Valances are nice weight and they do darken the bedroom a bit but they look nice.  These are actual the taupe color and not brown.  It was the lighting.  It took us a while to figure out how they criss cross over one another.  We originally ordered 3 but we were 1 short so ordered another.  Our window measures 74 inches.  Order 4 of them to get our look if you have a window this size.  If your window is any bigger I would order 5 of them.