Drapery Dilema

So this is a big, fun decision.......the drapes! We've got a clean slate now with neutral walls, wood beams on ceiling and wood floors. We're feeling kinda bold and thought it might be nice to add some drama with rich drapery panels in red! So, here's our clean slate......

One of the big questions is how to hang them. The problem is how the left window butts up to the wall. I also want as much of the windows showing as possible as not much light comes in during the day. Here is one of my thoughts.....maybe put up one long iron rod with three drapery panels hanging to the right of each window...?

Here's some samples we like so please help us decide! (which one....or neither one!) They all come in the big 54" wide upholstery fabric that I would be able to sew drapery panels with. I'm hoping this will help set the feel of what look I want in this room.

Velvety, rich, red/goldish floral......

A simple gingham......

that could be hung with a cute gathered look on top like this......
(Or maybe even larger gathered heading so it would cover the rod)

Or maybe a red, old world toile...? This sample isn't very good. I'd probably use one that has more red, less cream background....but you get the idea.

Any comments? Suggestions? Please respond!

Entrance Update

Well, after a nice long vacation to Aspen Grove in Utah, it's time to get back to business....decisions, decisions! This entryway is taking way longer than I thought it would. Life and daily responsibilities really get in the way sometimes! ha ha.

So after some experimenting and a few opinions, I think we decided to go with green beadboard with the cream colored walls. I wanted to do something different....not your typical white wainscoting....so on this little section (below) I tried a brown undercoat of paint with a green glaze over it. I wiped and brushed a little to give it a different, maybe aged look..? Because the glaze I mixed in was white, I thought this green ended up being too light....

I tried a little section with the same technique but with brown. I should have taken a picture of the whole effect since this isn't a very good close up but you get the idea. Thanks to the opinions of sis-in-law Sara and great pal Lonni (both with great design prowess), as much as we loved this brown, it just wouldn't work best in this entryway. It looked good in the morning but way too dark the rest of the day and since there would be so much of it, it would feel too much like a cave. Not to mention what would we do with the black staircase?

So, I'm pretty sure I'm going with this darker green (any last words?). I think it will set the black staircase off nicely and also our brown antique coat hanger thing (what's it called, mom?) that I love so much.

Oh, and just had to fit this in also. Tonight, Dustin put up the ceiling fans....

After a minor marital spat of whether or not to have black or brown (and a couple of trips back and forth to Home Depot) we decided on the brown.....even though I don't like that brown two-toned wood look on the blades. I'm hoping it will all blend in and the fans will be the least looked at anyway.