So I am having some window covering issues, particularly the windows in the nursery.
I know the ladder is in the way, but you can see one of the windows and the radiator that is underneath. There is an identical window with radiator on the left wall also. Almost all the windows in our house have radiators directly underneath them. Can anyone see the problem here?
How does one hang curtains or use a window treatment without covering the radiator?
The room previously had wood blinds, which we took down (they didn’t go with the navy blue and they did not provide enough darkening for the room). I think I have decided to get simple white room darkening shades that pull down (no cords…we wouldn’t want any kind of choking/strangulation hazard…we have enough of those with all the cords in our sunroom). Something like this from JC Penny would work well:
Over the white blinds I wanted to make curtains from this fabric, from fabric.com:
I found this picture of possible curtain lengths on dummies.com:
I don’t know about you, but I love the first drawing of the “formal, floor length” curtains. Check out these beautiful DIY curtains from Owen’s Olivia via Apartment Therapy:
I love those curtains, and the length is just perfect. Unfortunately, I don’t like the idea of covering the radiators up with a curtain. My first thought is “fire hazard,” but Kevin (the fireman) tells me it is actually safe and does not pose a threat. I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to risk it. Also, I wouldn’t want to cover up the only heat source in the baby’s room.
So that leaves me with making curtains that come just above the radiator/just below the window sill (click on photo to take you to source)…
or making a window cornice like this one from Domestic Adventure…
I was pretty much set on doing the window cornice, but I would really like the added light coverage of curtains. What do you think? Cornice or short curtains? I keep going back and forth, today I am thinking short curtains.
Does anyone else have radiators out there that cause issues with decorating? Any other funny stuff get in the way?
Speaking of funny stuff, Christmas is exactly 5 months away and Hallmark already has the Christmas ornaments out. What?!
This is the second time in under an hour that I heard someone say that Christmas is 5 months away, makes me want to get shopping!
My vote is for short curtains!
[Reply]
I vote cornice! Of course, in a perfect world, I’d go with floor length curtains. You could do sheers, maybe, that wouldn’t have enough of an insulative effect to prevent radiant heat from the radiator… but it also wouldn’t do much light blocking.
Wow. Insulative effect and radiant heat on a comment about window treatments… you can tell I’m a mechanical engineer that specializes in heat transfer, no?
[Reply]
If I were you, I’d do the long curtains and I’d hang them high and wide. If you are doing room darkening shades, you probably don’t need to pull them down anyhow and it’s more for the look. You can just leave them open. That’s my two cents.
[Reply]
cornerofmain Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Yeah, this would definitely look best. I just want to cover the cracks in between the shade and the woodwork because we are going to do inside hung shades…but that doesn’t take much to cover a tiny crack.
I am torn about what to do!
[Reply]
I gotta go with Kim (above) on this one!
[Reply]
We actually had the same problem on what to do about length. My mom pointed out to me that when R gets big enough, she is going to want to hang all over those curtains/use them to pull up. We are going with the “to the sill” option with a white black out curtain (same length) behind it. I love the floor length look, but didn’t want to work super hard on curtains for her to potentially hurt herself in the future! So after that… my vote is sill or cornice options lol. And my mom already got the Hallmark book and pointed out “Baby’s First Christmas”, “Grandparents First Christmas” etc. Grandma is excited haha!
[Reply]
I love that cornice- it’s super cute. If you wanted to do the to the sill option, can you maybe build a little shelf/radiater cover for the radiator that the curtains can then hang to the shelf/ledge on the top and it would make more sense as to why they stopped? Not sure if that makes sense but it looks nice in my head! lol. I also like the high and wide curtain advice- it would make the window look larger, prevent the curtains from hanging over the radiator too much and would look awesome! Love that curtain fabric!
[Reply]
cornerofmain Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
We actually are going to build covers for the radiators…so that may make the long curtains look funny now that you bring it up. They aren’t going to come out too far from the wall, but it might be just enough to make curtains stick out funny, and then perhaps the short ones wouldn’t look too bad. Good thinking Christine!
[Reply]
Would you have to close the curtains if you’re getting room darkening blinds? We have curtains and blinds on our windows snd we never close the curtains. The blinds are enough, and it would be too much work.
If you didn’t have to close them, it doesn’t seem like they would be in the way of the radiator. And you could hang them wide so that they weren’t hugging right up against it, either!
That is too funny that you bought the same globe!! I spray painted the stick and stuff on mine already so it all was the same, lol.
[Reply]
Erin @ His & Hers Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 10:37 am
And now I am reading the other comments and seeing that others said the same thing I did…sorry for the redundancy.
[Reply]
I like the cornice and shorter curtains would definitely work! What about a Roman shade? You could even make one that is just for decoration and doesnt have a cord. http://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2011/08/make-roman-shade-check.html
[Reply]
cornerofmain Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Hum…now you have really confused me! Maybe I should just do Roman Shades! Thanks for the link Ashley!
[Reply]
Short curtains make me cringe…but I understand your problem.
I’d probably just go with a roman shade. But what do I know? ;P
[Reply]
The nursery was the one place in the house where form won out over function.. and I did super dark window coverings. It wasn’t a big deal when he was a baby, but now that he’s a little older it sure is nice to sleep in on the weekends!
[Reply]
cornerofmain Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Another good point. The main thing I want to happen in the room is SLEEP! I would hang potato sacks on the window if that would help!!
[Reply]
I would do long curtains and hung high. You can never go wrong doing this
[Reply]