Not sure if you may have posted elsewhere on this site. I realize you were looking for pictures but not as many people seem to look here.

Susan....having the support bracket under only the back rod, how does that lend support to the front rod that has the draperies on it? I'm looking to hang blocking drapery on a slider and want the 2 panels stacked over the stationary side when not needed. It is a conundrum! The best solution is a new slider with the interior blinds....spendy!

I don't blame you for being thrifty! Moving is an expensive proposition, and you've already spent $$ on other things like redoing the wood floors. I find it a challenge in a project to see how inexpensively I can make improvements! It just seems, though, that one thing leads to another. I agree that your rods need to be very close to the ceiling. I'd also set them wider so that most of your panel is covering wall, not window. See how they are now, perhaps only an inch or two past the side of the windows? How wide are your windows? For example, if a window is 36 inches wide, I'd want the rod to be 50-54 inches. I'm going to give several options for your rods, in order of most expensive to least expensive. Wood rods, the bulky decorative type. Lowe's has a good selection at reasonable prices. But it will still run about $150 for the three you need. Narrower metal rods. Do you have a Joann near you? When I have decorated on a budget, I've bought my rods at Joann. I went armed with 40% off coupons, prepared to buy them one at a time, take it to my car and go back in the store and repeat that process a couple more times (I think they allow the 40% off one item only). But low and behold, all their drapery hardware was on sale that week at either 40 or 50% off, so I went back home with coupons still in my wallet! With the discount, you can get black or silver rods for about $15-25 each. A very inexpensive option would be to use the traverse rods, but paint them black. I would just try to find a way to not having white rod showing! As to the drapery panels themselves, take a look at JC Penneys. They have some great sales, and some of their things are nice, especially the Chris Madden line. Also recently I decided to hang curtains in my garage windows and of course didn't want to spend a lot for that! I looked at Walmart and was pleasantly surprised that they had a decent looking selection at great prices. But I'm not sure if they have the 95 inch length. So it wouldn't hurt to take a look there. Don't forget to check out Craig's list too! Here is a link that might be useful: silver rods

This is an old thread which I happened to come across in a search to hide vertical blinds in a rental--in my case, over sliding doors. Check with the HOA if you live where there is one because some do not allow the slats to be taken down in order to preserve the symmetry on the outside, especially in "cookie cutter" neighborhoods. Verticals may be dated--but then so are the ideas of many HOA's-- and the fines are very real and can be quite steep. If you rent, you may be charged by the owners for any fees incurred for the violation of some very antiquated and weird rule. And there are some owners who do not want them removed for whatever reason, which can become a hassle when inspection time comes up before rent renewal.