I understand Casey's point to be that to manhandle a window, you have to be able to stand right at the wall. If you are leaning across the width of the counter, you can't get the leverage, and/or your back takes a hit. But overall, what a useful thread this is for me; we have a similar window to Casey's - too low to make countertop even with the sill, requiring a well behind or making the window smaller. So thank you for posting! Plus, like Ashley, we have too little space to one side for what we need to put there, namely a fridge. So the fridge sticks out like the sore thumb it is. Love the idea of a set of under-counter appliances - our only idea so far has been to reduce the size of the window. This is not going to be a bad thing as the original window is not there any more anyway, but a horrid aluminum thing that we want to replace anyway. But the thought of losing the light has been killing me... except in summer, when the heat from the window is killing me. Anyway, all that to say, you can get European fridges that are quite narrow - 24 inches or so. Naturally they have correspondingly less capacity, but for certain people this would work. And Igloo, I love your idea of the glass back/front cabinet. I've thought of shelves across the window but not of making it a cabinet, but keeping the heat out in summer will be an interesting challenge, not to mention privacy. But definitely worth considering. KarinL

Wow - I could've sworn I posted in this thread earlier today, but it's not here (obviously!). Anyway, thank you so much for the suggestions. Right now, I may be leaning ever-so-slightly to going ahead and purchasing another pair of curtains, using a pair each on these smaller windows, and just stacking them back a bit more than they are on the front windows. (I think the fabric lends itself to that easily.) I won't do anything until after my trip though - am leaving tomorrow with "me Mum" for a couple of weeks in Cornwall and Devon, where I hope to gather up a lot more decorating inspiration! :-)

I vote for some Roman blinds in a nice print or stripe. Something that will embrace all the colors you're bringing in. You may want to check out Etsy. When we were doing our bathroom upstairs, I wanted something different for the window and found a woman there who made valances. Her workmanship was fabulous and I was really happy with the transaction. My favorite thing about it is it's more unique so every other house in the area doesn't have the same thing. A lot of the sellers have pricing that's reasonable too and the choices are unlimited. Here is a link that might be useful: custom made Roman Shades

If you look them up online, they are sometimes described as “oval” spring tension rods. But they look good with flat panels, if you want to show off a William Morris fabric design or something like that. But as has been suggested, above, your woodwork and windows are beautiful! Less is more. Simple, subtle, so the woodwork is the star!