I'd treat the lower windows with whatever you need for decor and privacy at night.

Then I would mount these outside to cover the upper windows when needed....remote controlled and you can see the view through them. You can mount them up under your eaves and you will barely notice the cover. Raise when the sun isn't intense:
Motorized solar shades

My neighbors have solar shades in their very modern house. Looks terrific.

Smith and Noble carries them, just to give you an idea.

Thanks for all the great ideas. Never thought of using the solar shades on the outside of the house. There will be some periods that we might not be here and I would like to have continual heat protection. Can I leave the solar shades down for long periods of time on the outside of the house?

That is really unfortunate..it is such a shame to cover them at all--but you have no choice....

I keep coming back to solar film for the upper windows and then something else for the bottom windows and doors. What would look good on the bottom windows with the top ones only having solar film?

I don't like solar film because it darkens the light available in the room all day, every day, year round. Not sure where you live, but I wouldn't worry at all about leaving them down when I'm gone. They are very sturdy/rigid and could be unplugged if you worried about that aspect. I hung the casing it rolls into well up under the eaves so there is no weather exposure to any of the mechanics (plus it minimizes the visual aspect, but mine is on a side of the house that it can't really be seen anyway because of how my yard is configured).

Solar shades really are the ideal solution for windows you want to see out of, but need sun/heat control some of the time.

http://www.smarttint.com/

Dimmable film for glass.

Beverly, that is amazing! Wonder how easy it is to install and how affordable it is? Do you know?

Solar shades and not outside but inside

To cut down on glare and heat, but still maintain a view, I would look at screen shades or sheer shadings.

Hunter Douglas Silhouette Window Shadings · More Info

Hunter Douglas Screen Shade · More Info

Wow, so many ideas. Has the smart tint been used for very many years. Does it have a very good warranty. It sounds almost too good to be true.

Why would Patricia Colwell put the solar shades on the inside instead of the outside. It would be hard to hang the shades above the arched windows on the inside. I could put them on the lower windows on the inside, and then put a tint on the arched windows.

Or I could put solar shades on the outside of the house above the arched windows. Although I still don't feel confident that these outside solar shades will stand up to the wind, rain, snow and sleet of the seasons when they are left down. They will face the lake and have a fairly good wind come their way in the winter time.

The screen shades look great for the lower windows, but I keep coming up queasy on what to do with the upper arched windows?

http://www.adjustaview.com/

I found the above site on a search. I know absolutely nothing about the product, but it was intriguing and might work for your application.

Exterior solar screens are used in at least 50% of the homes where I live - mine have held up many years thus far. (No snow or sleet here, most people do recommend you remove them in winter to allow heat from the sun to warm the house - I never do.) They do darken the house a bit but it depends which "level" you go with. Color choices are quite limited and of course you need to clean them just as you do windows. Anything arched is likely to be more expensive.

My wholesale cost on smart tinytis 85 usd per square foot. Smart? yeah..if you are selling it.

The code for lighting is simple, a minimum of 10% light to floor area. This is for the whole house. You have an imbalanced room. What is the ratio of, or the square footage of, both the glass and the floor? Height and width please- even with a curved glass-will suffice. Once known, I will make a film suggestion.