I think SOME miniblinds like those plastic ones - UGH! - are utterly wretched, but others aren't so bad, like wood ones in particular are not dated at all. We had wood 1" blinds in our previous house's master bedroom and even though I'm not really a blinds person they did look nice. We have a bay window 6 feet from the sidewalk in our current house and I put up 2" wood blinds, which do look very good and will look even better once we get those dadratted drapes up with them to soften the total effect! Whether 1" or 2" work better depends on your room. Our current windows are quite large and 1" blinds would have looked super busy IMO, as well as being a bit scrawny for the depth of the window casing. The casings were quite shallow in our previous house, so 1" blinds fit those windows better. The 2" ones do let in a lot of light when open, because the spaces between the slats are wider, and it's nicely possible to tilt them at just the right angle that people can't see in from the street but light still comes in. Because it was a big hassle to get at the middle window of the bay (we would be climbing over a chair and table to reach the cords) we sprung for the motorized tilt option on that one so it would ever get opened/closed at all. I am going to disagree with some other folks: extremely functional as they may be, I think the top-down blinds look a little odd from the outside - I think they're best on the sides or rear of a house, not "in your face" right in front. Maybe if you're in a very contemporary building, I don't know. If the view in from the street is only through the lower half of the window (I'm guessing typical double-hungs) and the style suits your decor and architecture, shutters that only cover the lower sash are efficient and attractive. They completely block visibility from outside and still allow generous amounts of light in through the top half of the window, so there would be no hassle with opening and closing a window treatment.

I know nothing about sewing, so I can't really help with that part of your question. However, my solution was a little different than yours and I'll post it to give you another option. I had a roll-down solar shade with a 5% openness factor (blackout is also available) on my sliding doors in a former home. I had a simple box valance made to hide the top and covered it with the drapery fabric. The draperies were pinch-pleated and hung on a rod above the door, but still behind the valance which allowed me to use a non-decorative rod, offsetting some of the cost of the valance. During the late afternoon, I could roll down the shade and block out much of the sun, but still have some natural light in the room. At night, I could draw the draperies across the doors to create a cozier environment.

Snickysnacker -- the ones I purchased are Robert Eclipse Black-out Energy Saving Panels -- Thermaweave Panel. They are really soft and drape beautifully. Graywings -- the problem is that the way they're hanging in the second bedroom is a workaround. My husband -- who needs to sometimes sleep in there because of a bad back -- took the decorative rod out of the dip in the front of the bracket and just pushed it up against the wall. Not really a good look, and you can't really slide the curtains to open them because the rod is just resting on the back of the bracket,rather than being held securely. But what it showed us is that if these curtains are closer to the window the amount of light that can sneak over the top or around the sides is reduced to almost nothing! Why is it that all the brackets that hold round rods extend at least 4 inches from the wall? I don't need that much clearance. Are there any alternatives? (thank you both for responding!)

I think it looks best if the street is white and it is better to have fabric lined. The only exception are matchstick. Here are some examples of Roman blinds. Mounted on the outside and on the inside. I like this treatment: These are nice for an area where you don't need blackout - privacy with subtle light. Roller shades are good looking, too. You can pair them with drapery. (I have roller blinds on almost all of my windows.)