorative thin paper.

Tape a sheet of paper over the window and brush on a coat of paste - making sure the paste saturates the paper.

When everything is dry you can use an x-acto to trim the edges of the paper flush with the window. If you ever need to remove the paper you just blot it with a wet sponge. The paste is activated/cleanable with water - so there is no risk of permanent damage to the windows.

It lets lots of light in, and still provides privacy, without the clunkyness of shades or curtains.

now thats a portrait i can get behind!

P.S. I vote for the window film.

"What's with that square thing plunked in the middle of the rug in front of the couch? Is it a coffee table? But, it looks like it's soooo far away from either the couch or the chair with the bag head guy in it. Where do you put your glass? And, what's with the lonely magazine in the middle of it? "

It's a floating-island table on a floating-island rug...
...perhaps the magazine is "Travel & Leisure"?

A longer curtian rod will uncover the small windows, but still allow them to be covered at night.

If you want privacy during the day too, window film the two windows and two doors. If you are covering the entire window, I'm a fan of cutting the film two inches smaller than the window and centering it, so that there is a 1 inch strip of clean/un-filmed window all the way around. It looks nice AND so you can see out a bit, who is at the door, etc.

I had a similar situation once, and solved it by using Matte Medium applied to the glass with a paint roller, to imitate frosted glass. Jars of MM are available at art supply stores for about $6. Just roll it on - couldn't be simpler, and it looks great. Use masking tape or contact paper to create whatever design you wish (sepitts' suggestion above is a classy one.)

In one of my rooms I only used the MM on the bottom two-thirds of the french door glass, which provided daytime screening but also allowed views of the sky from inside. In the kitchen I used it only on the bottom sash of the windows for the same effect.

This assumes, of course, that you have some other window covering for nighttime.

where did you get the gold and black skull print?

I'm always a fan of the longer rod.

i love the bag over the guy's head

Great space Sarah. Ignore Ms. Pea... I think she has something stuck somewhere. I'm just sayin...

To atxmod: I'm pretty sure that's a Shepard Fairey print.

THANK YOU for all of the great suggestions! I think we've decided on raising the curtains/extending the bar and buying some linen panels. We might get some shear panels for the daytime, or try the window film idea. I'll send a picture when it's done.

The poster is by Shepard Fairey ( http://obeygiant.com/ ) but they are sold out. We found that one on ebay.

I'm glad you all enjoyed "the bag head guy". :)

And to Ms. Pea- I will try not to drown in all of the floating objects in my living room until we can afford to buy the bigger rug that we want. :)

Another off topic question. Love your console/credenza. Is it a vintage piece? Who makes it? Where did you get it?

Cool space! I love the pieces you've selected. I was going to ask about the skull print too. I'm going to have to try and find one.

can't keep my eyes off that bullet planter! I need to go hunt for one in that color!

The credenza we found on craigslist. We couldn't find the name of the designer on it. We took the knobs off of the feet and the sliding doors so that it looks a little less like an office piece (we hope!).

Here's the local store that we got the bullet planter at (they come in small medium and large and a variety of colors)
http://www.kalosdesigns.com/shop/Vessels/
Now I just need to work on planting it!