French Door Window Covering
French doors present some interesting challenges as well as ideas for window coverings and treatments. The first question you need to answer is if you need to protect the French doors from heat loss. For insulation purposes, you have to choose thick curtains or shades that provide for warmth. The best solution is to get modern double pane or triple glazing windows so that that the French doors provide for their own insulation. This way, you can focus on the window treatments for decorative
and light
modulation purposes
Most French doors open outward, although some do open inward. For outward opening French doors, the most popular window covering are curtains. When installing curtains, make sure that you install the curtain rod high above the French doors. This allows the maximum light through when you open the curtains. Additionally, you way want to use a long curtain rod so that the curtains or drapes can be pulled clear of the hinge when opening. This is to prevent the curtains from getting snagged.
Some French doors open inward. Because there is no space to draw the curtains when the French doors open inward, the solution is to install the curtains directly onto the door. To do this you install the curtain wire on the top portion of the door, making sure that you can open and close the door without any problems. You will also want to use sheer curtains so that you get the privacy without blocking out the light.
In addition to curtains and drapes you can also use blinds and shades for French doors. Although the most classic and elegant look is to use curtains, you can still achieve a nice decorative look with blinds and shades. In this case, it is best to install the blinds and shades directly on the door as you would do with curtains on an inward opening French door. The use of cellular or bamboo shades are a popular choice. Try to pick light weight and translucent blinds or shades so that you can see the outline of
the French doors when the light shines through. Also, if you open the French doors frequently, you will want to have window treatments that are not too heavy as to make it difficult to move the doors.
As you can see, there are many choices for window treatments for French doors. Remember to start by asking yourself how often will the doors be opened and whether the window treatments serve more a decorative purpose or functional purpose such as heat insulation.
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