I feel your pain. I have a similar door and have had vertical blinds on them since we moved in over 20 years ago. I do hate them, and would love to change them to something else. They are wonderfully functional, but I do not like them. I have a dog who slobbers and lays there, and ours face south so it gets full sun. To be honest we have hardly ever closed the blinds as we really dont need ir for privacy. I have seen some of the panels you mentioned but I cant decide how durable they would be in my situation. I do like the gromet panels and have toyed with putting those in. According to others, they do slide pretty well so they would be functional for closing and opening easily. Your other choices are lovely by the way. I will be watching this to see the suggestions you get.

I agree about prioritizing a new roof - the existing one is quite tired and kind of drags the house down, as well as being a potential leak hazard which can cause significant interior damage. (With snow loads like those, you need a roof rake to avoid ice-damming and leaks!) If you can't afford to totally redo the front steps (after paying for a roof LOL), patch up the chipped-off chunk and paint with textured concrete-patio paint. Not a really long-term solution, especially if you have to use salt for ice removal, but it'll get you by for a while. Love the idea of veneering the steps with natural stone or porcelain (a slate look would be very nice with the brick, especially if it has some brick-colored streaks in it) when you can afford to do so, especially if the existing brick walkway were to be removed and continued with the material used on the steps. Paint the front door a dark green or darkish, slightly grayed blue to contrast with the brick, perhaps with a taupe/beige trim around the window. Maybe taupe/beige for the screen door. Replace the worn hardware with a slightly antiqued brass like Emtek's French Antique. The mailbox and light fixture definitely have to go. Although your house isn't a bungalow, look at some of the Craftsman-style lighting out there because you can mimic the low roofline of the house - repeating elements makes a more cohesive look. I'd suggest a slightly antiqued brass like Rejuvenation's Brushed Brass - their Lowell/Williams (two sizes of the same light) and McKenzie are good ones to look at. Yes, they're rather expensive, but the quality is amazing. Especially in harsh climates, cheap lighting looks cheap and cheesy fast. The "Welcome" sign on the door is a little too cutesy and country-style for the house and blocks the window. Get a welcome mat instead, if you must express the sentiment in print rather than attitude. :-) A larger and more interesting set of house numbers to the left of the large window would be more visible from the street. Look at address plaques and try to tie it back into the door color. The railing definitely needs replacing but I'm not 100% certain with what. Where I live any stoop/porch with three steps requires a handrail, check your local building-code compliance department to see if this is the case in your municipality. I'm thinking maybe just something plain but chunkier may work nicely - something like this? Plant evergreens and perennials (as well as annuals if you don't mind the work) around the steps themselves. If you use something low-growing right in front of the (gas?) meter and something taller directly to the right of it, the meter will be disguised but still accessible to the meter reader. I'd also put a planter of flowers or a small evergreen in that dead spot next to the door. An unsolicited longer-term suggestion - when you can, think about repainting the foundation to a slightly darker value of the brick color, or a deep warmish gray. The white foundation makes the house look like it's floating. Also, consider repainting the white trim to something like a camel color, since the white is too contrasty with the brick and accentuates the smallness of the windows on the front of the house. Another repainting thought is to try to match the gutter downspout to the brick color so it isn't as "in your face" - aluminum guttering can be painted easily.

nosoccermom - I did my bathroom cabinets with General Finishes Gel Stain in Java color and I just finished my kitchen cabinets with Old Masters Gel Stain in Red Mahogany color. I also have most of my trim completed on the first floor with the same Old Masters Gel Stain. That stuff works wonders. Its by far the cheapest home improvement I've done that's had the largest impact on my design. Back to the doors... I gave it a second coat yesterday. It definitely looks much better than the first. Still a little streaky in spots, but it won't be perfect since I'm staining such a large area. I brought the door back inside yesterday after the second coat. All the doors in my house are in a darker hallway... except for that one door I posted a photo of above which leads to the basement. When I placed the stained door in this spot, you could definitely notice some streaks. However, I took that same door and placed it in the hallway and you can barely notice it thanks to the not so good lighting. So I think this will work... I'll stain a couple more doors this weekend, hang them, and see what they look like. I'll post some photos when I get the door hung.

Love your new window treatments! Very nice -- and how wonderful that the change allows you and your family to really enjoy your family room -- and kitchen areas too! Yes -- a roman blind with a magnetic rod seems to be the answer! Perhaps you could consider long patio curtains outside next year? Or add an umbrella (stand-alone or through a table) just outside too -- always helps too! Jan at Rosemary Cottage