I like the look of the hunter douglas luminettes...operate sort of like vertical blinds but much more attractive...can provide light control and privacy. I think they would look nice in your room given your other textures.

I will email you regarding this.

Don't mean to be critical, but that seems like an awful lot of stripes, doesn't it?

Tibbrix, the carpet is an awful lot of stripes or the carpet combined with vertical shades?

The carpet is not shown in full context and also without the furniture placed atop it. That photo was taken while the installers were still here. I like the carpet very much and it seems to work well in the space.

Carpet combined with the blinds, is what I meant. It's a beautiful carpet, but it's wall-to-wall, so the entire floor is striped. I think if you add striping to the windows and doors, it'll be overwhelming.

It's actually not wall-to-wall carpet, but it does look that way in this photo. It is inset into a larger area of wood flooring. There is wood near the doors and only wood in the area where the door-sized window is. I'll take better photos later.

Oh, yes, I see that now. I still think, though, that it's a heck of a lot of stripes.

One option would be no blinds at all but to put mirrored reflective film on the outside of the glass on each panel. The mirror reflects the sun, but it also gives you privacy because you can't see inside from the outside because it's like a mirror. But you can see outside from inside.

There are different kinds: sun/heat reflection like above; privacy; glare protection.

Check out 3m and Gila. I have the Gila (all three kinds on different windows). I think I"d try the 3M, though.

It is very easy to apply, if you read the directions and take your time, and it really stays on!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sun blocking films

Are all the walls that gorgeous charcoal color? If so, I might look for simple panels to match that can be closed in the hottest part of the day (lined to keep them from fading) and at night. Or simple panels to match the fireplace color.

Most windows in new construction are coated to reduce/eliminate UV light from entering, so fading might not be a worry as it was in the past. I know I had to pay extra to get uncoated glass in my new french doors, because my house has a passive solar design and I WANT the heat from the sun in the winter!

Oh, wow--What a gorgeous space. I LOVE your carpet!! Is it orange and navy? Red and black? Hard to tell from the photo. I just chose some striped carpet for our lake cabin but I like yours better! Can you tell me the name?

So, I'm going to call your basement "Rustic Preppy" and I think some texture on the windows might look really nice. Like this (with navy or black tape trim)

but configured like these:

The walls are Hale Navy (Benjamin Moore).

We have Marvin windows and doors with low-e. They really don't block from fading, unfortunately.

Palimpsest suggested a red curtain panel with navy tape on the vertical sides. I like that idea. Near this area of the basement is a room with double French doors that has red walls that match the red in this carpet. The only other color in the basement is the bathroom, which has green walls.

Thank you for the compliment. The carpet is Karastan.

It is a bit preppy (copper bar top and character hickory)

Wow, between you and kswl and am now having some serious basement envy. Very beautiful.

Red curtains you say? What are the furnishings planned for that room? I only ask because I wonder if it will appear dark, especially if you have them closed to prevent fading during the day and at night for privacy. Of course a basement is meant to be cozy so maybe dark isn't a concern.

That is a really cool room! Maybe it is just me but have you considered off white curtains?

No, I actually hadn't considered off-white curtains. I ordered many fabric samples in various shades of red and am looking for some navy blue tape trim to order samples of. I have no idea what I'm doing with the drapes in this house (which is probably obvious), but I'd like the basement window treatments to work well with the masculine feel we have down there, but also be very functional. I'll take furniture pictures shortly.

Thanks for the compliments.

More images to come once we finish up

Furniture.

Love the sconces!

Thank you

The striped rug looks great. I do want to point that I see very little wall space around the slider. If that is the case, a curtain rod and panels may interfere with the function of the door.

"a curtain rod and panels may interfere with the function of the door."

Not really. They just need to draw to the side of the fixed, non functional panel and away from the one that slides.

Anything hung on the doors would interfere with their function, but not a rod hung on the wall above the doors.

What about something like these, vertical cellular shades?

I think the silver birch would look great next to those sconces and with the blue and red. Easy to use, too, just open and close like a slider door.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vertical cellular

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Fri, Feb 7, 14 at 16:21

ineffable - If threeapples chooses panels, the lack of wall space around the door is going to dictate rod choice, finial choice and panel width. The non functioning door is always going to be partially covered by panels. If a function of the door is to let light into the room, I think it is a valid point to consider.

Of course, the wall space issue could just be the result of a bad camera angle. If so, never mind!

It's nearly impossible to get a good picture because of the light right now, but the door to the right if the fireplace has barely and room to stack a curtain. Here us an image of the stationery side:

The white thing is a security system sensor.

Here is the door to the left of the fireplace:

deee

You are right, there is very little room, but the room does need something for both privacy and light control. It's a trade-off. Unless you leave room on each side of slider or French door for the treatment to stack fully on the wall (which architects almost never do, anymore), you are going to have some coverage over the window, unless you want to keep the window completely bare --which is not what is wanted, here.

Something that stacked completely at the edge of the window, like old-time verticals, is not really appropriate for the house.

think this room is going to get used a lot at night anyway? It's a TV, bar, recreation area. --I've been in houses that have these with no windows at all, that are still nice to be in at night.

Looks like you don't have much room above the doors either. Correct or bad camera angle?

We have double headers (door trim is connected to crown), so windiw treatments will be hung on the wood, which is fine by me.

3apples, did you see the link to the "vertical cellular shades"? They're like an accordion door, so easy to use but they're also nice looking, IMO. (Found them today; want some for my glass sliders now!).

Don't mean to be a pest. Just not sure you saw it, and it would be a shame if you would have liked them but never saw them! Lots of colors too. As I said above, I think the silver birch would be beautiful between the silver sconces and the navy wall.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Fri, Feb 7, 14 at 18:17

Each night when I pull down my cellular shades I wonder again why people do not use them on doorwalls. I have a simple silk valance above the doorwall and two pleated shades that match mounted in front of the sliding glass doors below. They meet where there is millwork, so no one can even peek in between them. They disappear in the morning behind the valance. The honeycomb cells even provide a bit more insulation during these icy winter days. I can leave the bottoms open high enough for the dogs to look out without dirtying the bottom of the window coverings, or pull them down to the floor. They are inexpensive and come in standard sizes that match the sizes of the door panels and so can be changed out every few years if the color scheme changes.

Tibbrix linked you to ones that come on a single header, so you would not even need a valance. It is a sleek and modern look. Someone above also showed you some Roman shades that were warm and textured.

Is there a reason not to consider the use of longer window shades? It has seemed an underused option for patio door walls to me and I do not understand why it has not caught on.

Nancy,

I love the streamlined look of the cellular blinds. The shades in the link I provided actually open right to left, which I think is so cool! They're like an accordion door, with a handle rather than stings for manipulating, and they are vertical rather than horizontal like yours. It would be like taking yours and turning them one turn so the cells go from top to bottom (vertical) and they open right to left.

When I get around to getting something for my kitchen sliders, these are definitely what I'm going to get. They make so much sense, for sliders, that it's surprising they haven't been around for a while.

And you're correct. They're supposed to help trap heat (and cool) inside, keep them out.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Fri, Feb 7, 14 at 18:28

Hi. Yes, I saw the link, but intend to open it in my computer this evening since doing so on my phone isn't the easiest thing for me to see. Thanks so much!!!

Oh great! They're pretty cool, IMO, and a great solution. Don't mean to be ME, ME, ME!

Have fun!

FYI: In the link, you can click among the pics and get better angles of them, and scroll down and you can see the colors.

Thanks, everyone, for the very helpful suggestions and links. There are a lot of practical options that would work in our space. I'm going to explore fabrics for traditional drapes even though they won't entirely be out of the way when open because I think the style fits best with our house, which is very traditional and even minute details are as much in keeping with the period revival as possible.

I will post back when I have samples and have narrowed things down.