What You Should Know Before Buying Blinds for Your French Door

French doors provide class, elegance, natural light, and open up your space. However, while we all appreciate the open nature of French doors, we also need privacy in our spaces. Finding the right window treatments for French doors can be challenging, especially because doors are frequently in motion. Door blinds are an excellent cover for any French door, often providing access to light yet enough privacy for your home. Let's explore what you should know before buying blinds for French doors.

What Considerations Should You Make for Blinds for French Doors?

Before selecting the type and color of blinds for your French doors, it's essential to ask yourself the following:

• Durability - How long will the blinds last?
• Ease of Use - Will the blinds allow easy and comfortable use of your doors?
• Aesthetics - Do the blinds match your space and improve the beauty of your room?
• Usage and Mobility - How do you use the space around your French doors?
• Mounting - How does the design of the French doors affect the types of mounting required?

Outside Mounting

When selecting blinds for French doors, the first thing you should remember is that the mounting is done outside the window. The window panes in French doors have no depth, which prevents mounting inside like your windows. Understanding how the product you select looks as an outside mount is important to not only the aesthetic but how it will function with the door handles.

Shallow Blinds Are Best for French Doors

Your door serves as an entry into spaces in your home and likely has handles that you need access to. As such, your French door blinds should allow easy use of handles and any locks on the door. If you have blinds that cover your handles, they'll frustrate you, and you might damage the blinds. Also, the latches or door handles could interfere with the function of the blind or shade.

Shallow blinds are ideal for French doors. They allow easy use without restricting access to your door handles. Honeycomb and roller shades fit into this category because they easily fit behind door handles.

Hold Down Brackets Keep Door Blinds in Place

If you're considering blinds for your French doors, you're probably asking, "What if the blinds on my French doors move around?" It's a great question because you need to open and close the doors frequently. Hold down brackets exist for this reason - they hold your blinds in place to prevent movement, keeping the blinds in place as the door opens and closes or is slammed shut by children or grandchildren.

How Do Different Blinds Work on French Doors?

Wooden Blinds for French Doors

Wooden blinds have existed for centuries, often surpassing other materials in the depth of elegance and natural feel. However, while wood blinds are excellent for windows, they're a challenge on French doors. If constructed from a dark stain the blind may attract heat and be at risk of warping and fading due to exposure to sunshine.

You can swap natural wood for faux wood, but there is a risk of sagging. Installing blinds for French doors becomes challenging when drilling into the door due to the glass insert. It is best to hire a professional window treatment installer because if you drill too close to the glass you will break it!

The depth of the wood louver is also difficult on a French door because it makes operating the door handle challenging and reduces the functionality of the blinds. It's also challenging to customize the blinds for your door handles when ordering online or from a local box store, which can make the 2-inch wooden blinds a poor choice for French doors.

Add-On Blinds for French Doors

Add-On blinds, also known as integrated blinds, have risen to popularity, and with good reason. Add-On blinds are blinds enclosed between your existing door glass and a pane of tempered glass. This means less maintenance ie: no dusting and more safety because they operate simply by sliding a button up or down.

In addition, the blinds come with a unique clipping that you can attach to the beading on your French doors, which is excellent for functionality. You don't have to drill or screw into your door to keep the blinds into place, which is great because it preserves the quality of your French door.

In terms of performance, the “Add-On” blinds protect your room from harsh light, offer privacy, and reduce drafts into your home. They also stay in place and do not flap around when you open and close your door - your window panes remain safe from breaking and scratching.

You can also select a style in a neutral tone that helps your doors to blend into the background of the space.

Cellular Blinds the Perfect Choice for French Doors

One of the most popular options for French doors is a cellular shade. The small headrail and narrow depth of this shade make it a perfect fit for doors. Plus, its small stack when raised allows you to have the full view outside. Available in light filtering and room darkening, a cellular shade allows for light control and its honeycomb design helps keep heat or cold out. The shades are available in narrow width sizes perfect for French doors and avoiding interfering with the door handles. Plus, the cordless or motorized option allows for a nice, clean look. No dangling cords to get in the way of the door or endanger small children or pets. Cellular shades are also available in a wide array of colors and include the option to combine two shades on one headrail. With a sheer shade on top and a room darkening shade below, you will be able to enjoy filtered sunlight during the day and privacy at night. A top-down option is also popular because you can lower the shade from the top to enjoy the light and view while retaining privacy below. No wonder, this versatile shade is one of the best options for French doors!

Roller Blinds

Roller blinds are a single piece of material that roll up when not in use. This is excellent because you don't have to worry about multiple slats tapping against your door every time you open and close the door.

You can fit the cassette at the top of your doors to allow easy operation and clearance of the glass. Your choice of material is extensive and able to provide the right amount of filtered light, or blackout if necessary. You can choose roller blinds with cords or go for motorized ones for ease of control. Also, the motorized or cordless versions don't have cords, which makes them neat and pleasing to the eye. These cord-free options make French doors easier to operate too! No cords getting in the way as you open and close the doors.

Roller blinds also resist fire, moisture, and spills, making them ideal for active spaces and doors leading outside. You can also choose from a vast array of colors and patterns to blend the French doors with your space or make them a feature.

Where Can I Get Blinds for French Doors?

Whether you need fixed blinds or custom blinds for your French doors, Budget Blinds has the solution for you. Request a consultation from your local expert today for help finding the perfect window treatment for your French doors.