With pets or toddlers you might want to consider something washable. I put up washable sheers in my new livingroom and one of my pets soiled one of the panels three days later. Thank goodness I was able to wash them!

Take a photo of you painting and use that for inspiration as you shop at the fabric store. When ever I use a heavy drape for winter warmth I like a sheer layered under for privacy when you want light. You can purchase sheers way cheaper than buying material to sew them,

It looks like you have a radiator under one of the windows. That means you have to think about how you will handle it. Do you have curtains the width of your wall, with the radiator covered by your insulating curtains? Do you have a short curtain sweeping right and a long curtain sweeping left? This actually makes the most sense, although it might be a bit odd when closed. Or you can have roman shades (which will be a bit odd over the door or a roman shade on the right and one curtain panel on the left.

When the curtains are open, you have enough stuff in the right corner that you won't really see the fact that one is short.

To deal with the tot, make sure your curtain rod is very firmly affixed to the wall, make sure any cords are not within his reach.

Thank you all for your comments. They were all very helpful. I really like the two tone style in the photo JudyG Designs attached - simple and stylish. My husband thinks we should use runners that attach to the ceiling instead of a rod? We would need two if we have sheers as well. But when the curtains are open you see the runners along the ceiling which might be ugly. Any thoughts on this?

The radiator is a indeed another consideration. I am reluctant to have one shorter curtain but of course practically this makes more sense. I think I'll probably end up with two longer ones as the room retains its heat pretty well.

My issue would be with that ledge over the radiator that looks to be sticking out quite a bit. The panel on that side will always be bumped out into the room.

Thanks for the IKEA tip. It seems there are a lot of options there which is good to know.

Yes, the ledge over the radiator sticks out by 30cm. If we did the ceiling tracks, would it be an idea to mount them slightly further forward in the room so that the ledge wasn't an issue and then the curtains hung down straight?

I don't know metric, so doing a search shows 30cm about 12"? If that's right, that's way too far out to put a rod, ceiling or not. Shouldn't be more than 4" (or 6" if layering sheers).

Thanks for the detailed help! It is really appreciated. The sliding door opens on the right side luckily. Also the sconce can be easily removed. It is just plugged in to the wall (not a fixture) so if we move the set of drawers, we should be able to fit some curtains on that side.

Install two ceiling rods from IKEA. Hand sheers on one and heavier draperies on the other and move panels by means of a baton. You can purchase all the fabric panels from IKEA and have your MIL simply stitch the panels together and adjust the headings and hem as needed for your conditions.

If you have someone to sew them for free, you can have a far wider range of fabric choices at reasonable prices than at IKea. Even Joann fabric on-line will have more variety.

Thanks Sigrid. We have a fabric market in Amsterdam that my mother in law wants to go to choose the fabric. They have a huge selection so hopefully we will find something there (at least for the main curtains). I'm still stuck on what colour(s) to choose though to suit the space and furniture. Any suggestions from anyone are still welcome. : )

I would do white batiste type fabric. It would create privacy but not block your view of your lovely garden. If you were to ask "how would you treat these windows?" I wouldn't put fabric drapery there. I would do ceiling mounted sliding panels.

Adjustable Sliding Panel, Mountain Snow, 78"x96" · More Info

Sliding panels would be nice if it weren't for the 12" ledge issue. I think it would look a little odd for the panels to be 14" away from the door and window. Just my opinion tho.

You would do shorter ones for over the shorter window. They collapse into a tight package and are a "modern" window approach. When fully open they stack up nicely. You can even order a variety of lengths for a really contemporary look. I think I have a picture of that approach. I'll see if I can find it.

The problem is, they slide over each other when stacked, so the short ones would have to stack over the long ones. Not sure how nice that would look.

Sometimes you can find them pre-made, but they probably only come in certain sizes, so may or may not fit. I don't think they come in short. That would need to be custom.

Here are some sliding panels. You could do the panels for the slider part and a simple blind for the shorter section or just make those panels fit the length to the top of the shelf.

Window Coverings · More Info