I'm doing the same thing and at least some is tempered. On a side note I was just offered what was called "solar glass". It seems it came out of some type of big flat box that had solar cells in it or maybe water pipes , still finding out details. Designed to capture heat or light. It is diffused single pane. I already have some nice double pane houshold glass and am wondering how much better this glass may be. Anyone know how to find this out? It may cost me $200 to get it because its a state away so I need to know before I pay for shipping. BTW there may be more than I need and its in Phoenix so if anyone else is interested let me know. The panes are 8' x 4' tempered and diffused. He called it "solar glass" but I'm not finding a good definition. Thanks, Damon

Wow, thank you for all the responses! cyn--The house we are looking at is in a 55+ community. Not sure if we can plant trees, but it's certainly a question I can ask. mtn--I love my 4-poster bed, so I'm not ready to chop the posts off. It's a shaker pencil point, so maybe it won't look too badly. geokid--I love barn doors and that would be an awesome look! Your solution is great. Thanks for the pics! mayflowers--I did find one photo on Houzz with shutters on what appeared to be a similar size window. I guess if I'm willing to dish out the cash, I can always have it made. nosoccermom--Thanks for the picture. Beautiful room! LuAnn--Yes, I know the sun comes up in the east, but in my part of the country the entire sky gets light too. ;) sasafras--I'm leaning toward leaving it uncovered, at least to start. momcat--I had mentioned stained glass to DH. Since I don't think I would have room to put any art (or at least what I current have) over the bed, that could solve two issues. chispa--I have duettes in my current home and love them. Motorized would certainly be the way to go. You certainly are light sensitive! xc60--Having the window in that location pretty much dictates where I would put the bed, though I've considered locating it in front of the double window due to other furniture placement. I think having a window hanging in the air might look strange, however. What do you think? patricia--another vote for leaving it open. Thanks! marti--was it difficult to reach the levers to close? I'm vertically challenged at 5'2". Guess that would be DHs job! yayagal--I'm glad to say we are not so bothered by light as you and others, now if we could get the birds to stop chirping in the summer at 4 a.m.

I doubt they'd be the cost of a new truck but I remember they were more than we wanted to spend. Don't have a pic of the room, per se, but I had a few stored on Photobucket for paint and shade ?s. The windows aren't as nice as your mom's, just insets. The great room is the one that we've put off finishing until last. After we bought the blinds for the bottoms, there was still too much sun coming in so we ordered five more for the top windows. We have to finish the fireplace so I don't show pics of the whole room. It's a work in progress. If you get woven blinds, I'd just get them without lining. East sun shouldn't be too bad for her and the lining isn't a thing of beauty from the outside. Lax, you're the poker player, aren't you? DH and I love Texas Hold-em. Nine minutes until the cash game on GSN. :)

If you hang the side panels proud of the blind valance, it will make the fact that they stick out from the window less noticeable. But it will be completely obscured with a valance. Unlike some others here, I really like window treatments and valances and have them on most of my windows. You could also do just a valance and no side panels...it all depends on the look you're going for. You could do something like a cornice board. Here are the side panels with the valance...I really like the use of the fabric pattern in the valance in this example. There are so many options with window treatments...maybe look at this thread for some inspiration...