I think you meant to post this on the discussions side? You'll get lots more attention over there. This is our photo gallery, where we keep our collections of inspiration photos. I think you'll enjoy the gallery threads if you check them out. Everyone is encouraged to add quality pictures to them. But if you want to ask questions, you want the other area. Here, I'll give you a link and you can book mark it. Here is a link that might be useful: On-Topic home decoration discussions

After looking at blinds and tossing around the idea of making curtains, DH and I may have agreed on what to do. I think we're going to go with curtains on a decorative traverse rod that cover both the upper and lower window. They will open away from the fireplace and the stack will cover the outer wall (if that makes sense). But I have another question. How high should I go? If you look back at the picture in my original post, the upper edge of the top window is 14' from the floor. Should I get curtains that just cover that height, or should I go up even higher (I think there is 4' of wall space above the window)? I'm not sure what would look more silly (if anything): to have the empty wall space above the curtains, or to have curtains that go up pretty high and cover a wall. If you think I should go higher, how high? The pics from dawnp show curtains that don't go up to far, but they don't have all of the wall space above. Thanks again!

This is the first (and only) time I have ever seen these things. I do attribute the reason that our children do not usually get up before 8 a.m. is b/c of how dark it keeps the room in the morning. In terms of taking them down and leaving them for the next owners - it's not that simple. They are made specifically for each window and the "rail" that the shade slides up and down in is attached to the jamb with a sort of high powered sticky tape. You pretty much render the thing useless if you remove the rail. The former owner was a big smoker and we didn't realize how much these absorbed the smell until we unrolled the one in our kitchen by our big glass sliding door -ewwww! that's when all the others came down. We managed to get the ones in the bedrooms off of the rail so that I could give them a good soak in the tub. I don't think I could change the fabric on the shade but if I can figure out a quick way to do the valance, I may do that and leave the rest up to the next owners.

That does look really nice. I'm chiming in because I have a similar problem and am also considering both white/off-white cafes and ceiling-height panels. I like Country Curtains Hemstitch Tiers' crisp look and was thinking of those for the kitchen and carrying them on into the sitting room, which has an enclosed-porch look. Unfortunately, on trial they look too much like I cut up bedsheets. Like yours, the room is simple drywall with ceiling fan, and smooth wood floor; and, although the white works here, what I really need is texture. With my budget and looong expanses of windows, sheer coarse linen's with its lovely diffused light's out, and I suspect with kids it would be the same for you, but...texture. Those long panels posted by Amysrq and Squirrelhaven have it.