When you have a lakefront view, you should do the most to expose this view to the property. We have a small cottage that has an amazing view of the lake. and there are a couple of areas where the view is blocked and it reduces the natural light that comes into the cottage.
I know that we could have gone much more grand (and better integrated) than a simple 36″ window, but simply adding a window to bring light into the room is a relatively simple first step. The door and window in the picture exit to a sun room so it limited some of our possible options.
The pictures above (click on the picture for the full-sized image) represent the before-during-after. It is difficult to call it an after since there is much work to do (trim, patching, and painting), but this is a start.
Future plans will likely involve a french door, or slider, that encompasses the width of the current divided light door and window. For now, this will due. In fact, the sun r00m is at grade, so it is about 30″ lower than the room where the pictures were taken. This will make for a perfect ice-cream/snow cone ordering window.
Next up: Removing the in-window air conditioner to expose the sunset.