Sliding Glass Doors

I got a Facebook message from one of my friends and readers asking a little decorating advice and I thought I'd blog my answer.

Mary wrote:
I need advice. We have a sliding door in our kitchen that goes out to the backyard. It is right behind our kitchen table. We have vertical blinds right now, which I can't stand. Just not sure what else to do. I think drapes will look weird. We have drapes on the slider in our bedroom and it looks fine, but it's in a bedroom. What do people normally do with sliders?

Mary,
I think this is a very common problem.  I personally don't think drapery looks awkward.  I tend to treat sliders just like a big window, so here are some solutions I would suggest. 

Bypass Shutters: {this is what I did in our home}  They function like a typical plantation shutter with operable louvers, but they slide back and forth in front of your sliding glass door.  They offer privacy, architectural interest and energy efficiency.  {You can actually qualify for a tax rebate under insulation with these, I believe}.  I got mine at Budget Blinds and if you're interested, I think I can get you 20% off through a referral program.  I love mine and get compliments on them all the time.

Here are a few photos of what they can look like:


Disregard the "plant shelf"...I don't recommend that design feature ;)



You can get a center adjuster piece so they look more like traditional plantation shutters.  I opted not to get this. 



The track is on the top so they just kind of float on the floor.  You can move either leaf back and forth, but you cannot fully open them from what I know, so a set of panels will always be over one slider or the other.







Valance: This will jazz up the look of the slider, but doesn't offer too much privacy unless paired with side panels, bamboo shades, or window tint.


You could do a similar treatment to this which would dress up the doors while still providing privacy.



You can build down a permanent valance too.  Sorry for this poor example {use your imagination}.



Panels: This is probably the most simple and economical solution.  I know you are hesitant, but I would suggest that if you did panels on your slider, keep the window treatments on the adjacent windows as something up top only similar to the picture below.



I would hang them high {depending on what your ceiling height is, possibly to the ceiling or just below any crown} and make sure they're full and will actually close all the way, otherwise they'll look cheap.  You could stack them on one side as well to minimize the typical window style. 


Install Double Doors:  I know this solution might be a tad impractical, but double doors are much more attractive than sliding doors and if you could DIY, wouldn't really be that expensive.  It is much easier to find privacy solutions for double doors than sliding glass doors.
 




Tinting:  If you're only concerned with privacy, you can get the glass doors tinted to where you can still see out, but people cannot see in.  This will also help with energy efficiency.  Then all you have to worry about is dressing them up.

I hope these suggestions help and would love to know what you end up doing. 

Have any more questions?  We always love to hear from our readers and will be happy to offer any help we can :)

-jd