Ideas for Interesting Window Treatments – Part III

My previous two articles have offered ideas for window treatments for standard window types, such as patio doors and other typical sizes as well as skylights and sidelights.  This article will offer ideas for French doors and other door windows, and large windows which can sometimes be problematic.

Let’s begin with window treatment ideas for French doors.  One of my all time favorites for these types of doors are wood blinds.  I think that they really accentuate and coordinate well with the look of French doors.  Wood blinds are generally made with basswood and come in a variety of stains and paints. So finding the right color scheme to match your doors isn’t very hard.  For doors, you’ll need to choose one inch wood blinds, which is a generally a better fit for smaller windows with their minimal mounting depth – you don’t want the blind hardware sticking out beyond the window casing.  Another good choice for French doors is roller shades.  Roller shades have come a long way since the days when your Grandmother might have had the old vinyl variety in her kitchen window.  Today’s roller shades offer contemporary, elegant looks and come in a wide variety of opacities (from sheer to blackout), colors and even fabric choices.  Roller shades are the perfect choice if you want to choose how much light gets filtered into your room and to preserve your views.  Next up are sheer shades, which are a versatile and elegant choice for French doors; versatile because they are like two shades in one combining the functionality of a blind with the soft light filtering of shades.  Sheer shades for doors have horizontal blinds (fabric vanes) with two sheer fabric facings over the fabric vanes.   When the vanes are open the sheer fabric offers soft light-filtering and when closed offer privacy and light dimming.

Choosing the right window treatments for oversized windows can be tricky, though there are quite a few choices.  One of my favorite choices for oversized window is panel track blinds, which I mentioned in my first article.  Panel track blinds are kind of like vertical blinds but with larger panels in fabric, woven woods, solar shade and a few other materials.  They are mounted on an aluminum track and slide open and shut, that is why they are sometimes called sliding panels.  Panel tracks are unique and contemporary and come in colors and materials to compliment any décor.  Another choice for very large windows is vertical blinds.  But to make it interesting, look into some of the other material options that are available like fabric, solar shades or even cellular.   Two other options for oversized windows are roman shades and cellular shades.  If you are interested in adding insulation to your room, either of these are a good choice.  Cellular shades are inherently energy efficient and roman shades can be purchased with an insulating liner.  Luxurious and elegant, roman shades come in a very wide variety of colors, fabrics and styles so they are by far the most expansive choice for your decorating needs.  Cellular shades also come in a wide variety of colors as well as pleat sizes.  Last but not least, you can always look into drapes for oversized windows.  Drapes are the classic choice and come in just about every color, pattern and fabric imaginable. 

Other possible choices to consider are sheer shades which, for very large windows come with vertical vanes covered on one side with a sheer fabric facing.  Sheer shades are elegant and versatile and offer privacy when the slats are closed and soft light filtering when opened.

If you are looking for french door window treatments, such as wood blinds, or window treatments for large picture windows, I hope this helped.  Good luck and happy decorating. – David Brooks