Good quality shutters are incredibly expensive. I put a set of sheers and a set of block-out curtains up when we first got our place - the sheers provided a little bit of privacy during the day, the block-outs made it cozy at night and helped block the westerly sun hitting in the afternoons. The only thing you find with sheers is that you have to have to wash them - they go a little grey. Depending upon where you live, make sure that your curtains are an inch off the floor - we live on a main road with all the dirt and grime that comes with it and it just keeps your curtains looking that bit better longer.

White curtains or very pale grey will keep the light levels high in your room and make a nice backdrop to your furnishings. I think patterned curtains are more casual and with the amount of windows you have, they would make a huge statement in the room. Darker curtains will reduce the light and can make the room look dingy. If you felt you don't want perfectly plain fabric, look for a slub fabric or something with some interest or texture in the weave. You could even have a self stripe which can look very elegant. I have just finished new curtains through my house and did the double track where I could and used a thermal lining that I can pull across to keep the cold out and it worked very well and is also working well now in the heat keeping the rooms cooler - in fact it is amazing some days the amount of heat trapped between the curtains and the windows and kept out of the room. In my bedroom I used a heavy sheer curtain to be able to enjoy the view of the garden while still maintaining privacy and the thermal lining gives me full privacy at night. I'm thinking this could be nice for your room when you have such a lovely outlook too and you do need something to keep the sun off your furniture and furnishings. There are also thermal roller blinds you could use instead of curtain linings, these do darken the room but they work very well. If you use the linings though, there are different weights, I used one pass in my bedroom and other rooms, and it does not darken the room very much at all. In my lounge room where I really needed heat blockout in summer, it was a bit of trial and error - I used triple pass and it does significantly darken the room to the point of totally gloomy - I really don't think I would use it again.

My advice would be to get rid of the blind as you won't use it once you have the curtains - perhaps you could use it elsewhere or have it as a spare. You would probably find that without the blind you will use the access more often. I would do full height and full width drapes - an inverted pleat is attractive with heavier fabrics but if you have the light fabric on the top keep it simple. How about putting your sheer lighter drape on the side closest to the bedroom and have the blackout lining behind. This gives softer look in your room. You would probably find that without the blind you will use the access more often. If there is a lot of sun take care with the pure linen cotton and natural fibres as they will rot with light and sun. There are many synthetic linen look alternatives that are less expensive, last longer and have the same look. I feel your room could do with some texture - you could possibly have a subtle self coloured stripe in the drape - or go plain and have the interest in your bedding. If you want to go soft grey drapes I would go for a darker charcocal or midnight blue/ teal colour on your walls which would look awesome with a soft grey linen look curtain and natural bedding. You could introduce soft mustard, peachy pinks and soft apple green linens in your bed cushions.

Before replacing your curtains as this can be quite expensive for such a large window, if they are in good condition, add a band of extra fabric to the bottom in what ever suits you, your existing curtain track can then be moved up to the ceiling for good looking full length curtains without the large round eyelets, could save you a lot of money, I would look at replacing/removing the sheers cheers