We have vertical blinds but do find they can be temperamental - crossing over each other, getting stuck in the tracks etc and sometimes the little loops between them break (we have children...). Also if you have any damp or condensation on that window it can make the blinds a little grotty after a while so they need an eye keeping on them for that. The frosting or otherwise obscuring the lower part of the window from outside view is a smart idea as you retain the joy of the shape from inside. In the Netherlands (and other countries do it too I'm sure) I saw lots of little window displays facing onto the street which were quirky and did block the view into the house.

Hi Folks. The windows are in and I love them. I chose black slim profile aluminium chamfered profile. I've been delaying posting a picture because, as you can see the front drive isn't done yet so the house isn't set off very well in its surroundings. To be clear, the windows we replaced were already Everest replacement windows from the late 70's early 80's I'd guess. The only original glazing we had being external Crittal doors that were ffffreezing, so they have gone and the Crittal stained glass windows by the front door and chimney breast, which we've kept, though they need painting black to match the new windows. We haven't replaced all the other non-original windows, but will aim to do so over the years, when the cash flow improves. I managed to persuade my husband to at least agree to all the first floor front elevation windows being replaced, so now they are all the same when you view the house from the street. The windows of a brick built sun room, front right, that you can partly see, are probably going to be removed, to make that area part of the garden rather than the house. One thing I would say is that we are having a bit of trouble with condensation on the outside of the new windows, which was unexpected and made me quite miserable at first. It turns out we're a bit unlucky, it's a known, but not extremely common, issue with such good thermal insulation in modern double glazing and it depends on the aspect of your house and the dew point. Our front elevation is west and exposed, so cold in the morning resulting in condensation and our view being foggy until the air temperature rises. I've attached a poor photo to show a mild version of what I mean, it can be a lot denser and we have far reaching views from the upstairs windows, so disappointing. But I've got over it. The main plus point is that the rooms with new replacement windows are so much warmer than the ones which still have the old ill fitting wood and aluminium windows. I'm also really pleased that we chose the windows to be black on the inside too. A neighbour up the road has black on the outside, white on the inside and I think it looks really odd when the windows are open. Finally, all the houses on our road are completely different, so there is no uniting feature that ties them together, our windows couldn't clash with the windows in the other houses as they are all individuals, though I suppose you could say they are all clashing, but as we are fortunate enough to be in a big plot with the houses set well apart I don't get that sense. Thanks for looking and all the advice. It was really helpful.

First I'll post some more before photos. I don't have any after photos exactly because in many ways this is still a work in progress - we have done the thermal improvements that have improved the comfort levels, but not the aesthetic improvements... It is currently being used as a filming location as well though so you will see parts of this house in a sky drama very soon... This is the rooflight at the top of the stairwell. I took out the smaller rooflight to the north facing slope of the roof (the one on the left of this picture) and replaced the larger rooflight with a new aluminium framed double glazed unit. The reason for this choice is because aluminium is next to no maintenance and the height of this roof is such that maintenance is both very costly and a health and safety risk.. It's always better to design out health and safety risks if possible by making maintenance as easy as possible - or as in this instance as close to not necessary as possible. We also used glass with a coating that means it won't need regular cleaning either. As you can see there are also rooflights at ceiling level and these have textured glass so you don't see the rooflights above at all once now they are closed. As you can see the original eternal rooflights weren't much to look at so we didn't lose anything very special by replacing these timber framed rooflights with new aluminium framed ones. We also added in a loft hatch with drop down ladder over the landing so that you can access the roof space safely - this will make it possible to clean the top of the internal rooflights etc... Since the roof is so high and the south facing slope is to the rear of the house and not overlooked the replacement rooflights are also not a detraction from the original, plus we added a large array of solar PV to this slope...

They are lovely windows! I think the windows would actually look better without the curtains. Do you close the curtains at night for privacy when sitting in the room? Or just close at night going to bed? I think shutters might look too much for the big windows and you need something simpler. I like roman blinds. Or how about just curtains at the 2 sides, and when pulled back at the sides they are swept away from the walls/windows.... or held back with a hook/holder?