Curtains? Roman Blinds? Can't decide. Help appreciated. Photos included!

[Polestar50]

We need to get new window coverings before the winter. Used to have quite thick thermal curtains in a neutral colour on a U-shaped pole that sat behind the sofa in the bay window.

We took the curtains down to redecorate and the extra light coming in the room now is amazing. So I'm sort of reluctant to put curtains back up as it makes the room and window feel a lot smaller. But I liked the softness they gave the room.

We are thinking of Roman blinds instead but I'm concerned it might be a bit too flat and not feel cosy enough?

Any advice (or other options) would be gratefully received, especially photo examples so I can imagine it.

Also all of our furniture and rugs are very square. I would love to bring in some soft elements but I'm not quite sure how. Tried an oval rug but it looked a bit rubbish.

It's our main living room. Small Victorian terraced house. It's a lovely room but just not quite right at the moment. Window coverings need to give good insulation too as the bay window is single glazed

Many thanks in advance!

Forgot the photos...

Firstly OP, I love your room, and the window is beautiful! Wasn't aware of these before, but apparently 'relaxed' Roman blinds are a thing. So softer, but still don't take up much space/light. They don't seem to veer into the festoon blind horrors of the 80s, thank goodness

Why don’t you have a sturdy pole across the front of the bay reaching onto the side wall . Then you could push it right back during the day to let lots of light in.

you could also consider thermal roller blinds( aka blackout) which go right up during the day. They are surprisingly effective at blocking out heat or cold transfer. I had a room backing onto a conservatory where we put thermal blinds over the windows, and had voile curtains for decoration, light filtering, privacy on occasions. It worked really well.

you can find some really nice voiles, coloured and textured, they don’t have to be nylon nets!

I think roman blinds will lose light too, as the fabric will need to sit somewhere, and there isn't loads of space at the top.

Could you extend the U shaped rail with 2 bits so the curtains sit against the walls currently occupied by the bookcase and picture? Not sure what it would look like with all those bends in.

Or, could you have summer and winter curtains? So when the nights draw in, hang your thick curtains, but in the summer replace them with something light and airy?

Why don’t you have a sturdy pole across the front of the bay reaching onto the side wall .

I wondered about this too at first, but won't that mean anyone on the sofa in the window will be behind the curtains at night? I mean, if there's a family member you're not keen on...

@InTheShadeOfTheFigTree this made me really laugh! 😂

I have Roman blinds on a window like that you can get them up pretty high. They are thermal lined to keep the heat in.

Can you stretch to replacing the window? Last summer we replaced a similar sized window and it's absolutely transformed the room - so much more comfortable temperature-wise (and cheaper to heat).

If you can, then you'll have more flexibility with window coverings and can keep more of the light.

I'd add the softness you want with new cushions and a bigger, cosier rug and then do what figtree suggested in the first post.

Is the sofa at the window in use in the evenings normally? If not I would put the curtains across the front of the bay iyswim.

Both?

Curtains that pull right back but cover the 'sides' and then a blind for the large part of the window.

Put a pole up so that in winter you can add curtains in front of the blind in winter and take them down once it gets lighter.

I have black out blinds and they do work well.

I'll go against the grain here - I'd be putting shutters on those windows, or Venetian blinds that will be able to be pulled up so not to block any light like Roman blinds. I would not have curtains, but if you want something fabric, Roman blinds.

What about floating blinds, so you can open the blinds from the top and leave bottom half covered for privacy if you like during the day?