Well -- in terms of expense for the long-term -- I would stay with woven wood or linen roman shades.

BUT if you love the fabric -- why not use it in a smaller -- but still effective ways? Cushions for chairs or a bench? Placemats? Tablecloth? If you have placemats made -- then have a plain fabric on the reverse! Then find a couple of fun accessories -- maybe a bowl for the island? or a great vase for the table? -- in the small color tone.

That way you can still use the fabric -- BUT -- IF you grew tired of it -- then your money outlay was not as much!

Hope this helps!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

I think aqua is a hot trend! Go for it!

My thnking is.....I purchased my home because it has architecual interest. By decorating "safe" I'm going against the grain. I hung modern art pieces 22 feet up, above the fireplace. I just know someone is gonna say, "art should be hung at eye level". DH tried to convince me to hang it width wise, not up & down. :0) I LOVE it the way it is. I get comments on my home when people come over anyway......so......brace yourself when you do the unusual.....you get comments. :0)I enjoy the look!!!! No regrets.
{{!gwi}}

Are you leaving the walls white or painting? How tiny is the pattern? It is hard to tell from the sample.

I think color and pattern can be great for window treatments depending on all the other elements in the room.

I am going to vote 'No' on this one though.

The pattern looks too large to me and might make things seem cluttery in that busy corner. The blue is too pastel according to my monitor.

If you say the pattern is actually very tiny and that there is a wall color going to go in I might vote 'Maybe' for this.

But most of all, I feel if you are not jumping up and down loving it, saying this is *Thee One* that yes, you may tire of it in a short time. You say they are too expensive within your budget, to replace in a short time on a whim. How angry would you be if you got tired of them? Could you still live with them or would you end up blowing money on new ones that should have gone elsewhere?

Here's an odd idea: can you find something remotely similar, say, at Ikea or somewhere pre-made (i.e. inexpensive, reusable somewhere else or donatable when it's over) that you can get to put up and see if you like the general look? I tend to agree with dilly dally's points, but I also like to mock up as much as possible before making a decision.

I like it! How many windows are there? If it is just the small window in the picture, go for it -it will not be much money at all, and you can change it whenever you tire of it. Do you sew? Even if you do not, you could easily make roman shades with that fabric. There are lots of easy directions all over the internet. I say go for it!

There is design statements that I made that is Very specific:

My apartment in a large 1840 house has a 1965 mahogany open-tread staircase cut between my LR floor and the BR floor. It is so different than the rest of the architecture that there is no way to ignore it.

When I redid the kitchen area, I surrounded entire stairwell with a contemporary wooden box a la Farnsworth House. The stairwell walls are one notch above jet black, (there are two black marble and iron fireplaces in LR) and the doors at the top of the stairs are custom doors with Greek Revival proportions, but stripped down in detail as a transition back from 1965-1840. The whole thing was expensive and I will never get a return on it. I am in the process of putting the house on the market and the hallway was recently repainted and I thought a bit about repainting in something other than black. However, I thought that anything "safer" would dilute the design intent, and the next buyer is either going to like it and "get it" or they are not.

My advice is to take a risk, but only if you are sure of the element you are taking the risk with. I knew the halls would look "right" in black and that I would not tire of it.(The risk is turning off a potential buyer, but I really don't care about that) If you are afraid you will get tired of that fabric, you will. The more money you have to spend the more you need to be sure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farnsworth House

Thanks for the advice. If it was just 1 window, I wouldn't think twice. But it's actually 4 windows in total and the price is approx. $800. As per Bestyear's suggestion I started looking around on the internet for making your own roller shade(i'd be happy with that style but Calico corners where I found the fabric only has roman shades, etc.). Maybe I'll see if I can somehow DIY or find someone else to make the shades for less.

Just do it.

It really limits you if you want to change your colors in your kitchen down the road.

Are you a color changing kind of person?

I guess sometimes in a kitchen, things like towels and such that are driven by mass market may be difficult to find in aqua in several years--so that could have an impact if you like to match in that fashion.

However, not choosing a color because you may want to change colors in the future, while it is a common consideration---is also something that has a snowball effect.

I suppose it depends on how you respond to color and color trending and predictions.

Its almost impossible to choose *any color (or pattern)other than very neutral tones, if every decision has to be based upon what you *might do in the future. If you like to change things up, it may be best to go with something neutral...if you like to live with things, it may make more of a statement to go with something a bit bolder.

From a practical standpoint, you have at least one window near the stove and sink. I wouldn't be inclined to sink so much money into window treatments exposed to steam, grease, and water. That is, unless your kitchen is more for show, and it doesn't look like it is.
Dee

Is that Calcutta Gold? lol

To me, the fabric doesn't feel like what we can see of your kitchen. It also looks pretty bright (and going solo in that respect), but I'm thinking it's probably not as bright as the swatch there; but who knows.

Beautiful kitchen!

mahlgold-

Umm, I would go bolder, that print seems too demure (sp?) for your big boned kitchen (that is a compliment!), I love the simplicity and boldness of your choices, and I think that print is too small and lacking "oomph" to match your other elements.

Good luck-

sandyponder

I know I have been chiming in with philosophical answers, but from a design standpoint the colors of the "fixed" aspects of your kitchen seem Gustavian to me. I think something muted that blended the Marble, Grey paint, stainless, elements would be really sophisticated.
That may seem a little "dull" but then ANYthing would work that came in and out of the kitchen. You could do something in Sunbrella or outdoor if you are worried about the sink and stove proximity.

A bright fabric would be a more European approach...but it could end up looking a bit IKEA-ish. I am not downing IKEA or that look, but that isn't where you have been headed so far.

I like the windows without anything on them.

Thanks for all the feedback. I've pretty much decided against this fabric for the windows. I really liked the print and thought it might be fun, but maybe "too fun" for this kitchen.

Here is a view with both the windows. Does anyone else think I should leave them alone? Maybe I should figure out a backsplash first and then see what I can come up with. I had also thought about woven woods to match the tone of the floor and island cabs.

Gawd I love that kitchen, Mahlgold. When you said in the other thread that people just didn't get it, I just had to come back for another look. It's nice to see the window wall in its entirety.

Two things come to mind. One is that if you are planning a backsplash, then definitely, you should hold off on WTs for now. Second thought is to paint the trim on the two windows a color, maybe the gray of the pantry wall. (Is the pantry wall a different color than the window wall cabs or is that just an illusion?) What color is that paint, btw?

I'm not sure what kind of functionality you need for WTs. Do you need privacy or light control?

Thanks amysrq. Here are a few pics I took today. I posted on the kitchen forum looking for backsplash help(see link below). The pantry wall is grey and the window wall cabs are black. The pantry wall color is SW "Grey Matters".

I don't need the WT's for privacy or light control. I just thought it would make the room look more finished.

Here is a link that might be useful: Backsplash Help

If you go with a fabric, I'd think about a larger scale print. The one above also appears to be a smallish pattern size.

Beautiful kitchen. Definitely wait to see what you do with your backsplash before deciding on a fabric or window treatment.

I'd love to see you do something kind of bold (not meaning 'color') -- making a statement with the splash over the range. And, rather than making a statement with your window treatments. I can even picture a patterned or art tile installation.

Looking for some patterned tile examples, along the lines of what you were thinking with the fabric. Ann Sacks has patterns but most of what I saw was pretty bold/bright.

These examples are custom cement tiles(Tom Scheerer), for a general idea. Bold but subtle in coloring.

Ann Sacks has some art tile and geometric designs. I find that website difficult to trudge through, though. (Erin Adams interlocking oval, at Ann Sacks).

Here is a link that might be useful: Ann Sacks

Maybe you could do a fretwork pattern in tile. I think a large scale design would look good. Somewhat of an example, scaled appropriately for your space:

(I think this room is the work of Angie Hranowsky; from Paloma81 blogspot.)

Would you consider brushed stainless steel/aluminum blinds. You could even match the black or brown cabinet color for the fabric strips (sorry I don't know what they are called) I think it could look very cool.

Did somebody say....

Here is a link that might be useful: ....fretwork?

amysrq - very cool. definitely a possibility. thanks!

squirrelheaven - thanks for the suggestions and pics. I love those tile designs.

i think i should try and get to a couple of tile stores to see what's out there.

Here are a few other images with styling I thought had potential:

Description from LaurelStreet blog: "This is not my shower. Nor my multi-function scrubbing device. However it's a pretty good picture of this shimmery opalescent glass tile called Pearl Moonlight. Like it for a backsplash? "

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile Options

We still don't have window treatments in the kitchen. DH doesn't want anything interfering with the clean lines of the windows & trim. I would like something to deflect the afternoon sun during the summer, but not enough to actually do anything about it-LOL!