window treatment for patio door? (drapes, panel, tile, curtains) - Home Interior Design and Decorating - City-Data Forum

christina0001 · 12-03-2011, 05:04 PM

What window treatment would you recommend for my patio door? We want something that is easy to open and close (I have bird feeders on the patio that I enjoy watching), does not get in the way of the door opening and closing (it opens on the right side) and that is energy efficient when it is closed.
The salesman at JCP recommended a decorative rod with a grommet panel on each side, but I don't think there is enough space on the right side. The trim around the door is 2.25" and then there is 6" of wall space. I measured the rod we use on our large living room window, and the decorative part of the rod sticks out about 6" from where the bracket is. So that wouldn't work, I'd end up with the panel blocking the door opening.
We were thinking of a traverse rod and some sort of curtain that we could push all the way to the left during the day, but the salesman assured me that this is completely out of style. We are not trendy people, and we like things casual, but I don't want a look that is completely outdated. I looked online at some honeycomb style treatments, but they look awfully delicate.
Any advice?

golfgal · 12-03-2011, 06:28 PM

We have a cellular shade on our french door leading to our deck. It is up most of the time but it has held up well. We have a cornice that actually opens and closes with the door that's pretty cool too but probably wouldn't work with your door.

If you need energy efficiency you are going to need something that covers the entire set up there and that leaves you pretty much with an insulated drape of some kind. You could set it up so the left side of the rod extends out far enough to pull the entire drape back to the one side. If the door opened the other way (left to right vs the right to left) you could do a drape that opens in the middle.

pumpkin5 · 12-03-2011, 07:38 PM

We have the same doors. I put up shears with a rod at the top and bottom on each door. I think it's called a cafe rod. It is soft looking and filters the light but you can still see through them. I would not say that it is energy efficient. If I can figure it out I will post a picture.

kshe95girl · 12-03-2011, 09:52 PM

Without pix of the room, its rather useless for anyone to give any advice.

christina0001 · 12-04-2011, 08:49 AM

I have an L-shaped living room. The patio door is on the short end of the L. There's not much to show. Just walls (Sherman Williams crisp linen), grayish stone-colored tile, and a large bird cage for my Moluccan cockatoo.
The living room is a hodgepodge of ugly furniture that came with my husband (that I'm hoping to trash in the next couple of years), beige carpet that I plan on replacing in the next year, and the walls are also crisp linen.
I'll post a photo of the living room curtains I got a few months ago. This is our picture window. We have a regular window that is dressed the same but without the inner ivory panels. I'm not crazy about the curtains; once I had them up they just didn't seem right. I like more of a relaxed, cottage/country style.

gentlearts · 12-04-2011, 06:40 PM

I have the same type of doors, and I intend to put a big wooden rod over the doors with wooden rings and colorful drapes which extend past the door for ease of opening. We do not have a privacy issue, but we do want to block the afternoon sun if we're watching TV. We do not use the door very often, but we want to let the light in and see the back yard. There are no other windows in the room, so this will be a good opportunity to introduce a pattern in the room.
The bad thing about your situation is the lack of clearance on the right side of the door that opens. You could go with a bottom up shade which would allow you to see outside at the top of the windows, while affording coverage at the bottom. I guess I don't know what your goal is, color, privacy?

fallingwater · 12-04-2011, 06:55 PM

I have french doors and installed wood roman blinds.

christina0001 · 12-05-2011, 07:22 PM

My main goal is making the door more energy efficient. A little color would be nice too. Privacy is not an issue whatsoever.
I am thinking a long rod with panels I can slide to the left side is probably my best bet.

Iggier · 12-06-2011, 04:06 AM

You probably have enough space on the right side to accommodate grommet panels or panels on clip rings, especially if you opt against decorative finials at the end of the rod. One of the great things about panels, whether they're on grommets or attached with clip rings, is that you can change them seasonally, when you want a new color/pattern, or when your mood changes. It's an inexpensive yet functional way to both decorate and cover windows and doors.

While it is nothing to change from grommet panels to panels hung on clip rings, note that the clip ring itself and its "hang" alters the effective length of the panel. So if you start with panels on grommets and position the rod such that the panels are the correct length, at a later time if you switch to panels hung on clip rings, the panels will likely need to be hemmed. Or vice versa.

Hopes · 12-07-2011, 12:04 AM

I don't like shades on French doors. And putting a rod above the door to push back curtains during the day will look tacky.

French doors should have appropriate sheers for window doors, typically streched between rods on the top and bottom of the window.

Sheers will give you privacy and light at the same time. If you want modern, look for a sheer fabric that is more modern.