I would get rid of those curtains and do a nice roman shade.

edited to delete a really tacky idea

Or, riffing on gracie's suggestion, you could push the panels to each side and install a roman shade to raise and lower for light control and/or privacy.

This post was edited by bbstx on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 10:01

Try fixed drapery panels on a decorative rod with a bamboo roman shade that can be lowered for privacy.

Don't add anything to the drapes. They're pretty fussy as is.

curtains with bamboo roman shades

[Contemporary Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2103) by Toronto Media & Bloggers Jennifer - Rambling Renovators

panels on side

[Eclectic Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2104) by Brooklyn Interior Designers & Decorators 8.8 Design

panels with austrian shade

[Traditional Kids[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kids-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_24653~s_2107) by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Le Decor Francais

panels with flat shade

[Contemporary Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2103) by Amsterdam Media & Bloggers Holly Marder

another panels with roman shade

[Contemporary Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2103)

My only advice is to not do rod pockets. You will always have bunching. I'm not crazy about a tie-back look with the curtains covering so much of the upper part of the window. Even if you keep what you have, use clip on rings and simply push them to the side. Depending where you place the clip, the rings can either be prominent or minimized.

bbstx.............. WOW excellent examples of what could be done with the windows that have a radiator beneath.

Really amazing. I was like wow, I wonder what you could do when I saw the OP pic. then between Beverly's mock up and those inspiration pics.

WOW! :) so helpful.

beverly, we were cross posting! I hadn't seen your excellent amended photograph until after I posted all those pictures. Your photos make me want to buy and learn Photoshop.

I've seen the Houzz thread about 50,000 pictures. What I did above is one of the things I like about Houzz (there are many things I don't like about Houzz, too). I could do a search and post the pictures without having to first transfer them to Photobucket then to the GW message. That is so cumbersome!

panforcooking, please send us photos of the end result.

Wow, Beverly, that is some great photoshopping!

Sorry, HDposters................I don't use Photoshop. Not that skilled.

I am simply using the PAINT program in MS Office. Pretty basic. Lots of cut and pasting, but once you practice a bit it's easy.

I'm even more impressed, beverly. I have that program and I've never be able to grasp it!

One problem I see is that the rod should be mounted on the wall, higher up, and not on the molding. Probably too late to change it, but a tip for next time.

I don't understand what you mean when you say "the middle panels can't pull back unless they lie on the radiator".
Anyways, you can use a soft tieback, such as rope, tassel tiebacks, fabric, and more. This way it can be as long as you need.

Hard to tell, but it doesn't look like there's much of a view out the window, so I would do like the 2nd photo that bbstx posted with the shorty sheers in the middle where the rad is and the full length panels on the sides.

Also, if you could raise the rod closer to the ceiling, that'd be great. I have this thing about attaching hardware to the middle of deep trim molding...

Wow thank you so much for the i put! I actually have that same exact sort of bamboo-ish shade in a different place in the house and i(personally) hate em. Though they dont look half bad in your pic!! I just dont think i can bring myself to do that lol!

Also- when hanging the rod, i considered hanging it higher but with the dark colour of the frame, it just didnt look right.

Also also-i made these curtains lined with the help of my MIL's machine while mine was out of commission, and my husbands wallet.. and if i took em down there would be hell i pay lol!

Could not tell from the picture. Is that a radiator cover? Might you consider painting the cover the color of the walls so that it "disappears" a bit?

No radiator cover(unfortunately-i just had to use tension rods like chopsticks to get 26 cars out of one...) and also what luck theyre so close to the aills i dont think there is room for a cover. Though im not worried about seeing the radiator, just that the center panels cant be pulled to the middle woth hold backs because of it.

Something i wanted to add-im thinking o the valance because there is an extra rod behind the one the drapes are on and id like to move the drapes to that one because when i made them i lined them to help with cold weather and where they are now, theres about a 4 inch gap between the drapes and the windows/wall.

I was able to get a pic of the fabric i was thinking of using, its a little dofferent than i remember but i love it!

So also, the deal woth there being so muh fabric is that there are 4 panels, i would like them to be so theres one panel pulled to each side of each window. Also.. They totally are not fussy! Lol!!

Don't shoot me, but I just saw an old picture of windows in my parent's on-top of-store--apartment probably 75 years ago. My mother had made fabulous Priscilla curtains out of navy ground floral chintz. It covered big pairs of windows like yours, and covered (with sheers underneath) what was probably an unattractive view of the alley behind it. I haven't seen Priscillas in years--but they are really pretty if you have a view to block.....

Sounds beautiful! The livingroom windows show the street but its not that exciting.. Ive been trying to find lace for sheers but cant find what i want..i actually made a different post about it. My MIL has these beautiul lace curtains that provide enough privacy from the outside but dont obstruct your view at all, nothing like anything i can find :/