With a bedroom in the front of a one-floor house with windows right on the street, window treatments are an essential element of my current bedroom decor. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to decide on anything that I really like, so I have been living with temporary measures while I wait for something to strike my fancy. Now I have new blinds, but am torn about whether or not I need curtains too…
When I moved in, the whole house was filled with heavy mustard-velvet drapes over off-white sheers that had seen better days. After pulling all of those down, I was left with a house filled with light — but little privacy. My temporary solution for the bedroom involved curtain rods from IKEA and the strange strawberry flat sheets from the beds in the spare room.
My landlord recently installed white wooden blinds thoughout the community which will certainly help cut the heat now that temperatures here have started to rise. The blinds in the bedroom are still hidden behind those rather scary sheets and I am at a loss for ideas. I have two sets of bedding I alternate between (one blue and brown damask, one yellow with red and green stripes) but frankly I'm not wedded to either at this point.
I've never had blinds without curtains before and can't seem to get used to the raw look of them. On the other hand, I really liked the naked windows but that isn't an option in the bedroom. I really want a bedroom that feels like a sanctuary which means those strawberry sheet just have to go! I would love to hear from readers about possible solutions to my window dilemma since I can't seem to make a decision on my own.
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
10 Low-Budget Pantry Items Everyone Should Have
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
What I have, and might look nice for you, is floor to ceiling white panels. Mine are Dupioni silk. I also have sheers behind the panels, and in my really wide window, I only have the silk panels on the sides, with some IKEA white on white "burnout" floral pattern panels in the center, for visual texture. (Sorry, don't remember the IKEA product name for easy research.)
Floor to ceiling and plain seems like it might work well with the blinds, hhowever you implement it.
My funny story is I have blinds similar to your and while in Walmart happened to see material that made me smile. Its a woven fabric in soft gold, black and taupe colors. There are lines of exotic animals shadows migrating in different direction. Separated by panels of African mud cloth (look). I'd had them made to 92" long. They were hung on a decorative rod. They really set off the room with an interesting character. The best part they enhance earth colors or even the soft green the room is painted.
I love the look of grommet drapes with antique styled furniture. Depending on how formal the space is, you could go with silk or velvet, or look to something like canvass. West Elm (owned by Pottery Barn, BTW, is a nice resource for affordable and stylish window treatments -- they're a nice compromise of reasonable price, decent quality, and very good style.
If you can afford it, buy Restoration Hardware drapes. They're better than must custom drapes I've seen.
Last but not least.... you could always make your own.
I thought this bamboo blind/ drape combo might be a good springboard. Not to copy exactly, but to draw ideas from -
http://blog.urbangrace.com/2009/the-nursery-diaries-chapter-6/
I hang my curtains this way, too. Extra high above the window and a good foot out to either side so the fabric doesn't actually block any light when the curtain are open.
~Jacci
I have a similar situation -- large, exposed 1st floor bedroom windows -- and I also didn't want to block the light. I bought a ton of super cheap Ikea sheers and bunched them together. It actually provides sufficient privacy but still lets in a lot of light and it looks nice and airy, not heavy. You can sort of see how it looks here:
http://amateurdecorator.blogspot.com/2011/03/master-bedroom-and-bath-before-after.html
check out some patterned sheer drapes from West Elm. Can you paint the walls, too? :)
Draperies, people, draperies. Drape is a VERB.
I'd go with curtain panels hung high and wide. I agree that blinds on their own can look a little unfinished, so curtains can polish it off. They don't even have to be functional if you don't need them to be. I hung some Ikea curtain panels folded in half because I had a skinny space to work with around my sliding glass doors, and I didn't need the privacy, but just wanted it to look complete:
http://underwatercondo.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-room-curtains.html