Window coverings above the kitchen sink

[klmama]

My kitchen faces west with blinding sun at suppertime, so my window needs to be covered then. The window is set low, so sometimes the covering gets splashed with water or whatever food residue is being washed off the dishes.   I need something that's sturdy enough to handle being wiped down frequently, that doesn't have strings that stain easily, and that's more attractive than a vinyl roller shade.  Oh, and that shows white on the outside of the window.  Does this exist?  

 

 

[Liz CA]

Plantation shutters fold on the inside and they do come in wood or white / vinyl. They don't bend and can be wiped.

[klmama]

Hmmm.  I like the look, but I think the faucets would be in the way of ever opening them fully.  The window is set really low, and the faucets rise 3-4" above the sill.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.  Maybe there's some variation on the idea that might work. 

[LAS in LA]

8 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Plantation shutters fold on the inside and they do come in wood or white / vinyl. They don't bend and can be wiped.

Shutters were my first thought, too. Would it work to put them on the outside and open the window to close them (Euro-style)?

[Bambam]

I'm not sure this will work. We have one door - glass window in it with the blinds in it that go all the way from the top to the bottom - sealed between two layers of glass. There is a sliding switch that we can push back and forth that tilts them one way or the other closed/open - fully or partially. Maybe they make windows like this? 

Can you sew? Maybe make the curtains out of the tablecloths that have the vinyl feeling pattern on one side but are a white felt underneath? Those should wipe off easily. 

Or I might just get some tie-dyed curtains and wash them weekly. No one is going to notice any food stains on there because it will blend in. (Disclosure, I did this with white sweat jackets for my kids to wear - served as bibs if I forgot one (and no one noticed any food stains before they were washed - or after if it didn't come out!). They were also useful when tie-dye wasn't popular for keeping track of said kids at playgrounds, field trips, airports, etc.)

 

[Carol in Cal.]

A lady I know who couldn’t afford to redo her kitchen cabinets hung linen towels from every place she liked on each one.  Like, she liked Ireland although she had never been there, so she got a linen towel stamped with Irish stuff online somewhere and hung it on one cabinet door.  Her kitchen was unique and charming and the towels were replaceable, inexpensive, unusual, festive, and a great conversation starter.

Following that idea, in your shoes I would pick a theme and get inexpensive linens that adorn it.  I’d search on EBay on the theme words and buy kitchen towels or tablecloths of that theme.  Pro tip—you can save a lot by adding ‘cutter’ to your search—cutters have holes or stains that can be cut around for quilting, and that can work well for curtains too if you are piecing them together. Then I would get fat curtain rods, more like the ones for drapes, and  sew the pieces of cloth into having sleeves at the top, and then string them onto the rods, crowded together pretty hard.  You can switch these easily, and take them off and launder them easily too.  I might even have a few different sets for different seasons.  Then I would have a black out shade behind them with a long, decorative pull.  I’d pull it down for severe sun, and leave it up when the translucent linens were sufficient.  I think that that would look really nice, and unique too.

[Pen]

Machine washable curtain, white

cling film that stops glare

[Bootsie]

When you say that faucet would be in the way to open the shutters, are you talking about opening the slats of the shutters to let light in, or are you talking about in the way of moving the shutters?  Older-style shutters have smaller slats and can fold according style so that they would not need as much clearance.  I have liked shutters over my kitchen window in that I have found they have been the easiest thing to keep clean from kitchen grease. 

[klmama]

7 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

When you say that faucet would be in the way to open the shutters, are you talking about opening the slats of the shutters to let light in, or are you talking about in the way of moving the shutters?  Older-style shutters have smaller slats and can fold according style so that they would not need as much clearance.  I have liked shutters over my kitchen window in that I have found they have been the easiest thing to keep clean from kitchen grease. 

I mean in the way of moving the shutters in order to open the actual window.  My grandmother had the style shutters you are describing.  I'll see if I can find those.

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions!  I'll have to ponder on this a bit.  

[J-rap]

I like what my parents had -- vertical blinds that you push up with your hand (not via string), and you can push them to any level.  They're fairly easy to clean, although if I were cleaning something really messy that splatters, I might push them up for the few minutes that I was cleaning.  Otherwise, it's all one continuous piece -- not the traditional blinds with individual slats.

 

[sweet2ndchance]

I have a tension rod on the inside of the window frame and two really pretty tea towels hung with rings that have clips on them to clip them to my "curtains". Shows white outside, doesn't matter if they get wet or icky, I can wash them. I've had the same set up there for a couple of years now but never had anyone ask me if they were tea towels or why I didn't have real curtains. If they started looking wonky, it would be easy and cheap enough to just pick a new set to put up there. The tea towels also happen to be the perfect length for my rather small window.

I chose this curtain set up because I didn't want to cover up my pretty farmhouse style window frame but it really does work well in my east facing kitchen window that gets all the bright morning sun.

[Bootsie]

Depending upon how large the window is, the bottom framing of shutters could be built tall enough that the moveable part of the shutter clears the faucet.  It would just be that the moveable shutter part sits further up on the window with a taller base.  

[klmama]

7 hours ago, J-rap said:

I like what my parents had -- vertical blinds that you push up with your hand (not via string), and you can push them to any level.  They're fairly easy to clean, although if I were cleaning something really messy that splatters, I might push them up for the few minutes that I was cleaning.  Otherwise, it's all one continuous piece -- not the traditional blinds with individual slats.

Do you mean cellular blinds?  I wonder if they make them in different materials.  Hmmm....

[Katy]

You can make plantation shutters with 4 panels instead of 2, so they fold out in a narrow area, even around a faucet.  This was more common in the 90's I think, but you can have them made.

Shutters are pricey.  I'd probably start with bleachable white curtains.

[J-rap]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

Do you mean cellular blinds?  I wonder if they make them in different materials.  Hmmm....

Yes, I believe so...  I know they had them above their kitchen sink, and I feel like they were of a smoother texture that you could wipe clean more easily.  (They've sold that house since.)  

Another you can check out is solar shades.  I think they're a little like the cellular blinds, but can be used outdoors too so are generally tougher and waterproof.

[cjzimmer1]

26 minutes ago, J-rap said:

Yes, I believe so...  I know they had them above their kitchen sink, and I feel like they were of a smoother texture that you could wipe clean more easily.  (They've sold that house since.)  

Another you can check out is solar shades.  I think they're a little like the cellular blinds, but can be used outdoors too so are generally tougher and waterproof.

I have Roman shades that sound like what you mean above my sink.  It's a pretty course material so quite easy to wipe off.

Something like this but it's just a single panel over the sink.

https://www.blinds.com/pla/bali-custom-tailored-roman-shade/505218?utm_medium=pla&width=16&height=20&utm_campaign=acq*sem*bc-g-pla-shades-romanSKU+(NEW)*Bali*****g*5052181620*c*NTM***9018947&utm_source=gog&utm_term=&utm_content=&mkwid=s-dc_pcrid_303134745839_pkw__pmt__slid__product_5052181620_pgrid_60713280176_ptaid_pla-910431211598_&pgrid=60713280176&ptaid=pla-910431211598&intent=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_qSkzNu_7AIVj4bACh1XmQhiEAYYBCABEgLrIvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[J-rap]

6 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I have Roman shades that sound like what you mean above my sink.  It's a pretty course material so quite easy to wipe off.

Something like this but it's just a single panel over the sink.

https://www.blinds.com/pla/bali-custom-tailored-roman-shade/505218?utm_medium=pla&width=16&height=20&utm_campaign=acq*sem*bc-g-pla-shades-romanSKU+(NEW)*Bali*****g*5052181620*c*NTM***9018947&utm_source=gog&utm_term=&utm_content=&mkwid=s-dc_pcrid_303134745839_pkw__pmt__slid__product_5052181620_pgrid_60713280176_ptaid_pla-910431211598_&pgrid=60713280176&ptaid=pla-910431211598&intent=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_qSkzNu_7AIVj4bACh1XmQhiEAYYBCABEgLrIvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yes, it seems like something like that could work!  I just looked up water-proof Roman shades and those do exist as well.

[klmama]

13 hours ago, J-rap said:

Yes, it seems like something like that could work!  I just looked up water-proof Roman shades and those do exist as well.

Ooohhh.  Thanks.  Off to search....