bob-"DH" is dear husband! :-) Thanks for all of the suggestions. Can't do bottom-up shades as the cats love to perch on the sill. The window film would cover up the really pretty view (at least for 3 of the 4 seasons!)....hadn't thought about Georgian shutters-will look into those, and the mock inside mount for the wood blind........I am not a real fan of cell shades or miniblinds. Thanks for all of the info...keep those ideas coming! Please! :-) (Bob-there is a link in my post above with a pic of the window-does it look like a mock inside mount would work?

I really like 2" wood blinds, too. We have them in the upper bedrooms that face the back of the house (to save money), and they look great. I do love the look of bamboo and woven wood shades. You can get them with a blackout liner so they don't let in as much light. I had considered them but didn't get them because the "all or nothing" aspect(you can only raise or lower). It doesn't sound like that's an issue for you, though, since privacy is not an issue.

Hey There: You will be doing great with minimalistic bottom up top down shades in pleated fabric or honeycomb fabric. These blinds are super functional when it comes to light and privacy management and will be inside mount to your windows. They preserve the window look you wanted and don't cover any trim. Check us out at www.PleatedBlindsStore.com or give us a call at 619.665.9446

It sounds as though the upstairs would be used by you most of the time so you want something comfortable to watch television or read a book. And you would also be entertaining adults in that space. Since you have a small space and assuming that is how you plan to use your space, I would opt for a sofa and comfortable chair. I am currently remodeling my apartment and I went with a comfortable chair and a very comfortable sofa. I don't have hordes of people watching television with me so the space is intended to serve mostly my own needs and have comfortable seating when adults come over and we talk :-). I guess in a pinch we could watch television together but that is not typically anything I do with friends. I do have the ability to move some occasional chairs into the space and my dining room chairs are fairly comfortable so I do have the ability to seat more people if I entertained a large group but saw no need to have a lot of seating in my relatively small formal living area.