I sewed a lot of the drapes in our home. It had no window coverings or even hardware. The ones I bought I either liked the fabric and added blackout liner or I lucked out and got drapes that were a good price for the quality I wanted.

I only bought miniblinds for behind the drapes in the bedrooms to add more darkening and insulation.

Not everyone likes granny shutters.

we have the Home depot faux wood blinds and love them. They only charge $129 to install for the entire house. Prices vary based on size, but are generally between $35 and $90/window. Unless you have crazy big/weird windows why wouldn't you do this? FWIW I made some drapes (bought fabric from fabric.com, premireprints fabric) and it cost ~$100 per window not counting the curtain rod and clips.