What kind of drapes/curtains do you put over a sliding glass door?

Question

The sliding glass door going out to the back yard just looks so plain. We just got a new dining room table (this is the room with the door) and i want to finish the room with some curtains.

There are vertical 3" blinds up and that's all. The kind you can slide open or closed.

What would look good over this door? Something i can open and close....i have no clue about stuff like this.

Answer 1

Great question! We've got the same thing at my house--- I'll never have a sliding door again. We, too, just have the 3" vertical blinds. But they open from the center and it's still a pain to go in and out.

I did just read that if you want to soften the room, darken it or provide more of a noise insulator to add up layers. Go with some sheers or something light over the blinds and then some drapes. of course everything does not have to be functional, it would just be for looks.

Good luck! It's a real pain, I guess the sliding doors just aren't as popular as they used to be. You could always replace them with french doors???

Answer 2

The white noise, egg crate, and thick draperies would probably be the most effective solution. How long do you plan on staying there though? With egg crate and sound boards on the windows, they might stick over time, and if you're going to get a new place soon, you'll have sound boards and egg crates you don't know what to do with. I would also suggest the following ideas, some of which may not work well with others... Stick your dresser, book case, or some other large and thick piece of furniture up against the window. If you're really not going to be using it, you'll be surprised how well a cieling-to-floor, wall-to-wall book case full of books can absorb sound. Set up some accordion-folding japanese style room partition panels in front of the window, for another layer inside. Get a better lock on the door. Cheap ones can let the panes rattle more, which makes more noise. Besides, you won't use it, so you may never look at it to see if it's still properly closed. The lock on the handle is usually pretty cheap. Make sure there's one on the top corner between the two panes. You can also stick something in the track... but I suppose the egg crate stuff would already be doing that. Decorate the patio. Sun shades, screening, bushes, and even potted plants can break up the sound waves before they get to the door. The bushes would be most effective, if you can get them, their leaf patterns are almost as effective as egg crates, although they will take a while to grow up enough for this purpose. Wind chimes can break things up a little too, as well as producing a sort of "white" noise of their own... although the sound of wind chimes can become a problem for some people.

Answer 3

We have the same thing.
I ended up putting up sheers and a valance. It softens the opening and looks nice. I discovered that the blinds are too far out from the door to allow curtains to close over them so, I just use the sheers as a "frame" to decorate the doorway. Also less hassle going in and out thru the doorway.

Answer 4

Vertical blinds are the way to go for sliding glass doors. You can go as far as a valance or swag for the top. Anything else will get in the way of using the door.

Answer 5

sliding slats, available at home depot, or lowes. Tell them it's for your sliding door (6' is common)