Don't know if it's a regional thing, but when we bought this house, the seller left the blinds but she wanted the curtains for her new place (and I didn't want them anyway so not a big deal). I've since replaced all the blinds she left with cellulars. When we looked at this house, a lot of things did not convey and their agent mentioned what didn't convey as we walked thru (here in the NE both buyer and seller agent is at the showing). I remember thinking at the time, why didn't they just take down (or out) what wasn't staying, but it would have been pretty stark and not at all homey looking without some of these things. None of these non-conveyable items were in the listing but it didn't matter that much to us as our decorating style was completely different.

I am a seamstress. The previous posters were correct in suggesting you may need more panels to make your drapes sufficiently full. No "professional" is going to hand sew your drapes together. As a professional, to do a professional job, she will have open the seams at the sides, which means undoing the top and hem as well, to stitch the panels together. She should either serge the seams together or use a French seam. The entire top seam will have to be ripped open to add the pleating tape and re-stitched. Generally, there needs to be four inches of fabric at the top to cover the pleating tape. You can have her make the pleats for you, and they will be permanent. Or you can buy the more expensive hooks that make the pleats by themselves. The work of the seamstress is greater than you'd think, because she has to take the vertical seams apart before she sews the panels together. The entire top hem will need to be picked or razored apart, the tabs removed, pleating tape added and a new seam at the bottom edge of the pleating tape. She will then re-stitch the hem where she took it apart to stitch the panels together. Razoring all the seams apart carefully and putting them back together, adding pleating tape, re-doing the hem, I'd estimate $250 to $275. She should ask to see them, first, though, to make sure there's nothing that would make them taking them apart more difficult.

I was out fabric hunting a few weeks ago and saw at least two similar fabrics, though in other colors. If you Google "suzani fabric" you might find some you like...Calico Corners and others have suzanis. Ilove the large scale of the designs, they're beautiful.

I think your concept of fringe and patterned fabric is perfectly fine. I love the two-tone drapery look, but have only seen it done in stationary panels. It would take precision at all steps in the process - making the drapes, hanging the rods, and hanging the drapes - to ensure that when the drapes were closed, the fringe met exactly. Might your husband find Silhouettes less "funerial" than sheers? (I remember that my first exposure to torchiere lamps was in a funeral home when I was a child, and for the longest time I would make that association when I would see them.)