Tuesday 29 September 2015

Patio Door Blinds

A question we get asked for often is "what are the best patio door blinds?"

Blinds For Patio Doors Or French Doors?

There is a little confusion between the two so let's clear this up.  A patio door consist of two or more glass doors one or more of which slide to allow egress. French doors are generally hinged and are available to open inwards or outwards.

Blinds For Patio Doors

Now we've clarified that this is a sliding door we now have to be mindful that we are limited to the type of blind that we can fit to this type of door. Horizontal blinds such as venetian blinds are out immediately as when the door is slid into the open position, we would still have a blind covering the opening. 

Patio Door Blinds
In certain scenarios a roller blind may work but would offer very little in terms of light control as it would either need to be opened fully to allow the patio door to be used or it would be closed, there is no middle ground option. 

Perfect fit blinds wouldn't work on patio doors either as they stand too proud and would prevent the door opening. 

The perfect solution for a patio door is a vertical blind. If your slider is on the left then order a vertical blind that bunches to the right, this will enable you to draw the blinds to one side in order to access the door. When not in use the blinds are easily drawn back into place. 

Blinds For French Doors

Whilst still restricted slightly you do have a wider choice when choosing the best blinds for french doors. Horizontal blinds such as venetian blinds are still going to present problems. Roller blinds can be fitted to each individual door leaf instead of the outer frame and as such will open and close with the door. 
French Door Blinds

Perfect fit blinds are also ideal for french doors, these blinds fit under the rubber gasket around the perimeter of the glass. Like roller blinds, these too would open and close with each door leaf and not interfere in any way with the operation of the door. As an added benefit venetian blinds can be used as perfect fit blinds. 

Vertical blinds would work in a similar manner to patio doors. You would simply order the blinds so that they were able to draw towards the slave door leaving the main door free to open. 

Best Blinds For Patio Doors and French Doors?

Now that we know the facts we have a few options and in terms of style and functionality each of the above blinds would work equally as well. 

If price is a factor then the most cost effective solution would be vertical blinds for both styles of door. 

Click here to buy patio door blinds