Justa' thought for you and probably a much less costly solution.... First, I'd use black wrought iron poles/rods for what I'm about to suggest. Think about using a rich, earth toned fabric (rust & lt golds..maybe in a paisley design? However wide your total window is..buy that much yardage...(based on 54" or 60" wide fabric). I'm seeing a canopy suspended down about 4' from the very top of the top windows. The width of the fabric would be the length of the canopy (w/perhaps 3" hems at top & bottom. Run the top of the canopy on a pole at the very top.Then.. by simply placing a pair of the black wrought iron 'L' shaped plant hangars at the 4' mark-you can run the bottom edge of the fabric's hem thru another pole & it will project out away from the window somewhat..I think you can get them w/a 12" arm. This canopy would then cover the top 4' of your windows entire length. From a person's view sitting on your furniture-you'll still be able to look up and out the upper windows-but the glare from the sun will be blocked from the top portion. Also I'd again-(a simple hem job)...make dummy panels to hang from the very top of the top windows-all the way to the floor...one on each end and one on the 2 center wood casings. The canopy would hide your short rods from which the panels will hang. Then to give you a soft look to the bottom portion...you could hang, say- light gold,tab top sheers or semi sheers,on yet another black pole, which would diffuse any afternoon sun. This pole would be placed, on the section of the wider wood beam (for lack of a better word..the one that's 2 glass panes above your sample blinds). Topping it all off would be some really decorative black finials on the ends of the 3 poles. Methinks it would just be a different approach & not something eveyone else has. The cool thing is-if you bouth the drapery panels all in 1 continuous length at Joanne's? You'll get it for the 40 or 50% off price coupon-just cut off the 4 lengths of the windows yourself.

Windows on Washington - re photos: I don't know that my "before and after" photos will be that dramatic. I've ordered the identical style door in the identical color. Where the current door is awful doesn't really show up in photos. The door is uninsulated, and thin-gauge, and the sidelites are single-pane. The frame looks fine, but if you press your finger on it (especially at the bottom), it is either spongey in wet weather, or crumbly and brittle in dry weather. I could post a pic of the carpenter ant sawdust (which I learned is called "frass") along the bottom of the sidelites--but that would be gross. I have been told that Home Guard's "Timberframe" composite option is not appealing to carpenter ants. I also plan to spray Delta Dust all around while the opening is open. I will post just the "after" photos when it's installed.

Re: painting, just remember this is not a room it is your exterior. Whatever color you paint it should go on your other exterior (non brick not trim) surfaces unless you close it in and screen/wall it. Just for fun, I really love this where steps go all the way around instead of railings. My deck is like this, I love it. It would look great in brick like this, with the brick pillar as well. Also like these, although any work like this seems like a great opportunity to face the stairs to the street as has been mentioned : ^^ no double columns for you (too fancy) but I love the brick walls and stair railings ^^Forget the style of the beams but the brick pillars at base of stair with white/cream railing returning to simple white posts would be nice What not to do: bulky pillars are all wrong for the house^^ ^^awesome with simple railing

We had two of those in our vacation home, one in front and one in back. I hated them. We removed both of them. The one in back was over a set of french doors flanked by double hung windows, and we replaced it with transoms. The one in front was over double entrance doors, which we removed when we redesigned the front of the house. It now has a single door with side lights on the first floor, and a double hung window with side lights on the second floor. It's a much more classic look, which you could get by replacing it as nexp described above.