The Best Window Treatments for Sliding Doors

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Sliding doors can offer much to a room, including abundant natural light and easy access to the outside. These perks create a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to window treatments for sliding doors. In choosing window treatments, there are several vital considerations that will help determine the sliding door window treatments that are best for your room and fit in with the overall feel of your home. You don’t want to choose window treatments that negate the functions of your sliding doors! Luckily, there are several options of window treatments from which to choose, once you establish your specific needs and wants.

The benefits of sliders make choosing the perfect window treatment for sliding doors a potentially tricky process. There’s much to ponder, after all. You’ll want window treatments that preserve your ability to control natural light. Really, what good is the wide openness of sliding doors if your treatments hinder the light’s ability to fill your room with its warmth? Access to the outside is another factor—you don’t want to hinder the easy working of the sliders with cumbersome window treatments that make it more difficult to access your outside area. Since sliders open horizontally, you’ll want window treatments that open and close in the same way. Also consider that sliding doors often provide a lovely view into the yard or other pleasant outdoor gathering area; so it’s important to remember to choose something that won’t automatically block such a view, while giving you the option to acquire privacy on those occasions that you wish to have it. With all these factors on your mind, take heart—there are many choices available to you.

Probably the quickest and easiest choice for window treatments for sliding doors is curtains. Curtain panels come in virtually endless fabrics, colors, patterns, designs, and motif. With a quick DIY installation of a sturdy curtain rod, you can have your curtains up and brightening your room in less than an hour.

Vertical blinds or shades are another option, as they are made specifically for sliding doors. Usually made of metal, plastic, synthetic, and—sometimes–natural materials, they have slats that slightly overlap, making blinds and shades very easily adjustable. They lie flat against the sliding doors in the closed position; and in the open position, they can be arranged to let in as much or as little light as you desire. Plus, when the slats are drawn completely open, they fit neatly against each other out of the way of your indoors to outdoors movements. Cellular shades are a relatively recent development; these shades can be transparent or opaque and are designed as wide vertical pleats, forming an accordion-like shade than can be pulled closed or open, or gather in the middle, as you see fit.

Shutters, specifically plantation shutters, are considered quite stylish and provide another fine option for sliding doors. Some are attached to a track, much like blinds; while others are actually hinged to the doors themselves. The louvers—either wide or narrow—allow control of the light and view by rotating open and closed. These days there are even some specialty window treatments that are part of the actual sliding door, sandwiched between two pieces of glass. These ingenious blinds are impervious to dust and dirt, and they open and close at the flick of a switch.

With options like curtains, blinds, shades, shutters, cellular shades, specialty treatments, your choices of window treatments are as fluid as your lovely sliding doors!

 

 

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