as to the immediacy of the window.. look into window films... i put one of the classic wisteria stained glass ... in the center of a rather large window ... so i can get more light by more fully opening the drapes ... but more privacy with them half shut ... in doing this.. then you can work with more time.. as to planting something in the yard.. to eventually grow to do the same thing ... a pic of your area.. would help peeps like me.. who cant work on words alone ... especially if you took one pic from upstairs.. down into the area ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Red Spruce (Picea Rubens) are VERY shade tolerant, especially when young. They too will grow out of your desired height range eventually though, however are slower to moderate in growth rate. In cultivation, they usually tend to the short end of their range which, which is 55-130+ feet tall. Keep in mind that the ones that get huge, are usually 2 to 300+ years old. I would expect that in an average human lifetime you might see it get around 50 to 60 feet tall at most. You are out of their native range, however I think they would do just fine there given proper water, occasional feeding, and decent drainage. They can tend to like moist environments, but not soggy / standing water. They are very cold hardy, good to around -50 or so (below zero). They can be subject to wind throw however as they have a fairly shallow / fiberous roots. They are beautiful trees, especially when not subjected to the constant, VERY STRONG winds, heavy ice and snow, that they are in much of their native environments in the high elevations of the eastern mountains of the U.S. When subjected to those conditions, they will often flag, or even go into complete Krummholz form. (Flagging is a form a Krummholz where the trees only grow branches on the leeward side of the tree, opposite of the direction the strong prevailing winds come from. Krummholz, is flagging, as well as the tree being extremely stunted to only several feet or so, or less. These both usually occur in very harsh alpine environs however.) Not subjected to those harsh alpine conditions, they form conical, full, lush green crowns that are the classic spruce shape. Many consider the Red Spruce to be one of the the more beautiful native spruces, and the most beautiful spruce native to the eastern US. Here are a couple photos of some Red Spruce in habitat. First one is probably 60+ years old. Second photo are likely a decade or so younger.

I heartily second the cotoneaster. I have Royal Beauty cotoneaster-bought 2 at Lowe's this spring for $6 a container (1 gallon size) and they have each grown 5' wide since about late April-all this in full sun for most of the day. Check out the link below-I think it is very informative about this variety. photo of my cotoneaster 1 month ago: Here is a link that might be useful: Royal Beauty Cotoneaster

Thanks all for the wonderful recommendations -- I really appreciate it! I've called around to a few local garden centers and one has some David Austin roses in stock and will be getting more varieties within the coming weeks, so I plan on checking back frequently to see if they have something that will suit my needs. Otherwise, I might wait to order online later this year and delay planting by a year to get exactly what I want for the space. I'm definitely rethinking the arborvitaes too since it sounds like they'd crowd my roses too much, so may plant a hedge row of 4 or so rose shrubs instead to make sure they have enough space/light. Thanks again all for weighing in! I'm diving back into the rose research and reading up on the gorgeous types suggested here -- Cheers!