No to vertical blinds, just no. May we see some more of your space?

I have to agree with lizzie. Just never liked vertical blinds. Would you consider plantation shutters? They can look either contemporary or traditional, depending on their design. This is one example, though I wouldn't include the drapes.

Vertical blinds are dated. I'd probably do shades of some kind, roller or roman.

What are your goals? Privacy? Light blocking? Both? Direct sun? Indirect? How much light do you want to block and how much do you want to be able to see out? $,$$, or $$$$$$?

Both privacy and light blocking, there will be times we want some sun, but it can get very bright,

so I suppose we want flexibility. Nice neighborhood and lots of folks walk year round as we are in central Florida, so we don't want people to see in when they are walking, which is a bit of a problem now. We would prefer to stay on the lower end as far as price, but if it's something we like we will save and buy it when we are ready.

In the living room we are going to be ordering navy roman shades for the 3 long windows, thanks for all the help. Oh we will eventually be replacing these windows as well, they are aluminum single pane and original the the 1975 house.

I would save for the white plantation shutters. They would look great!

On another note, your space would look great without all of that overhead lighting. I would use lamps almost everywhere, open the curtains, eliminate all dark window treatments, and add colorful coordinated rugs.

I would do draperies with sheers underneath for privacy. Probably 2 pair that open close from the middle and sides. That would help disguise the short windows and also make the window sill inaccessible for setting things down on it. It would really make that wall more cohesive:

(not this formal, of course)

That's a cool idea, however we are planning on putting a window seat under that window, so the window treatment would have to stay above the window sill.

Here are some pics. As you are in Fla these are a popular option. I would rethink the window seat.

I like vertical blinds on sliding glass patio doors and windows that slide to the side to open in the same way. Verticals give you much more light/privacy options than the extraordinary roll up shade groveraxle suggests. New verticals in white vinyl would provide a crisp clean look and be a lot more affordable. You can (or once could) also get verticals in wood or faux wood or even fabric.

Ordinarily I'd not want verticals for standard windows but these windows are anything but standard looking no matter if or how they open ... which begs the question: are the windows fixed and, if not, how do they open? On a side hinge or side to side?

Save the shades for the smaller windows and stick to a neutral color as this is an open space and it would look much nicer if the windows have a cohesive look!

Unless you're going to choose a natural wood finish for plantation shutters -- if you plan to paint them anyway, there are faux wood and white vinyl plantation shutters available that are much more affordable than solid wood ones.

That looks like an install nightmare to me in regards to plantation shutters!

You can do a wood cornice board( painted the same color as your trim). Under it a special order traverse rod( because of size) and do custom semi sheer , pinch pleat drapes that draw. This would be a custom job though and you would have to hire a professional. It would look very nice and add softness to your room. You need som rugs btw!

After looking at the Plantation shutters it wouldn't work very well, and it would cost close to $2k for the shutters. Since we plan to change the windows at some point, that would be a problem also, the current window set up is a picture window in the middle with 2 sliders on either end.

When I priced out windows and spoke with the people at a couple window dealers they all suggested I stay with the same setup. The pinched drapes would look nice, not sure if I like the idea of a cornice but it wouldn't be very hard to fabricate. Thanks for all the help and suggestions please keep them coming.

There are two options that I may consider.

1. Window film - leave the windows without cover, but add privacy film to the glass.

https://www.decorativefilm.com/

2 Up down bottom up shades.

Jacob, the cornice board serves the purpose of hiding the hardware. It also helps give the illusion that those squat windows are actually taller than the are. I can assure you that nothing about this window wait is easy nor will it be inexpensive! At all!!! This is not something you can do well on your own.

I meant window wall;)!

"Since we plan to change the windows at some point, that would be a problem..."

Jacob, that's definitely something to think about before spending $$$.

Thanks, curtains shouldn't be a problem, but the shutters could be.

What about something like silhouette by hunter douglas (doesn't have to be HD because they are expensive but just the idea).

We are considering changing the windows over to look like this, it will be a good bit more work and cost more but think it might look better in the end, opinions? Of course it would take more than 3 windows to fill our wall, we would also have the option of blocking in a portion at the end of each side.

Yes, an expense but a really nice improvement IMO.

It would certainly add some character and charm to this room. I don’t think the style of the wood trim necessarily but changing those windows , definitely! It gives more options also in window treatments!

At this point we are just considering the options, but this is a current possibility,

bring the wall in 2' on either side, we could just do it with 2x4's and then

exteriorsiding that would be stuccoed to match the outside of the house.

Build out the insideto match the drywall, cut off the portion of the sill

outside where there will no longer be a window.

Then build the interior area to accept probably 5 2' wide windows

with 4 5" posts in between, and yes we would not use the colonial

style molding, try to source something to match the 5" baseboard

we currently have in place. It will be a big job and I can do a lot of it

myself, however I think it would be worth it and then the window seat

under would like so much nicer, thanks for the help, not

sure when we will be able to do it as the windows will be at least $250

each for Simonton 5500's.

In the meantime we are going to use the window tint to give us some privacy and

still allow light and wait on tax time :), thanks for the help everyone. I will post

when we move forward with the project.

Hey There: with a 16 foot wide window you have a few options. First, the vertical blinds that your designer suggested...here you have to make sure that you choose a beautiful fabric - don't go plastic. Another more sophisticated option are panel blinds. They run on two tacks and stagger to the side - over 700 fabrics to choose from. They are super easy to operate. You can install them either as inside mount or outside mount to have the window appear taller.