I posted a while back for help deciding on wood blinds. In the end, with much help from posters here, I decided to go ahead and order some standard size wood blinds from JC Penney. I started out by putting them just in our family room windows. I found that I loved them so much that I wound up ordering them for every window in the house. I ordered the white ones and find that they reflect a lot of light and really brighten up the rooms, too. I'm sorry that I can't add any info about how they are to raise and lower on a daily basis because I just tilt them open and closed. We haven't had them for long, but so far we only raise them a bit if we open a window. Hope this helps.

As far as inside mounted blinds or the curtains, look at shades and see what you can buy or make. Off the shelf blinds/shades tend to be neutral and most often solid colors. If you sew even a little, you can make Roman shades with supplies available from the fabric store and your choice of fabric. That would allow you to get a print in your choice of colors. That said, just moving the sofa and still having the sheers there has let in a lot more light. Pushing the curtains back to clear the window space (extending your rod if necessary), would allow even more light in. The sheers don't look bad, but they don't look necessary, but you may feel the need for some privacy. Raising the rod will lift that heavy eyebrow over the window. Annie has given you great advice and as nosoccormom pointed out, there are a few years where the little ones are underfoot and their toys are in the view are part of the scenery. You want that closeness now -- pays off later. I don't know if those things have been pushed aside while you've been rearranging furniture, but it looks like you could factor them into the room better. The minion chair could be moved over next to one of the larger furiture pieces, or even in front of the coffee table so your son has his own TV viewing chair (when he doesn't want to be sitting next to you). I'd consider moving the ottoman to the other end of the sofa (if necessary) and putting the toy table and rug over in front of the window. Give your son a play spot that doesn't dominate the room and clutter the view of the TV so much, but still keeps him playing where you can watch him. Get a couple of larger art pieces with some color -- and repeat the green in the room. Don't be afraid of color (right now, the play rug and toys are the only real color in the room, so they attract even more attention). Places like World Market, Michael, Hobby Lobby are good for getting large wall art at reasonable prices (wait for a sale or use a coupon). While you're at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, you could even buy a canvas and some paint (finger paint or arcylics) and do a canvas you apint with your son -- a colorful abstract, finger and hand print art (they have books with ideas and you can probably find lots of examples online). If it doesn't turn out like something you want in your LR, you could hang it in his BR. Gottadrun, but I'll check back.

I have an 8 ft. window & at one time I had a roller blind. It was very effective for blocking the sun.

Roller shades that slide in tracks can be almost completely sealed, providing good insulation because the air doesn't circulate. They are used in unusual situations where near total blackout is needed. This is probably not an installation option for patio doors, but you could ask a pro who deals with high end custom shades. They would not insulate the gaps between doors and doorframes.