Hi Kristen! Yes to the downlighter but no to the brass sorry : ( The other metals I can see on your facade are aluminium (ie silver/grey) in the windows and white painted steel or iron on the railing. So I would pick from either of those. White lights would look pretty naff imho, so am suggesting silver/grey- anodised aluminium or stainless steel. A stainless or aluminium uplighter/downlighter [as per @Asquithoakley's third pic] would look good on the garage wall as the fixture is down low enough for uplighting to look great. Downlighter-only version of that would look good upstairs as the fixtures are up high. Both would wash the bricks with light and create lovely depth and pattern.

You're lucky to have those tracks, they would of been custom made. Depends on your budget really. If not much- cut down what you have and hem them. If more $$- I'd speak to a curtain maker. Remove the pelmet and have a 2nd track attached to the one you have for a sheer curtain (to hide/soften your bars but keep the view and light). I'd then use the existing track to get some nice block-out curtains made to close of a night. With well made pinch-pleat curtains you won't need the pelmet.

Zaffa, if you pop down to your local Spotlight store, they have examples of all types of blinds and shutters Great to get an idea of what each look like, various options, pricing, etc, etc. Only, NEVER EVER order shutters from them! I ordered mine from them when building and they took longer than the house to make them! Ended up having to use temporary blinds for months until they arrived. Also, they really let a lot of light in, so not great for kids bedrooms at all! Romans and rollers keep out much more light if you don't want to go down the full curtain with pelmet option. You can also go automatic blinds with rollers if you're concerned about boys touching the blinds too much. Adds around $500 per window I think I was quoted, so depends on your budget. Cannot automate roman blinds apparently. Best of luck in your decision.

Search around for corner curtains rails. This will mean installation of a new, complete rail that goes around the corner. IKEA have curtain rails that go around corners. If your friend would like the curtains to pull away from the corner, then install normal curtain rod/rails higher above the window frame and just below the cornice. Then they can be positioned individually without having the window architrave in the way. And curtains can be pulled away from corner.