I would try to make 3 rosettes & swag it.

You may need like 12 yards of fabric. Make 3 rosettes on that wall above the windows. The center one higher than the other two. First make the top rosette, swag the fabric to the right & to the left, letting it hang a bit over where the center window & each side window meet. Next, Stuff the draping fabric into the side rosettes & let it hang down both sides of the side windows. I hope you get the picture.

A rosette is fabric stuffed through this small horseshoe like contraption (instead of a curtain rod) & it sort of resembles a rose. You pull & shape as much fabric as you like into that contraption. The rest of the fabric falls like a ribbon.

dabunch, what a great idea! You wouldn't happen to have any pics of what it would look like, would you? I'm not too crafty, so how hard do you think this would be for me to do? Thanks!!

I would do a faux stained glass treatment with Gallery Glass. Or, buy a stained glass window you love and hang it inside that one.

Here's the window I did in my bathroom:

{{!gwi}}

Here's a really bad picture of the one I'm doing for my son (nowhere near finished in this picture):

{{!gwi}}

Another possibility would be a cornice board across all three windows or separate but matching cornices for all three. You'd hide the arch that way, of course, and I imagine you don't want to do that.

I would do stained or etched glass but whatever you do it's going to be difficult to decorate around the mantle.

Ideally...........I'd have a carpenter close it up and drywall it.

Take a look at:

www.hutchal.clara.net/curtains/scarf.htm

I like rosettes & just letting the fabric drape down straight, instead of the custom step-like on the sides like they show.

If it were mine, I'm with Annz. Close it in with drywall to turn it into a nice large niche. That will make mantle decorating lots easier too.

Yes, close it in. Or get a different window - a rectangle that lines up with the other windows. Whoever designed that wall did not make the center arch tall enough. The corners of the arch should have been the height of the rectangular windows with the top of the arch rising above the neighboring windows.

Ah, I agree with Threegrad, peaks and valleys.

I would do an arched valance or cornice board to echo the arches on the doorways and the center window. Like the others, for the center I would close it up, but leave the arched shape and add trim around it to balance all the detailed trim on the mantel.

If you don't want to close it, then I would put on a plain frosted window wallpaper treatment to create more of a solid feeling that would allow you to put things on the mantel and not have them sort of floating in front of the open glass.

The other choice also involves closing it in, but creating an overmantel that goes to the ceiling, and then trimming out around the windows as well.

I would not paint that wall a different color. There isn't enough wall space to make it have an impact - it will just look off.

What a nice room you have!

I'm going to be the lone dissenter here. I would not close it off but I would add some really nice molding around the arch and add glass or crystal accessories to the mantel. Something that would catch the sunlight and sparkle. It appears that you have such a nice view in the back. I would then add some really nice luxurious panels to the side windows. I think your window wall gives you the opportunity to think outside the box and do something different.

Whatever you do think about the look from the outside. I think drywall would involve changing the outside construction that exists now.

I think the window is a beautiful feature. I would leave the window alone, and place a row of similar objects in front of it on the mantle. Something like these:

I LOVE the faux stained glass idea for the center window. I'd try to do it to mimic or complement light curtains tied back at the outsides of the side windows, paint the wall one of the colors, and not obscure that wonderful glass wall. Doesn't look as if you have to worry about privacy.

If I were very clever, I'd also do faux on the back door.

I love the window, it makes the space unique from most fireplace walls. I'd hang curtains on the left side of the left window and the right side of the right window to make it look like one grouping, not so separate. Then I'd just put some pretty objects on the mantle, colored glass would show up great in front of the window. Very pretty wall!

I would not add construction to the house It would never match the exterior unless you took the whole wall down, which is totally uncalled for. Just put draperies on the windows on either side of the fireplace from floor to ceiling and make them appear as they go higher than the center window which I would leave undecorated. There is a reason for that window, although I would agree that it needed to be higher, but that is to bring in the outdoor view, so that you have 4-seasons artwork just for the price of a little more heat/air conditioning, depending on the season.

I'll say right up front that I am old fashioned, but to me, a window over the mantle just screams *fake fireplace*!

I can sort of see where the builder was coming from when they slapped that arched window up there, but, no. Right now, it seems the view depends on the whim of your neighbors not to cut their trees. If the trees were gone, would you be admiring a scenic vista of wide open spaces, or the next door neighbors' folded up patio umbrella and roof? As pleasent as it is to look at during the day, I can't help but wonder what the view looks like at night. Is it a soft, velvelty black sprinkled with stars, or just the murky, angry orange glow from the neighborhood security lights?

If you *have* to leave it, I'd decorate with colored glass, either cobalt blue/aqua/green or ruby/brown/amber depending on the rest of your furniture, but really, if it were me, I'd have it covered over pronto. As for the outside, there's nothing that says you'd have to re-do the entire wall; just use that arch as a feature accent, and have a bricklayer do something fancy.

Good thing it's YOUR beautiful wall, kittykat, and doesn't belong to the gang that wants to cover it over! It's probably a bright, sunny room. I'm sure that whatever treatment you choose, it will be just right. Plant a crab apple where you can see it in all it's glory every spring, and a sugar maple for the fall.

Wow, thanks for all the responses!

We did look into getting a stained glass window put in there, but the cost is a bit too much for us right now. Eventually I think we would like to do that though; they had some amazing designs, or we could design our own. I actually like the window there LOL so I don't want to cover it up. The fireplace is actually a real working fireplace, but instead of the chute going up (like in a traditional fireplace), there is a box that extends out the back of it. So if we were to cover up that window, we'd have that box out the back for no reason, KWIM?

I REALLY love the idea of putting colored glass on the mantle; great idea! Those will really catch the light and set off the mantle a bit.

Yeah the more I think about it, after I put up heavy curtains on each side (one panel on each side, so 2 panels total, not 4), there isn't a whole lot of wall space left, so it might look odd to paint that wall a different color... I might wait until I buy some curtains and then see what would look good.

Thanks everyone!!!! =)

I love that arched window and the two flanking the fireplace.
I would never close it up. I am a window person and have installed windows in every nook and cranny I could.
We do stained glass. so I would stain glass it, or as oceanna did the fauz stained glass is lovely as well.
Another idea would be to find the perfect vase or bowl (either ceramic or glass) and do a dynamic silk flower arrangement in it with a lot of gnarly branches in the arrangement. Make it eye catching, a little over the top...
You can always change it and make it seasonal.
With the back light from the window it would be lovely.
Please post some photos when it's done.

Joann
I do mean a little outrageous, I did this for fall, I bought 6 silk poinsettia this week, after Thanksgiving the cranberry sunflowers will come out and the poinsettias will go in.
btw, the fish was a gift from our son, from one of his travels, It has been swimming around my house in several different areas, before I just gave in and put it in the dining room, even thought the colors are not quite right.
I posted this as an example of what I mean, by jazzing it up a notch or two!

Joann, that's a good idea too! I was originally thinking of getting a large urn and filling it with kind of wild reeds and fall-colored flowers, kind of the natural look. I guess I need to do some shopping LOL!