I’ve reached decorator’s block when it comes to the living room of the Mid-Century Modern home my husband and I bought. I want to rid the room of the dreadful (and dirty) vertical blinds that came with the home. The wall of windows is at least 32 feet wide. I don’t even know where to start or what I’m looking for. You can see that we have kind of a modern style. Hope someone can help! — Crystal

Hi Crystal. Thanks so much for your email. We totally understand your aversion for vertical blinds, they can remind us of bad office spaces. Not all vertical blinds can be bad though… In fact, in modern homes, sometimes they can be quite chic. Check out this Smith + Noble photo gallery and you’ll see what we mean. These can be quite pricey, but since the home is yours, and not a rental, it could be worth the investment. They’ll last for ages and work like a charm. Another idea would be a sort of sliding sheer panel of curtains, similar to what you’ll see in old photos of Philip Johnson’s Glass House. You could try shades that fold or roll horizontally in panels, but they’re not as convenient for playing with light. Depending on your ceiling height, you might be able to buy ready-made window panels like the ones from West Elm. You’ll need to install some hardware for them to hang on, which may be the tricky part. One cheaper, D.I.Y. technique would be to do put a hospital curtain track at the ceiling, just in front of the windows. Buy the fabric of your choice, perhaps cut into a few panels, and add grommets and hooks at the top. These slide quite seamlessly from side to side and could be great for a few years till you were ready to invest in some more permanent treatments. The house looks great, btw! Congrats!

Does anyone else have advice for Crystal! Please leave a comment and share!

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