In our new build, we will have sliding doors from the kitchen to a large screened in porch. I am planning on putting medium sheer curtains that will come to just above the floor with a fancy rod. Sheers will hang very nicely. They will mostly be open as will the one slider during they day to allow unhampered access to the porch which we will be using a lot. I want something that would allow light in, look nice, but would also give privacy at night.

I have insulated pinch pleat panels hung on rings. They are on both sides (rather than all of the curtain sliding to one side) like on standard windows. I had all-to-one side curtains on the slider at a townhouse we lived in and prefer the two sided version I have now. We close them at night - especially in the cold, dark winter.

Don't know that it's trendy, but I have bamboo roman shades on mine. I'd like to add panels, but we have a small computer station on the one end, not ideal, but panels would get in the way. If you go with these types of shades, get lined if you want privacy.

I am always following this- as I have sliding doors with 20 plus year old vertical blinds. They really are the best as far as function but I have never liked the looks. They presently do not function so great either after 20 plus years, and I keep considering doing the grommet curtains thing. The only thing that complicates it for me is that I have other windows in the adjoining (open floor plan hello) family room at different heights------------and of course- what color and pattern.. But I do think that the grommet panels are a good solution.

The grommet top panels work the best! You can get sheers, light-filtering ones, or black-out. They start as low as $8 or $9 a panel and go to the moon. They work well, too, because they can easily coordinate with others in the room. If need be, purchase some extra panels that can be made into other size panels/curtains.

I agree about the grommet tops. The sheers I mentioned did have grommets.

Our first Florida house had four or five sets of sliders. All had some kind of header or soffit wide enough to put a tracks on to suspend door height plantation shutters inside the doors. No track on the floor, they were only attached at top. It was an expensive solution but very functional and they were a great addition to the interior architecture.

We have plain off white vertical blinds, well over 15 yrs old., very "builder grade". They have come with two houses we have owned. I hate the look of them, always have even when they were all the rage 27 years ago, but they are a very functional choice. I had DH make a wood valance to hide the top mechanism and I hung one stationary curtain panel that matches the other windows on the side where they open and stack away. When open the blinds are hidden behind the panel. The binds are rarely closed, rarely seen so it works for me.

I used to live in an apartment and I had a sliding patio door with verticals. I couldn't take them down as it was a rental. I added curtains and sheers. I could open the verticals and hide them behind the curtain on the left side or if I wanted privacy I would close the verticals and keep the sheers in front and you couldn't tell they were there.

As for the op's question, I think sheers will look great and you may also want to add two curtains panels as well to finish off the look.

Ditto to heavy duty rods (Home Depot online) and grommeted panels. We removed vertical blinds from a late 50s era home and replaced with these: panels are from Kohls (ordered online) -- watch for a sale! The seams and hems aren't the best sewn, but when you mash 3-4 panels together, you can't tell -- and you can't beat the price or ease of installation.

I have custom stationary drapes and a valance with a cellular shade. It raises and lowers without cords. When it's fully raised, you only see the drapes. We don't have any molding around our windows, so the drapes and valance hides that fact.

Roller shades that are virtually hidden when up but that can block light when down. You can faintly see them in the top hidden behind their cover that matches the trim. I don't like anything blocking the view.

Off-white cotton panels with a simple bar, rings on one, back loops with another. Pottery Barn and Ikea, although Ikea's are my favorite and 1/4 the price. I rarely close them, they're more to soften the look.

I have drapes that I made, and I also painted the fabric during the process. I made these some time ago for a couple of friends, and when they moved from their condo to a house and didn't need them any more, I got them back, rather than have them be discarded. I had to remove the old lining, as it was worn out, and I have hung them temporarily until I get around to replacing the lining. Previously, they were pleated.

When I made the drapes, I sewed four widths of fabric together, making a panel that is about 210" wide, and then I laid out a pattern that I had created for painting. I wanted a pattern that would have repeated elements that would define different areas of the drape, from left to right. It took about three days to do all the painting, and then much less time to sew the lining and make the pleats.

When I put a new lining it, the drapes will no longer drag on the floor, but for now I have to have something there. I previously had raw silk pleated drapes on a traverse rod, and I hated that rod. I replaced that with rings, which makes it much easier to open and close the drapes. I waited until now to do this because I wanted to move the wall switch for the outdoor light from the right side of the doors to the left side, since the doors open on the left. If I had know how easy (and inexpensive) it was to move this switch, I would have done it long ago. The people who built this room addition to the house before we bought it put the switch in the wrong place, simply because the fixture outside is directly above where they put the switch. They also had the door to the garage hinged on the wrong side, and I changed that right away.

Lars