Window Covering

How do you hang curtains outside of vertical blinds?

I live in an apartment that has vertical blinds mounted on the inside frame of the window. The room remains very light, even with the blinds drawn, so I would like to put some light-blocking curtains on the outside frame of the blinds.

Public Comments

1. You will need to use a rod that gives you enough clearance, depending on how much the blinds "stick out". Measure the distance the blinds protrude into the room when they are open and add two inches or so, depending on the curtains you choose. If you choose tab-top curtains, for example, they will need more clearance than ones that are tightly gathered at the top when open. When you go to the store, you can buy a rod or fixture that has the right "return" once you know what your choices/needs are.
2. A rod is your answer,....if you are doing it yourself you can get real creative in your choice of rods. Look at your decor and try to repurpose something to make a unique rod. For extention brackets look to the specialy jhardware places like True Value or Ace Hardware,...and sometimes Marine / Boat stores are the secret place to get the strange bracket you need! If you get a plain rod, and want to cover the top of the whole thing decoratively, look up Cornice/Valance/Pelmet in ASK.COM and decide how you want to go!
3. Hello, I am a decorator based in Australia, the most practical way of solving this problem is to purchase a curtain track that has 10cm brackets in it. Install the brackets, ie one end bracket at each of the window and install the intermediate brackets in middle. Hang your track and then hang your new curtains. Always ensure that the vertical is still able to rotate and not fowl on the curtains. If it touching just move your curtain track brackets out further