Drapery Dilemma - A Problem of Proportion

I was browsing Erin's blog http://design-crisis.com today and saw a post titled "Pink Curtains, Or Why My Husband May Divorce Me" discussing the color of drapery panels.  Oh, I feel her pain.  I have gotten into the whirlpool of color A vs. color B with no end of possibilities.  I drew up a quick comparison for her, thinking that she is not alone in this Drapery Dilemma, and with her permission, I posted a possible solution here. The color selection is still hers to make, but the biggest problem, in my eyes, isn’t the color of the draperies, but the proportion...Take a look.  I owe her one for the inspiration.  Thanks, Erin!

The proposed drawing with featured flax drapery panels.

What I notice is that the panels are too tall for the French Doors.  By dropping the panels down, even if it entails alterations, this is what you would see...

The upper windows are left untreated, but the balance of the panels is pleasing to the eye.  If I were going for a budget friendly solution, I would go this way.  But wait...What if the homeowner purchased an extra pair of panels and used the fabric for a top treatment on the upper windows?  (WARNING:  Watch the weave and pattern of your fabric.  If the fabric has an obvious up and down pattern, the weave would run lengthwise down the panels and run across the cornice!)  

The upper window treatments look a little like eyebrows, don’t they?   Hmmmm,  now it is the proportion of the cornices that are wrong.   The ideal solution, as the homeowner identified in her blog, would be to treat the upper and lower windows as one.  How do I know?  Experience, of course...taught by the school of hard knocks!  In my own home, I have a two story foyer and made drapery panels for the bottom window and another pair for the top window.  I spent months regretting my decision until I finally bit the bullet, purchased the extra yards of fabric and lining  and made a new set of super long drapery panels, choosing to treat the two windows as one.   I like this solution....

I want to thank Erin for the inspiration to address the problem of proportion in window fashions.  Experience is the best teacher...especially when it is someone else’s experience.

p.s. In case you are wondering, here is what Erin's had to say:

Double height is definitely the way to go, but it's not the most budget (and time) friendly solution. So I'll save that for another day.  I will, however, take your suggested hanging height into account when I mount the brackets for the lower windows.  Thanks!"