Yes Julie, it is Brookside (on Huntington), so I am sure it is the same one that you saw . It was a strip to the studs remodel in 2009. Originally I was lamenting that it was a little bit too "redone" but based on feedback from our new neighbors it sounds like prior to that it was inhabited by a bit of a hermit (and a family of raccoons) so am now grateful. We moved from Johnson County, and I think a "new" 1920 house may be an easier transition for my husband and I who aren't the handiest folks around. We had a contract fall through on a house that was closer to the Waldo area (74th and Summit) and am now very grateful it worked out that way because we love our new neighborhood. Thanks for the restaurant recommendation. We have been taking full advantage of the other restaurants, but haven't made it there yet, so that will be next on our list! Jamies - thank you for your detailed response. With the way that you described, I have a little more vision. I especially like the thought of taking the house color around the base, and feel like maybe that would tie the porch in in a way that I feel that it is lacking now. I will definitely do the mockups that you recommend and think that it will be very helpful. The one thing I am having trouble envisioning is transitioning the trim around the roofline. I guess the next question will be on staining and color, but think we'll likely go the transparent route since i like the look of the grain. Regarding the rug, I remeasured and think I can get the next size up which will span the length of the couch so make it feel more like it fills the room. I guess this means vacuuming my deck which I may come to regret (as kswl points out) but I do like the coziness that the rug provides

Thanks for the smart points about rain, klem. And I agree -- there are just so many options, and people are so opinionated about those options, that it's hard to know what to do. My biggest concern remains the weather and how that will affect things, but I know that's a local issue. Maybe I should walk around the neighborhood and survey some people with porches about the sun and the temp, etc. Without adding any new information, my wife and I are divided on what to do -- she thinks just screening it is fine, but I think it would be really nice to have glass for the late fall / winter. If we had to decide today, I think we would either do simple / cheap modern storm windows (which could be opened to the screen on the bottom half during the summer) or do something a bit more adventurous. What I'm thinking on the adventurous front is to screen it in, but do it in a way where there's space to add the old-style wooden storm windows later -- just simple single-pane units that slide into the windo frames and attach with this: http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/screen-hooks-storm-sash-window-hanger?sc=12&category=91 . The main thing would be attaching the screen on the inside of the frames, or at least creating an outside sill deep enough for the storm windows to nestle within it and still be flush on the outside. Then we could remove the storm windows and store them in the garage during the summer (though that wouldn't help with rainstorms you mention). Does that make any sense? If we did that, we could see how we like the screen in the spring and summer, but add the glass later in an affordable and removable fashion. I haven't seen many people try this, but I think we could build the storm frames and get the glass cut by a local shop. Basically we would recreate something like this company's product: http://chicagogreenwindows.com/storm-window-primer/

Thanks for the eze breeze tip, scrappy. I did some searching and they look like a promising option! Some people complained that the windows had no R value and thus didn't work great for keeping plants through the winter. (All we would do would be herbs, I think.) But it sounds like you and your company were able to stay very comfortable, regardless of the windows' lack of insulation. With the space heater, how long into the winter can you use the room? We've only lived here for a few months, littlebug and lavender_lass, so we're still figuring out traffic patterns. Right now this side door is our main avenue to the car / outside, but that might change to our back door once we redo our kitchen and mudroom. (Thanks again, lavender_lass, for your advice over on the kitchen forums!) I'd want to keep a pathway on this new porch, either way, so the most you could probably do would be a couple chairs OR a sofa and a table for herbs. There's not a ton of space, and I agree that that might mean it's not worth glassing in. I'm still stumped, I guess. Maybe the best option would be to frame the openings, staple on some cheap screens, and add a Habitat Restore screen door -- then we can see how we like it as a screened porch. But we could also frame the windows with the idea that we might add single-pane windows in the future. That way the conversion wouldn't create too much extra work. klem1, I appreciate your suggestions on how to make the glassing in work. I hadn't really thought about shades but you're right -- they could allay a lot of my worries about the summer heat.

To my understanding, a solar screen helps block solar, as in the sun. It's not really for blocking pollen. You would need to use pollen and dust window screening to block pollen, but it blocks less sun. Both solar screen and window screen blocks bugs.