worldmom, we also are struggling with the same issues---daughter with light sensitivity due to a vision disability and, in our case, a west facing kitchen window. So far we think our choices may be a patterned sheer curtain (so it can be easily taken down and washed) or a solar shade that can be wiped clean as needed. In the past I've had 2" blinds over the kitchen window and also matchstick blinds. The 2" blinds, although great for light control were hard to clean and did show every splash. The matchstick blinds always looked great but weren't so great for light control as they still left blinding light in through the thin spaces. Good luck with your decision and I'd love to see what you decide. At the moment we're thinking of just getting a plain old cheap roller shade to pull down when the sun is a it's worst and hope that someone will invent a better solution.

Most transoms I see aren't covered, but some have beautiful stained or textured glass applications. Though I know many will disagree, I personally don't feel blinds are out of style at all. There is a variety of styles to choose from and while they may be a little harder to keep clean, I like them because they're very functional and filter light well. These are pricey, but my favorite blinds are the shear blinds. They're gorgeous. I was in a house yesterday that had some horizontal ones on all their windows, even the sliding glass door. On the shorter windows the horizontals were nice, but the door definitely needed a vertical application. Here is a link that might be useful: Images of shear blinds.

I went back and forth on this a million times, ORB or Satin Nickel...exposed hinges or hidden hinges...I ended up with exposed hinges in ORB (thanks to advice and pics from GW) and I really do like it. My ORB hinges and knobs look more black in the photos but they aren't quite as dark in person and have a warmer undertone. Be sure you see the ORB in person because some ORB is more on the brown side and some has a blacker tone, like mine. My cabinets aren't as creamy as some, they are more white, but a soft white and I don't think it's too jarring. Good luck, it's so exciting when you get down to those final details isn't it?!

I think your shades look a bit odd for the room because the vertical trims from the windows look out of place and stand out without relationship to anything else. Another way to remedy the situation is to have drapes mounted over the shades so that there are other vertical lines that pull them together. Kind of like the last picture that boxerpups posted. (I am not sure though) If you want to use separate shades for each window, the color of the shade has to fade with the wall color so you don't see the white trim. I think this is the biggest reason the shades as is don't fit in the room. I you use larger shades mounted over multiple windows, this may make your room look squwat. You may want to play with some software and see how it looks.