Tuesday I love the plain cotton panels, too. I might reconsider the "floor length, pinch pleated" route. While "Country Cottage" wasn't my first choice, the room, its colors, the floor, and the moldings and trim are saying "I yam what I yam!" GrayWings I agree totally, if I choose floor length drapes, they'll touch the floor, dog hair and all! The Swiffer is my friend. We're going to test the bed in the corner tomorrow, but I don't know how that will work with my need for large end tables. It's certainly worth a try, though. Now, two more curtain concerns. (1) If I go with cotton panels, similar to Tuesday's suggestion, could they be lined? Should they be lined? Can they be hung without the tiebacks? Could the short, plain, cotton panels be layered over a patterned lace panel? Could the cotton panels be a color or print, and the lace undertreatment be ivory? (2) If I chose to hang ceiling-to-floor pleated drapes, could they be layered over sill-length lace or sheer panels? The lace/sheer panels would fit from the top of the window trim to the apron. The drapes would be ceiling to floor. Would any of these ideas be off or weird?

It looks to me that the picture you posted has been finger arranged just the way the owner wants them and probably doesn't open or close them ever! I would think the traverse rod would make your flat panels look the most uniform because the controlled spacing of the traverse rod will keep the "pleats" evenly spaced. I have a non traverse rod and rings on flat panel drapes in my LR. In this photo you can see the flat panel and how the rings are not uniformly spaced out. I took this picture for a different reason, but IRL, I do have them fairly evenly spaced to try and get the pleats to be even. I do have a traverse rod in my FR and while I don't ever close my drapes, I do like the way the traverse rod manages the rings in a nice even way. I think the hardest part of using a traverse rod with a flat panel is getting the hooks evenly inserted across the panel so the pleats fall evenly.

I have been making draperies for 30 years. I think pinch pleats are out of style especially with an ikat fabric. I would suggest grommets or loops on the back of the drapery top about every 6 inches. Put the rod through the loops and you will have lovely soft folds. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions:) I am actually now thinking of doing roller shades and two decorative side panels, I think this look would go best without blocking windows too much. My next questions are what size panels should I get to frame the window so they don’t look too narrow for size of window and the 96” height? Should I get the rod to extend the entire length of the wall to simulate functional look? If I just do too smal decorative rods on each side would this not look odd? Your response is much appreciated!