Good for you Steph. Do you need supports or brackets that would work with manufactured housing? Make sure the ones you price can work for you. Oh yeah, in Arizona desert country your southwest windows get pretty hot I bet. I got a roll of 90% shade cloth from Home Depot several years ago. It is wonderful stuff. That which I have has been in my sun porch on the east side for a long time now. I have it mounted inside the Lexan windows. I had split the 6 foot wide strip in half so I had 2 36 inch wide shades. It doesn't require sewing, it does not ravel. I put tacks into the wood at the top of the window, and took my fingers and rolled up the "shade" , then clipped the roll each end with a clothes pin. I liked it that way when I first did it, and find no good reason to change it at present. I mean, I have enough to do without fixing something that isn't broke. I suggest that in your climate, you put such a piece of shade cloth over the outside of your SW windows. YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THEM when the sun is shining. People outside walking or passing on the street (road in your case) cannot see through the fabric. I'm suggest outside mounting because of the intense heat striking your glass. Keep it from heating up the glass and your power bill will go down quickly. Now, no reason it must be mounted only over glass or on windows. I bought a 100 foot x 6 foot roll of this 90% shade cloth. I intended to use it to cover my hosta garden but falling tree limbs made me reconsider. It is also used a lot for patio covers, or maybe attached to a wall or some posts and cover your automobile or make a shelter for your picnic table. Or cover your dog kennel? Many uses. Keep your climate in mind to allow for high winds or dust or sun fading. Let me try to show you the shades I have in the sun porch. I simply tacked the widths up without any reinforcing. However, a wooden yardstick would make a nice straight top if you have an extra one lying about.

Annie - thank you for that info - that's just what I needed. I think I have one of those oversized fixtures at my other house. I'll have to see how it measures up. There's one light hanging down over the kitchen sink that's a single version of the dining room fixture. I don't particularly care for that either and could change both. Below is what's in the foyer which I don't mind. I like simple things, not too fussy or ornate. I have a very eclectic mix of stuff. I'm very willing to make do with what I have if it's functional and not offensive to me which the malaligned DR light fixture is. I'll go shop around now that I have a better idea what I should be looking for.

linelle - I looked into that. The website says it uses 5 - 40 watt bulbs, which happens to be exactly what I have in my current fixture. I probably get more light from the open glass shades on the current fixture, but I generally have the lighting dimmed, so it should be okay.......I think. :) No way to really know until it's installed, I guess.

Hi Laura: Thanks for your input. Yes. I think I will have to find a spot for my sideboard lamps somewhere else. Unfortunately, no other pieces of furniture to go in place of sideboard. Unfortunately, if we moved the sideboard behind the sofa the walkway would be too tight. I absolutely agree with you re the cabinets. That was one thing that really bothered me, along with the corner cabinet on an angle. Prior to moving in I found out the name of the kitchen cabinet company. They still make the door style, but no longer do this colour of paint on the cabinets so I would have to get bottom cabinets repainted as well. I had them quote me on repainting and redoing the uppers to be flush with the ceiling with a crown and a custom fan vent to replace the exhaust fan there presently. Unfortunately, they came back with a figure of $16,000.00. I thought I will just have to live with it at the moment and address it down the road. There was absolutely no privacy in the backyard so we focused our time (and funds) there by putting in large trees, patio, etc.