What You Should Know Before Buying French Door Blinds

French doors provide a touch of class, elegance, and natural light that help open any space. However, while we all appreciate the open nature of French doors, there is also a need for privacy in our personal spaces. Finding the right window treatments for French doors can be challenging, especially since doors are frequently in motion, and selecting the wrong window treatment can mean serious damage every time a door is swung open or slammed shut.

French door blinds from Budget Blinds are an excellent window covering for any interior or exterior French door, providing access to plenty of light yet enough privacy to fit your needs. Let's explore what you should know before buying blinds for the French doors in your home.

What Considerations Should You Make Before Buying French Door Blinds?

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?
• Door Type - Are you looking for a window treatment for an interior or exterior door?

Outside Mounting is Key

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 also how it will function with the door handles.

Shallow Blinds Are Best for French Doors

Your door serves as an entryway 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.

Interior & Exterior French Doors

Whether interior or exterior, French doors allow in natural light and create a sense of spaciousness and continuity for the adjoining spaces. While exterior French doors will generally require some level of coverage,  interior doors may or may not have light and/or privacy issues. For example, a French door between a dining room and living room may require little or no privacy barrier, while a French door into a bedroom would undoubtedly require a privacy option such as shades, blinds, or curtains.

Minimal coverage options for French doors include decorative window film while complete light blocking and privacy options include blinds, shutters, opaque shades, and heavy curtain or drapery fabrics.

What Are the Best Window Treatments for French Doors?

Custom window treatments are not exclusive to traditional windows, and several coverings and styles are well-suited to French doors. French door window treatments can add a distinct flair to your decor and help tie in design themes throughout your home.

French Door Shades: From cellular to pleated styles, French door shades will easily fit the dimensions of your door without interfering with the door handles or levers.

French Door Blinds: Custom French door blinds can be designed to fit your door perfectly and are an effective and cost-efficient solution for filtering light and adding privacy. Always be sure to secure the blinds at the bottom with hold-down brackets to keep them from banging and damaging the door or blind when the door is opened or closed.

How Well Do Different Window Treatments Work on French Doors?

Specialty Shutters

Shutters are an ideal solution for covering doors of all types, including French doors. Budget Blinds offers many styles, colors, and finishes in shutters so you can find the perfect custom solution for your doors, with real wood shutters, composite shutters, Plantation shutters, or aluminum shutters.

Shutters are securely attached directly to the door so there is no possibility of movement. Unlike blinds or shades that have a top attachment, framed shutters surround the glass for permanent placement. Custom cutouts are also available and can accommodate any type of door handle your door might have.

Adjustable louvers give shutters superb light and privacy control. The wider the slat, the more open the view and closed shutters provide complete privacy and light blocking. You can adjust for any value in between by manipulating the louvers.  A divider rail allows for separate top and bottom adjustment for even greater light and privacy control–the top half can have open louvers to let in natural light, with the bottom half closed for privacy.

Add-On Blinds

Add-On blinds, also known as integrated blinds, have risen in 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 i.e.: 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. Unlike wood blinds, you don't have to drill or screw into your door to keep the blinds in place, which is great because it preserves the quality of your French door.

In terms of performance, 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

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. Its small stack when raised allows you to have a 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.

Roman Shades

In many ways, Roman shades for French doors are the perfect solution, fusing the practicality of window blinds with the elegant and luxurious look of draperies. At Budget Blinds, we offer a wide variety of Roman shades, including Flat Fold, Relaxed or European, Balloon, and Soft Fold styles. Selecting a Flat or Plain fold style with a valance offers the best privacy coverage. This allows the shade to come off the back of the headrail and fit close to the glass providing the ideal amount of light and privacy control. 

Our fabric Roman shades for French doors not only look great, but since they are lined, they provide an extra layer of insulation that may reduce your energy bills.

Where Can I Get French Door Blinds?

If you need 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.

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