help finding window coverings for wide windows!

[chel]

I need some help finding window coverings!

I've recently bought my first house (have always lived in apartments with just mini blinds so no experience)

My big problem area is the family room that has a very large east facing window. It's 3 windows side by side. Ideally I would like to close the curtains to keep the heat out. Problem is most window coverings are not wide enough to close all the way.

Any suggestions?

eta: we do have honeycomb blinds, but I would like curtains as well.

[HappyLamb]

I have the same thing... my living room has three windows side by side. Directly above it is my bedroom, with one very large window of the same size. I also just moved in and have been investigating the options for replacing the very ugly plastic vertical blinds.

If you specifically want curtains---I have searched quite a bit, and it seems that unless you want custom made, then your best bet is to just find a regular curtain panel and just purchase more of them. you can get something called a "universal track rod" (you can google this). You mount this rod to the wall or ceiling, and attach the curtains to that. It should come with some sort of mechanism to open or close the curtains, and I believe that you can rig it in a way that it will allow you to place two panels on one side, and two on the other...does that make sense?

I am in the process of buying window treatments from jcpenney.com-- I've seen that they have a pretty good selection in different sizes, with reasonable pricing, so this will be a good bet to find something thats as close as possible to the size you want. They can also do custom sizing, if you want to invest in that.

[limette]

like the pp said, either by more or flip them and hem. my windows are wide and short, way shorter than the curtains. So I buy 1 panel, flip it and make a new pocket for the rod, cut in half to have two curtains and away i go.

[SAHDS]

Can't you just use more curtains? I like 2-2.5 times the width of a window for fullness. So, on larger windows, I use 4 panels. You will need to move out your curtain rod about a foot to give room when the curtains are opened so as to not cover any of the window.

I don't know your budget, but Pottery Barn sells double-width (104" each panel) curtains if you're interested.

[mom0810]

Country Curtains has great insulated extra wide tap tops or regular. They are pretty inexpensive, too.

[annekevdbroek]

If you have a sewing machine (or a friend with one) it would be quite simple to seam together a couple panels to make wider curtains. You can get a long curtain rod to run around the whole window, and just add how many panels you need. Ikea has quite a few curtains to chose from.

[allnaturalmom]

I would sew some fabric panels together and make my own. It wouldn't be too hard... just straight-line sewing. Do you or does anyone you know have a sewing machine?

[cristeen]

If you're looking for heat trapping, you're not looking for curtains, you're looking for drapes, most likely insulated drapes.

I'd suggest finding a local (not chain) shop that specializes in window coverings, they can help you figure out what it is you need and want and work with your budget. We have a 12 foot window in our bedroom with a special kind of curtain that is sheer when twisted open but it has built in vertical blinds for privacy. That's the kind of thing we wanted, and that's what they helped us find - along with the vertical accordion "door" that insulates the foyer from the living room, which is separated by a large archway. There are all sorts of things out there, you just need to ask the right people.

[ChristyMarie]

I've always just bought multiple panels.

We just did custom blinds in the basement because the windows are truly an odd size - and they did individual ones for each window because of the weight issue with too wide a blind. I thought it would look odd but it doesn't.

Just find ones you like and buy enough panels to cover the window.