I like the plaid--I'm partial to plaids, and the blue and yellow looks very fresh. I also like the idea of combining vintage fabric with white curtains. How do you feel about mixing a floral and a plaid, if they are in the same colors?

Hi mama_goose! I'd be ok with mixing plaid and floral, as long as the patterns didn't overwhelm. Maybe if the floral was tiny? I'd have to see the fabric, I guess.

I should have also mentioned - I'm planning a really simple curtain (or set). It needs to be very easily closed/opened. I was thinking either one long one that I could pull to one side, or two that I could tie at either side.

Hmmm, logistically speaking, or design wize, making one curtain for your very very wide and proportionally vertically challenged (above your sink) window, it will be quite difficult to figure out what you need to make the dimensions.

If it is to hang straight down from a rod running the width of the window, by the time you pull it all the way to the side, you won't have enough of the inner length left to catch in a tie back. Not unless you pull it to the side from the top rod before you tie it back.

Don't the side panels of your window open out? You will want to make straight curtains for those windows, as I see you will need to pull them into a tieback more frequently than you need to move the very wide middle window curtain.
I see that that middle window truly needs a humongously wide ROMAN SHADE. A bottom up roman shade. Plain white backing, and your plaid fabric on the front. Then a valence across the top of the entire window even covering the two side window panels. I'd make either a valance or hang a ruffled or pleated or gathered ....(what do they call those short curtains?) near the ceiling...also in the plaid. The floral design would work on the side panels.

At night, a big window can look like a big black hole and you can become paranoid about being WATCHED! But glory be, your window is a fantastic source of light and a good view. So think about even a wide bamboo or matchstick roll up blind for the middle. What I like about the one I have on our sun porch, I can tie it off of course, but I can also shorten it by cutting off the unneeded length, and regluing the bottom wooden bar. You could even paint it any color you like, then apply a stencil design to it in your floral or fruity 1950's pattern, and make it as sparse or dense as your heart desires. Cheap way to cover a lot of window too.

Thanks for your input, ML. :o) I like the idea of a roman shade covered in fabric - I'll have to put more thought into that kind of possibility. I plan on having the curtain(s) open 99% of the time. I will likely just close them in the late evening - hence the need for easy opening/closing. I had thought if I did one curtain I would pull the whole thing back - I'd make very loose loops or even use the clip loops I've seen in some stores.
I'm not a big fan of valences - I think they are too fussy for my plain jane house. As I'm making them, they also need to be easy to create. :o)

Here is a link that might be useful:

Pole pocket valances can be easy to make also. And they could be flat panels instead of gathered, and less fussy looking. Like you, I enjoy the clip rings. It is real easy to take them down for washing or cleaning.

Pretty soon I'll be hanging my bedroom curtains, since DH is now through repainting the prepainted crown molding he installed, which made the ceiling look bad, which made the toe molding look bad, and I'm not sure but what he did not repaint the inside of the bedroom door, since it probably looked bad too.

You know how it goes. You freshen up a flower pot on the porch with a coat of paint, which makes something else look ragged, so you paint THAT, and then...and then....

....and then he is pushing to put the texturizer on the newly replaced wall in the hall and back bedroom, which I do not have at the top of my TO DO list. At the top, is hanging that ceiling fan in the kitchen. It will blow some cooler air onto the back porch, which is getting pretty hot these days, with no a/c vent.

but I digress....sorry..

OH Missy I like the plaid and the cherrys. Always liked the plaid and floral mixes if the colors go right. They were doing that a lot with furniture a while back.

I also think vintage cloths mixed with white is good too. All the suggestions are good I would have a hard time choosing. I did do the vintage table cloth look in one house we had and it was really fun. Nothing was the same but all went together. I still have a couple left over cloths if you want me to send them on to you. They are the embroidered ones.

Chris

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You know how it goes. You freshen up a flower pot on the porch with a coat of paint, which makes something else look ragged, so you paint THAT, and then...and then....

Lol - isn't that the truth??

Thanks for all your input on the curtains - I still haven't decided, but you've certainly shown me some more options. :o)

Chris, that's very sweet of you! ((hugs)) I think that if I decide to go that route I'll just use the one I had up before - that way I don't wreck any more 'antiques'. I'm still not sure what I will end up doing.

Missy, I love both fabrics, but I'm really partial to plaids. The great thing about them is they can be dressed down or up. Will the plaid work with your wall color? If you make curtains then you could also make cushions for the chairs (or just ruffled skirts would be so cute).

Oops, just back from shopping @ BedBathBeyond, and seeing your thread, realized I forgot to get 8 tension rods to go inside some windows. Well, drats, now I have to make another trip across town.

And Missy, I have a couple of plaid shaded ceramic tea light holders. The shade is white background, and the plaid is light blue and a warm light yellow. Such a pattern would look nice on a shade.

If you don't cover one with your plaid fabric, then think about painting a design on a shade. Easier than matching up patterns, if you can draw at all. Maybe just a strip of pinked plaid glued to the top and bottom rims of your shade?