Hi Gioenne. Not really. We purchased "advanced" Lilly Pillies for along the back of the fence. They're about the same height as the fence (1.8m). We've also been keeping the interior blinds partially lowered / closed. At the moment, we don't have any outdoor furniture so privacy while relaxing or entertaining outside hasn't been a big problem. Once we have purchased some outdoor furniture we'll re-evaluate the situation depending upon how much the Lilly Pillies have grown. With all of the other "new home" expenses, we'll probably just entertain in full view of our neighbours!

what is the measurement between ceiling and the top of window and the size of pelmet you are getting?. I personally would not go all the way to the ceiling as it may look odd on a window that does not go to the floor,however the pelmet slightly above will add a visual length without looking odd. does that make sense what I am trying to explain?? :)

Hi friendly Kim. I've just looked at your profile to see if I could find your photos. I noticed you have them on a new post. I now understand, you already have a full alfresco area under the main roof, and vertical sun blinds, and also have noticed your fan, as you mentioned. The roof extractor fan may help remove the heat. I was also thinking if you had some tall lush plants along the side where the pull down blinds are. This would stop the sun, but allow the air through. But, sometimes we just have to move inside. This is why solar passive orientation of our new homes is so important. Hope you find a solution.

The trouble is they are bifold shutter doors, I think, you haven’t said whether they are or not. Therefore roller blinds will have to be secured into the wall above the frame of shutters, giving enough room for the blind mechanism to work correctly, and enough room for the shutters doors to be “bi folded”. If you hardly use that door and will only put the blinds down at night time with the bifold closed, then yes, install them. You could encase the roller blinds mechanism in a pelmet to hide. But again that pelmet needs to finished above the doors. Therefore Roman blinds would not work, because they do not retract completely. Unless you had them secured very high on the wall.