Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry!

Does the 16 feet refer to height or width? Can you tell us the dimensions of the wall and the window in both directions?

The window is 16' long by 4' high (not including the jalousies you see below it). The big window is recessed about 3 inches, but the jalousies are flush with the wall. There is about 5' of wall on the left side, and 12' of wall on the right side.

Thanks!

Next question - what do you need the solution to do?

Do you want privacy without blocking the light?

Do you want to open and close the covering regularly?

Would you prefer the window to be completely uncovered sometimes, partially covered sometimes, and fully covered other times?

That's a pretty wide window. I would stay away from horizontal treatments and go with a vertical treatment. 2 that come to mind are Luminette or a Vertical Sheer Shade. Both are great for wide windows. You can control your privacy and light. They have the soft look of a sheer that filters light. The vertical sheer shade will be much more affordable and the material can be removed for cleaning. The picture below is of 2 vertical sheer shades butting together with the left open and the right closed. I wanted to post a pic of luminettes but can't figure out how to post more than one pic.I've include a link to an article that talks about both treatments.

Here is a link that might be useful: What Is A Luminette and Is It Right For You

Are you replacing the window too or did it survive the mess? I ask because if you are re-doing it, you may want to consider replacing it with different windows.

If you are keeping the same window I will defer to the experts. Vertical blinds are not the most up to date look but sometimes circumstances dictate your choices. Depending on the rest of your decor, plantation shutters might be an option.

Why do I always type an "I" instead of "U" when I am typing the word "shutters"? That would not look very nice. :)

Is the view out the front your boat or someone elses? If that is a private dock then my suggestions would be different as it's a lovely view and would not want much to interfere with that; unless those are neighbors out front and you feel the need for privacy. What type of sun exposure do you get? I agree with deee that verticals are a dated look; if exposed to the elements, perhaps something that can withstand that. To me, it's crying out for billowy white sheers, something that would not draw attention to itself, but let the view be the star.

No advice on the window but it's a great view. Just wanted to give a shout out to another Sandy survivor! We're also rebuilding after Sandy and I've been spending way too much time on this forum learning. Today, I've been putzing with arrangement of "objects" on a side table. Glad you were able to rebuild.

Tricia
Mystic

Hey Tricia;
Are you from Mystic Island, NJ? How much damage did your house sustain? We had about 3' of water throughout, so the whole interior had to get gutted. The electrician is almost done...after that, I think the reno will fly (hoping). This site is the BEST for getting ideas, isn't it? Lots of good people here. Best of luck to you.

Outdoor curtains might look nice, hung indoors of course. I'm providing a link to a blog I found that has nice inspirational pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor Curtains

If you do decide on curtains, I think theresa's idea is interesting. The only problem I see there is that the outdoor fabrics tend to be quite heavy, and for such a big window, I think you'd have too much bulk and weight to make them work inside.

But building on her idea of tying the window to the view, and depending on your style, what about considering lightweight nylon sailcloth or parachute cloth?

Those billowy fabrics come in very wide widths, you can put a lot of yardage on a traverse rod - or a regular rod with grommets - without weighing it down, and you could stack lots of it to the sides without creating too much bulk..

And where you live, you ought to be able to find a sailmaker who can get the material and make your panels.

If you want to consider that, the way to make them feel more homelike is to make the panels with very deep hems - 10 or 12 inches, I'd say. You also might need to add a light weighting chain in the hems, to keep them hanging well, but I think they could be very pretty and effective.

That is one gorgeous window and view. And I truly wish you the best of luck rebuilding your home.

For a somewhat big window in our family room we hung three bamboo roman shades side by side, then ran all of the cords together across the top and braided them together so they all raise and lower together beautifully (this was our awesome neighbor's trick - he's a designer) - not sure this would work on a window of your size, but it saved us a ton of money not ordering one humungous custom shade -

here is a pic (not the best) but it is hard to tell they are separate -

I really like Laurainlincoln's idea. Or alternatively, you could do some sheers or a bit thicker (maybe burlap or canvas look), but staying with a light beachy look, and do panels that pull back to the side with a center panel that is tied in the center.

Ok, we have a set of three really big windows all together in our master (well, one big one and two small flanking) and we did plantation shutters.

This is a pic that shows the windows but the shutters were NOT up yet, those are temp shades...

This is the only pic I have on Photobucket that shows some of the shutters (too lazy to take a pic right now!) but if you want to see a full shot of the shutters, I can take one later tonight. (I took this pic because someone wanted to see the peak of our vault...obviously I have no wide angle lens!)

I was so thrilled with all of your ideas. I love this site! I've been looking into solar shades (lots of sun comes in that window, so it'll save the furniture). Incorporating some of the other ideas here, maybe put some billowy fabric hung on giant grommets on each end (not meant to close completely). Oh and btw, this room also has a sliding glass door leading into a "rumpus room" (a 60s word). We thought about replacing it with French doors, but decided to keep it. I think the billowy fabric treatment would do well there, too. Continue offering ideas if anything comes to you!