I don't have a lot of experience with large windows such as yours. Because they are so wide you'll need to ensure you get the proper treatment that won't sag from weight in time and also not be too heavy to manipulate. Hopefully others with solid large windows like yours will have some ideas. Photo's would definitely help to see your style, etc. before recommending a specific treatment. Window dressing makes me more nervous than anything else because it seems to always be a struggle for me. If I find the correct curtain, then I can't seem to decide on the correct rod. When it comes time for me to dress my windows I'll be here a lot asking for advice, especially about rod types. I long for the old days when all you had to chose from were rod pocket and pinch pleated. LOL

Yes, we have them in DR, one bath, and new Den. As others have said, they are great. You should know that you can get these from Hunter Douglass in a cordless version, you just raise or lower (top or bottom) by grasping the tabs at the top or bottom. Of course these are more expensive. We got ours online for a pretty good price. For the den that we just finished, we went with top-down/bottom-up cellular from Next Day Blinds. These have cords, which do not bother us in this room. None of ours are room-darkening as we wanted to let in some light; all provide privacy. They won't interfere with window hardware as long as you have enough depth in the window to provide clearance for the shades. Talk to your dealer, or have them measure, if you have doubts.

Thanks for the replies...grandma: I've thought about the curtain idea, but decided against it because of the way that shower curtains sometimes wrap themselves around people while showering. Ok, an exaggeration, I know, but imagine that from both sides. Shivers. Terriks: I saw the instructions on on the Terrell Design site and thought that I could do something like that with goretex or other water proof fabric. I might just do it...

Have you looked at Hunter Douglas honeycomb shades? I just checked the price list. Your length is too long to do top-down/bottom-up cordless at that width. But, you can do top-down/bottom-up with UltraGlide, which is a tension wand system. I also wouldn't recommend cordless on that height because you would have a very hard time reaching the top of the shade to lower it from the top. The other option would be to do two separate shades on each side of the door (one on the stationary side and one on the side that slides). That way, if you want to go in and out, you don't have to raise the shade completely and have the entire glass exposed. I see that you don't like the vertical option, but honeycomb shades do come in verticals. Usually at doors that size, we would do the Duette with VertiGlide.