I tend to agree about having the drapery on a traverse rod as the drapery person said as being the most foolproof way to keep them clean and wrinkle free. The next option would be a traverse rod and a drapery with hooks and the pull rod as dlm2000 says. However, these work best on a one piece rod without a splice. I would put rings on a one piece rod in third place, and ideally this would have a pull rod like dlm2000. Last I would put rings on an adjustable rod: the rings DO get caught where the rod telescopes. One of my very "clean" clients pushes hers open and closed with a yardstick where she pulls the rings over the little bump. She hates it. One of my clients who is "not so clean" had rings and constantly yanked and pulled at the drapery. The drapes were always wrinkled and dirty on the leading edge and more than once I had to go put the rod back together and back up. It depends upon how impatient people in your family get.

To answer the person asking why I need them for privacy. I need them because I live on a saltwater canal where over 4-5 neighbors can be looking in at night, and also in my neighborhood many people walk by my house at night with their dogs etc. I don't want people looking right into my master bedroom. My decor is contemporary so I want a clean look, thats why I'm not a huge fan of an outside mounted rod with drapes. The plantation shutters are interesting but won't go with my decor and are very expensive. Shoji screen isn't an option for me. My main goal is to have as much convenience as possible. I want to be able to see out perfectly during the day and basically have complete privacy at night, while having a clean look, and easy functionality to use the sliding glass doors. I was going to get roller shades, but that means at night when I have them down, I will need to roll them up just to be able to use the sliding glass door. However that still may be an option. Seems like cellular roller shades and or the vertiglide may be the best choice here for me, unless there are other suggestions. I have heard of sleek panels that provide night privacy on a track that you can move to the side that look contemporary, I just don't know where to find them.

Depends on the budget, but I would put slider/plantation shutters on that slider door. Takes up less room than drapery and more control over light. With all the heavy, bulky furniture, I would try eliminating one piece and adding a chair if that seating is even needed. You didn't ask about that, but puffy furniture gives a cramped feeling to most spaces. If the budget doesn't allow for this sliding glass door plantation shutter arrangement, then keep drapery very simple and don't use grommet style because they take up 6-8" of additional space in the room to slide back and forth. JC Penney has pretty good choices, ready made at reasonable prices. If you want better quality, try halfpricedrapes.com Sale going on now.

For a transitional style room with sliding doors I'd do floor length curtain panels on each side, hung on a rod located half way between the door molding and the ceiling.