We had a similar situation in our kitchen that has a quadruple sliding french door--after much consideration of every imaginable option- we landed up having the windows tinted( the tint is barely detectable) and it solved the " way too much light" issue and cut down on air conditioning costs. We finally decided that we had put these mammoth windows in to enjoy the outside and not to block it with some sort of drapery.We have an LCD mounted in the kitchen and we can now see perfectly fine in the daytime.

That's a good suggestion, barbie, and that would allow me to have the open look I like, but I failed to mention that I'm also looking for some privacy, too.

What about something like this?

While I like the look of draperies, given the width of your windows, it would seem that they would obstruct more of your view than you'd like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Woven roller shades

Or this one? Inside mount, one for each slider.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rio roller shade

I know I am the only one in the world that doesn't hate vertical blinds, but the wood ones from Hunter Douglas are beautiful. Or, consider the Silhouette panels that have the vertical blinds enclosed in sheers.

I think the verticals are a great solution on doors like this, because you can control the light and privacy without having to worry about stack back room.

Otherwise, I think the idea of three shades for the windows works. I would outside mount them above the sliders, with a decorative box valance to hide them when they are fully raised.

Les, you are not the only one. I have Luminettes on my patio doors and I love them. I get the view to the woods behind my house and am still able to control the amount of light into the room.

I think the Luminettes are pretty, too. Sometimes it really is all you can use on such a large expanse of windows. I don't believe you could inside mount anything on sliders. The panel tracks are nice looking, although I don't really like the ones JCP is showing, but just to get an idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: panel tracks

Can't make the pics bigger to show any detail, but if you like the look, it's from an episode with Allison and Garren.
You could do a search.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The width of the area I'm working with makes things very challenging, doesn't it?

val -- the advantage to your idea of roller shades is not having to worry about any cords hanging down. I did look at something called a solar shade at one time, but I think I may want a softer look.

les -- one of my first thoughts was to use some type of pleated or honeycomb shade (because they are available without cords) along with a valance to hide them, just as you suggested, but somewhere along my thought process, I thought it would be nice to have some kind of single-panel panels to soften that side of the room. I probably should let that idea go because it may not be the best solution for the area, especially considering the limited amount of clearance I have to the right. We have Silhouettes in the LR, which I love, so if I have the Luminettes in the FR, that may flow nicely thru the house. One of my concerns about the Luminettes, tho, is when they're open, I wonder how much space I would have to allow for them to stack.

deborah -- maybe you can answer my question about how tightly the Luminettes stack when open.

sally -- do you also have the Luminettes?

parma -- thanks for the pictures. We don't get The Sun Times, we get The Tribune. I looked at the paper's website, but couldn't find the article. I'll try the Divine Design website.

The thing is I don't really want a lot at the windows and after having nothing there for such a long time, anything will seem like a lot to me, I think. I still want to have them very open during the day, especially on a day like today with all the snow we're getting. We have some very large pine trees in our yard that look so pretty in the snow.

I hope to head out to a local drapery store on Monday to at least get some suggestions there.

What about doing a layered treatment with the shades for the privacy/light control and some stationary panels to add that softness and dress up the sides. If they are stationary then the stack back would not be as thick as if you needed enough width the fully close.

Are all three of your windows sliding doors? It would help to know which ones are doors and how they open up.

I looked at the Sun Times website, too, and they didn't show the pic. Then I looked at DD but they didn't show the window. Tried googling Allison Garren Candice Olsen, and then had better luck.

We get the Trib weekly but I love the friday Sun Times.

val -- I like your idea, but am wondering if I would need to cover up the tops of the shades. Only the middle section of the patio door slides to the right. Hope that helps.

parma -- I tried DD as well, but couldn't get that episode to open. I'll try googling like you did. Thanks.