This is a great thread! There are so many considerations for us summer out/winter indoors people. In the summer I have cattleyas, dendrobiums, oncidiums, and bulbophyllums out on a porch, with direct sun in the morning and late afternoon, and shade overhead at midday. This year I put out paphs too, on the bottom shelf where they had more shade. Everything does very well and adds a lot of growth. In the winter, they all move to a sunroom facing west but with a south exposure too. Life for my orchids improved immensely when I added Wonderlites (in the west and south windows) and big humidity trays to this set up, and it cost very little. Most winter days it is about 60% humidity, high of 80 F and low 55F. I have a tiny space heater to boost heat on really cold nights. My electric bill is just $25-30 a month. It helps that this room can be closed off to retain the humidity. I have the catts in clay pots and water about once a week. I think the humidity helps them cope with drying out completely. Another factor I think is that I choose catts that aren't seasonal bloomers but bloom at various times of the year. Originally I chose them just because I wanted to get more blooms, but I also figure they have a built-in urge to keep growing and not go dormant when the light and heat wane. They make lots of leads and lots of blooms during winter. My only basket plants are brassavolas that I water every other day. Calvin, I think your plan to cut back on water and fert until you see signs of growth is exactly the way to go. Generally I think it's important to observe the plants really closely and follow their lead. By the way I suffered from tinted windows for a month or two before I realized what was going on, but mine came with a little label that warned against using ammonia or detergent to clean them. The anti-UV tint was just a surface film that was gone with a few vigorous washings. By the way, I also remove the screens in winter as they cut down on the light. Good luck and keep experimenting! Margo

We do a couple installations on homes that are in that age category every year. Some of the homes we've are historical and must fall under certain guidelines & appearance when improvements are needed. Since your already fond of Pella then your right on track. Personally I find the Pella Architect or Designer Series window works the best in these applications. These windows are aluminum clad on the outside and wood on the inside. So you keep the wood on the inside, as your existing windows are and upgrade the exterior side to maintenance free aluminum. Pella carries a frame expander system that locks into the accessory groove on the outside of the window. This allows us to span and fill the homes exterior casing pockets with an aluminum covering. If the exterior brickmould (Casing) is over 8" then we bend aluminum to cover the old brickmould and lock it into the new window. The inside can be done by a skilled window installer, if available or a trim carpenter. Most window installation companies have a qualified installer who can meet your requirements. You'll just have to be patient and find one. Good Luck!!!

I wish tearing out the window seat/sill was an option. I agree that someone did terrible job when they built that. We are not the original home owners and we have found lots of cruddy workmanship throughout the house. Our doors are also stained, yet different color of stain. We plan on painting the doors as well, they are solid wood panel doors and are in great shape. Just wrong color.

Adding a shot of the kitchen window