The master bedroom in my previous home faced north. Floor to ceiling window getting full sun during the day, and a street light directly outside at night. So, an exterior shutter, internal blind and curtains allowed light and heat control for various times of day and season. The master bedroom in my current home also faces north with a floor to ceiling window, but no street light. On full moon nights though, it shines right in. Once again an external blind controls light and heat, and interior blind and curtain gives me options for different times of day and season, eg. we love the sun coming in during winter, but not summer.

I have to tell you, we had one of those windows in our old main bedroom and the light was annoying coming around the edges. We ended up putting beautiful timber louvres in bedrooms in 2 homes we built and they are the best things ever. Adjustable to light and weather for airflow too.

I agree with Country House Girl, go with panel glides if you need them. I am currently shopping around online for mine to cover a similar door opening but only 6m wide. I hope to get a light filtering style to keep it soft - as opposed to block out. And will be tinting the windows for just that bit extra privacy and also sun fading protection. However if I didn't have neighbours I would just leave them bare

We are building a new house in the South-West of WA. It will be timber frame with external cladding and aluminium windows. In terms of our overall vibe, we are going for a more traditional farmer’s cottage. Our choices in doors, cabinetry, joinery and general internal decorating and landscaping reflect this. Truth be said I love older style homes (think Federation) and as exciting as building new is, it’s hideously expensive trying to make our brand new house look old! So by necessity it will become a blend of old meets new. Ideally I would have loved timber windows and frames but it isn’t going to happen. I’m investigating other ways I can dress my external windows. I feel as though they look unfinished - a bit like eyes without eye lashes! Has anyone created their own external window sills on aluminium windows? I also like the idea of little planet boxes along the front of the window... I’m just not sure how to go about doing this or if it’s as simple as screwing a bit of wood trim into the cladding. I Would love to hear of some other ideas, bonus for pictures, of ways to dress up the exterior windows.