Office Window

Hey remember me?  I know, I know... I've been over on that Facebook thing and totally neglecting the blog.  If I have any readers left it is a miracle.

So last week I went to open the blinds in my office and they broke!  :(  Who knows how old these blinds are, but they've been faithful until now.  However the ones in my kitchen broke many years ago, so I'm sure it was just a number of uses thing.  I've used up all it's uses.

So I've been looking at options on what to replace the blinds with.  Part of my decision is that when the blinds were bought for window there was a different style of window.  When we bought the house, the office window was a double hung.  However, when we went to replace our windows with new energy efficient windows, our city's building department declared that since this room has a window and a closet (not really as the closet is the foyer closet with a door slapped on the back...someone in their infinite wisdom thought they were doing us a favor and increasing the home's value by making this room "legally" a bedroom) it is a bedroom.  So since it is a bedroom it required a window that a fireman in full gear can enter through a single pane.

     note: our arguments that 1) it is NOT a bedroom and would never be considered one as there is no       bathroom on this floor.  2) the front door is right by this room and easier access to the room than the window.  3) a fireman in full gear is going to take his ax and bust through the window to get in if he needs to, so how big the pane is doesn't matter.

so now instead of lovely double hung windows we have a stupid slider window...which looks like a mini-sliding glass door.  Our small victory over the building department is that my sewing room has a double hung window instead as it also has a casement window that fits the stupid egress rules.  :p

So now the blinds in this room don't match the window.  To open the window, you have to fully open the blinds...which of course led to their demise.

So it makes sense to replace the now dead blinds with ones that hang vertically, like the style of the window opening (note: all the bedrooms upstairs have the WRONG style of blind on them!)  So I have been researching vertical window coverings for this window.

While I'm doing my search...husband chips in with his opinion that whatever I put on the window should match all the other window coverings...because he likes things to match!  We have so many arguments on this subject!

sigh

So first I don't really like traditional vertical blinds.  Having all those strips of cloth flopping around drives me nuts and doesn't look good to me.  I like the look of vertical cellular blinds...when they are new.  But when they are old, they don't hold their shape and no matter how much you paid for them (btw: Starting price $350 for this window!) they look terrible.

I found a vertical panel system that we can get.  It appears to be a good looking system that will fit the bill and shouldn't break the bank.  The problem with it... well two problems actually... 1) clearance.  The track for this system is 3inches.  I was hoping it would sit flush inside the window.  I only have about 2 inches of clearance.  But the panels "should" sit on the window sill still.  2) installing them.  from what I have found they install by either attaching to your ceiling or to your wall.

I've forgotten to mention that this window is really a set of two windows...the sliding window and a half circle arch above it.  So to install the panel system, I would need to put in some sort of "header" to screw the track into or install it outside of the window...which in my opinion would totally ruin it!

I wish that I could see the system in person so I know how long the screws are, as that would determine how wide the header needs to be, although I could replace the screws with shorter ones and just put in a lot more of them.

The thing is, the panel system would mostly be viewed from the outside as I have curtains over the blinds.  The header can be painted to match everything else.  And the panel system is adjustable, so differing lengths wouldn't be a problem.

Still thinking about this.