Covering Kitchen Windows

There is a secret battle going on in our house. One of the first things I do in the morning is raise the blinds on the window above my kitchen sink to let the sunlight in. If my husband walks through the kitchen, the first thing he does is lower the blinds. It can go back and forth like this all day!

When the blinds are open, we get a nice amount of sunlight in our kitchen plus I love the view. The one problem is the window faces the street, so fully raising the blinds presents some privacy issues.

A midway compromise

Because I do seem to spend a lot of time looking out this window washing fruits and veggies and doing other kitchen tasks, I would really like to frame the view a little better and find a way to let light in while protecting privacy. 

I have narrowed the options for new window treatment down to three categories:

Cafe Curtains
I like the way cafe curtains let in light while also offering privacy and look great closed or open. A pattern would also add a nice contrast to the mostly white in my kitchen. Sometimes cafe curtains can be a little too country kitchen for my taste, so if I do go with this option I will need to pick the right fabric, curtain style and curtain rod and rings.

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 Interior Shutters
I love interior shutters, especially plantation shutters. They are timeless and work with any style interior. Shutters offer a nice, clean line which seems so right in a kitchen. Plus, in my experience keeping them clean is fairly easy.

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Bamboo Blinds
So bamboo blinds wouldn't allow more light or more privacy than my current blinds, but I do prefer their soft color to my dark wood blinds. Plus, I keep finding myself drawn to kitchens with bamboo blinds. It is a nice way to break up a lot of white in a kitchen.

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How do you cover the windows in your kitchen? Pros and cons??