I have french doors at the end of my dining room, and no matter what the color of the drapes, they are going to look like a big blob when closed. You might consider mixing the drapes with patterned or textured blinds, in which case you could open the drapes most of the time, particularly when you were in there. Or if you are handy, sew a patterned panel into the bottom of the drapes. But no matter how you slice it, closed long drapes are a big blob of something on a wall. If it were me, I'd spend the money on blinds for the windows and mix them with the current drapes. Another option I considered for privacy was fake or real stained glass inserts.

Hunter Douglas definitely has 50% darkening. We have total blackout duette by HD in the front of our apartment which is street facing and also several SUPER bright street lights and floods. In our 3rd bedroom which faces the interior “donut” of our block, we have HD duette which are probably 50%. The seem like what you’d describe. You could also do something else: light filtering roller shade with a Roman blind on top. That way you’d get customizable privacy and light blocking depending on the time of day and your needs. The Roman shade could even be blackout.

Blackout curtains are great, but you need to look at all the edges, as that is where light will leak out. In my experience that means: A pelmet on the top. Either one curtain or make sure they overlap where they meet in the middle. The curtains need to extend well beyond he window at each side. The rail that Sharon has posted looks a good idea too. Floor length sounds like a good idea, as long as you are not covering a radiator. Most radiators are situated directly below the window, so you end up blocking the heat. We have curtains that fall just below the window and tuck them between the radiator and wall. Aesthetically not ideal, but if you're asleep, who cares? Better than waking up to a cold room. A more expensive option is metal roller blinds fitted into the window frame.

I usually use blinds for the actual blackout and then the drapes added. If you post a pic of your bedroom you will get more help.