Window Coverings for Sliding Doors

In many ways, sliding doors act just like elongated windows and require many of the same features from the window treatments used to cover them. However, sliding doors are somewhat unique, as getting the most out of them requires you to be able to access them quickly and easily whenever you want. Additionally, sliding doors often have handles that block the natural path of shades and blinds, which make them a little trickier to work around. Here are our tips for the top six window treatments on a sliding glass door.

Roller Shades

As is often the case in the modern window treatment industry, the best answer for which window treatments to use with a sliding glass door may just be roller shades. Easy to clean and operate, roller shades are a low-maintenance product that comes in at the most affordable base price of any custom window covering. Roller shades are thin and lack complicated and easily damaged parts, so they can be lowered so that they bump off the door handle and continue downward in front of it without risking them getting stuck or damaged. If needed, they can also be installed in a reserve roll, which allows them to clear most handles entirely due to the sheet descending from the front of the cassette rather than the back. Roller shades come in different fabric opacities, from sheer solar shades to fully opaque room darkening shades, so you can customize the level of light that enters your home through them to your taste. It’s hard to make an argument against roller shades for this job, but if you have specific aesthetic or functional preferences for these shades, there may be a superior option available.

Cellular Shades

Sliding doors are often places where high levels of heat enter and escape your home. If you’re concerned about the summer heat getting in or wasting your heating system by losing heat to the winter weather outside, cellular shades are the best choice for you. They offer the highest level of insulation of any shades due to their unique, honey-comb structure. This is also great for reducing outside noise to keep your space tranquil and calm. Cellular shades also have the benefit of having some of the lowest inside mount requirements for window frame depths. The potential downsides with cellular shades are that they are more difficult to clean than window coverings with flat surfaces, they can be damaged more easily, and not everyone is a fan of the way their design looks.

Drapery

Drapery offers an elegant look that will make your building feel more high class than it would otherwise. Drapery fabrics come in everything from light sheers to full blackout curtains, and these can even be layered to provide you with better control over the level of light and privacy in your home. They are soft, malleable, and easy to operate, giving you fast and easy access to the outdoors. Drapery does cost more and require a bit more maintenance than some other options, but it makes up for those downsides with its own advantages.

Vertical Blinds

For many years, vertical blinds were the standard choice for window coverings on sliding glass doors. They are naturally suited to elongated windows and glass doors due to their vertical design. While they have fallen behind some of the competition in terms of popularity, they still have a lot to offer as a product. Vertical blinds offer excellent privacy and light control when closed and have both a partially open and fully open mode to help customize the level of light to meet your needs. They’re durable enough to survive in high traffic zones, which sliding doors tend to be and are fairly easy to clean and maintain. Available with both PVC and fabric slats, vertical blinds are still a great choice for a sliding door.

Panel Tracks

If you like sliding doors, panel tracks operate in a very similar way. Multiple panels sit on tracks that run parallel to the door. By pulling the tracks side to side, you can create an overlapping barrier that blocks out light and vision or stack them one in front of the other in an out of the way place against your wall. Available in a variety of fabric patterns, as well as woven wood, panel tracks are an attractive choice that pairs well with the sliding doors whose function they mimic.

Bi-Fold Shutters

Bi-fold shutters feature a series of tall shutter panels held together by hinges that allow for them to be easily maneuvered along a track system. They can be pulled out to create a barrier that runs parallel to your sliding door or folded up to the side to allow for easy access to the door. Shutters are an attractive product that provide great insulation, privacy, and light control. Bi-fold shutters are the perfect way to bring these benefits to a sliding glass door.