I do not see velvets and silks for a kitchen sink window sorry. There are plenty of gorgeous fabrics around with beautiful damask or geometric pattern that are striking, that could be found in a faux silk or linen. Velvet is something that I would never put in a kitchen. But it is your kitchen.

www.visioninteriors.ie Looking at your curtains and curtain pole, in my opinion it is the pole that initially needs to be corrected - it is a nice steel pole,however the importance of a pole being fitted correctly makes a huge difference to the hanging and look of the curtains. the brackets at each end of the pole should be at least 8"/20cm away from each sides of the window, this allows the curtains to frame the window nicely while letting in as much light as possible. The brackets should be 2"/5cm away from the finial ( ball end in this case) at each end of the pole. The space between the bracket and the finial (end of the pole) has one curtain ring only and the rest of the curtain rings/hooks are the window side of the brackets so that the curtains can hang straight. Whether you buy new curtains or hold onto your existing ones check out the fitting of the pole and remedy it - you will be amazed at the difference this can make.

I agree, blinds, they are large windows so that is a lot of material / expense if you go down the curtain route, plus curtains may block out light. We have sliding doors like yours and have chosen to keep them free of any covering, however we are not overlooked. You might also want to consider translucent / sheer roller blinds which offer moderate privacy yet still retain a degree of visibility. We have them on our front windows for privacy as we are in a single storey house / bungalow, people can't see in (during the day) but we can see out. We also have curtains with them in the sitting room as we wanted it to be more cosy / private at night. In the other rooms we have another blind that sits over the sheer blinds, but this wouldn't work for all windows.

Any opions on wall colour for this kitchen diner snug?? im thinking to panel the wall along the diner snug?? love peoples opnions also on light fittings/curtains too for the three areas! im actually colour blind so this would be invaluable help help!!