Hi sugarbowl17. The glazed screen looks good from inside as well. Why do you think it’s thermally poor? Do you get a lot of condensation when heated or do you feel the house is not warm enough in cold days? Timber has much better thermal property than aluminium. Aluminium windows work thermally only if it has a proper thermal break in the frame. Aluminium has high embodied energy content, so less use is preferred for sustainability. The worst part of a window thermally is always the glazing even if it is triple-glazed. Depending on the issues you are having, replacing the glazed screen might not be your solution. At least the entrance screen was, it looks to me, well-designed, probably by a proper architect, and well-built so you could easily downgrade it, if you are not careful. Is it not, for example, just a matter of upgrading the heating system? or Upgrading the windows only? I can’t see the detail of the hole-in-wall windows, so I’m not certain but if they are very old then it’s much easier to upgrade these than the screen. Regarding the aesthetic of the house, it has a Scandinavian Modern aesthetic with timber used on ceiling and windows etc., so this is one more reason not to replace with aluminium windows. It reminded me of the Louisiana Museum in Denmark, known as ‘the world’s most beautiful museum’. (My photo attached below) There is a type of composite window which has timber frame internally and aluminium externally, combining the thermal efficiency of wood and durability of metal which might be suitable. You can contact us if you'd like us to look at your project holistically.

If you mean the drive area as opposed to the porch area which we cannot see then perhaps knock down the small wall and hedge on the left hand side?

I think if you clad it with boards placed horizontally that do not have joints like normal tongue and groove I.e they butt up against each other neatly they will look modern in style. I would consider a layer of insulation underneath them as this area looks like it might not have any. I think you could fit in a narrow u shaped bench with shoe storage underneath or just on 2 sides as suggested above. Maybe get a carpenter to quote they will be able to draw up options for you.

Guys, I need more advice! 😕 I had planned on using wall panelling on the right hand side of my stairs, but I have pulled off a piece of wood that ran the length of the stairs and it's a bit of a mess underneath. I'm now thinking the normal batten style panelling is out of the question as I'm not going to get a straight wall once I've tarted up what's underneath where the wood was. Anybody got any ideas on how I can design this part of the stairs now? I believe the wood was placed there to cover where a previous handrail had been. It's quite low down tho, so must have been placed there by a fairly small person! I like the idea of tongue and groove panelling to basically cover the detritus that's been left, but I've no idea how to work out the angle to cut it to the correct size all the way up the stairs. So thinking of maybe just replacing the wood that was there with a fresh piece, maybe with a dado on top. Oh I don't know, help! Plans have been kiboshed! 🙈