I’ve longed for more places to put plants. Â I think plants make a house more cozy and homey feeling. Â I’ve always love my brother Jule’s house…he has lots of plants and has worked his kitchen window to be a happy home for them.
See how he put glass on the sills to extend them out so plants can sit in the sills? Â I love it. Â I also like how, in a way, the plants almost make things a little more private without having to have a lot of curtains.
I don’t like curtains. Â I really don’t like them at all beyond a little lace valance. Â I guess I’m a little different that way. Â I don’t like blinds…I don’t like window coverings. I don’t care if someone looks in my window and sees me sitting in my chair watching television. Â I don’t walk around my house naked so…it’s not a problem to me. Â The way our house is situated helps matters too. Â To the south is the neighbor’s garage, north a grape orchard, east the street and not even super close to my house and the west the alley.
For me, no curtains…no problem. Â Less decisions to make, less money to spend and mostly, they won’t hide my woodwork. Â I LOVE my woodwork.
I am so bad with curtains that people have actually come to our house and told us that they have curtains we could have until I get chance to buy some…um. Â Nope. Â It is a conscious decision for me…I have CHOSEN not to put curtains up. Â I can afford them. Â I have been choosing not to in the hopes that someday, somehow something will click that I like and the windows will have some type of treatment.
Well I think that’s finally happened…an idea clicked.
This is my kitchen window….the same one several people had told me not to have that I completely love and adore. Â When people criticized the idea, I almost thought of going with their idea. Â I am so thankful that I didn’t. Here it is in all of it’s glory with no curtain-just like it is every day.
I remembered I liked how my brother used plants in his window. Â Well I can’t put in glass to extend my sills. Â The childcare kiddos would demolish it all-glass and plants. Â I could however talk Hubby into making some cleats and getting glass cut for glass shelves to put in the top. Â I’ll have two glass shelves that will be at the top, inside the window casing for my African Violets. Â It’s a south window and violets aren’t a good plant for south windows but the neighbor has a tree in his backyard the limits a little of the sun. Â That should make it okay.
So this window is getting a window treatment….a valance of plants. Â Do you think this might cozy up the window and help people to realize that curtains simply aren’t my thing? Â I’m hoping to have an update on this soon as Hubby loved the idea and was quick with a tape measure and started making plans. Â We’ll see. Â Does that mean I get to buy more violets? Â YES!!
I am the same way about curtains and window treatments. We are a little closer with our side neighbors. But I have many of the blinds (that came with this house) pulled up. At times, I find them useful to keep some sun out. Here in Texas, the sun can be brutal. I wasn’t sure anyone else felt the same as me!!
I don’t like curtains either, but I do have room darkening shades, because I absolutely can’t sleep with even a tiny bit of moonlight. The shades stay up during the day where I sleep and up all the time everywhere else. Almost forgot the other reason for having them. When we built our house it was in the middle of cotton fields (pretty much still is), and all of our trees were planted by us. Baby trees don’t do much to keep a house cool when the temperature is in the 90’s during the summer!
I like to go into houses where either the curtains are either open or none at all. It’s so light and bright inside. My house on the other hand is always dark. I worked over 20 some years at night, sleeping during the day. I kept the house dark to be able to sleep. Even after retiring, I keep the house dark – I’m use to it. And there are many nights when I don’t sleep, thus sleep during the day. Maybe one of these days I’ll get brave enough to let a little light in. Thanks for sharing.
I too have no curtains in my house; I planned it that way; we are fortunate to live in the woods so the wild animals don’t care; I support you to let all see your fine woodwork as people do mine; there is nothing wrong with that; there is no law; and if you’re happy with it, so be it; kudos to you!!
I’m with you on curtains! We do have DUST-FREE mini-blinds up in several windows downstairs, but have full wood blinds upstairs in our master bedroom and master bath. I wouldn’t even have those things upstairs if our bedroom weren’t directly across from hubby’s office. And we have a full atrium double door/balcony up there. Just wouldn’t do to have his employees looking the bedroom windows and seeing the boss’s wife unclothed. HaHaHa. But NO curtains in the house. I’ve always thought curtains were over-rated. Our mini-blinds are custom-made so all of our woodwork shows, just as yours does. Our house is over 100 years old, but has been remodeled several times since we moved in. Hubby is a carpenter so was pretty picky about the woodwork. Think it might match yours pretty closely.
Oh, my, I am the exact opposite! I had a peeping Tom fifty years ago when my husband was overseas and I had two small children. Scared the heck out of me. I have to close the house up tight as soon as it starts to get a little dark. I have never gotten over that.
Love it! Yup, forget about curtains!
No curtains here either. A funny story though. My neighbor complained to the city that he had no privacy because I didn’t have curtains! What???? That happened 15 years ago and I still don’t have curtains. I like your garden window idea, can’t wait to see the result.
I am a plant lover and your idea of plant curtains is a fine one indeed! I only have pelted shades in the bedrooms otherwise my windows are bare. I don’t have neighbors very close so it is not a problem for me.
My grandfather many years ago made a thing for my kitchen window which can hold plants. The shelves have dowels on it and it is very light but I really like the idea of glass or even plexiglass would work. I really think the idea of the plant curtain would fit that window wonderfully. Can’t wait to see what Roger comes up with.
I like open windows, too! I live in a more residential neighborhood, so I do have blinds and curtains on most windows for privacy. But I’d much rather just have plain windows.
I love your idea of a plant valance. I don’t have much for window coverings also. I believe that years ago, people had curtains/drapes to keep out the elements, but today with new windows it isn’t necessary. Why have a window only to cover it up.
Probably a bit different here in England, smaller houses, nearer the road, people often walking past. Also I live in a bungalow so sleep on the ground floor – would feel a bit ‘bare’ without my curtains. And, dare I say it, I quite like to sew curtains.