Vikram Malik

French door blinds – the magical remedy to home privacy and light screening

French doors are one of the most beautiful and aesthetic kind of doors that one can use to beautify a house. For some they might already be a part of their beautiful interiors while for others, this can be an additional feature they can look up on while renovating their house or when moving in to a new one. The best part is that for each different kind, there can be various treatments to give a different look to the same door. Depending on your taste and style you can have many options like French door blinds, shades or curtains. The best ones certainly are the French door blinds. With different shades and styles, these can bring a complete change over for the door itself and for the surroundings at large. French door blinds are not only a good means to beauty but are also very utilitarian by nature.

Before we start with the actual treatment, let us get a sense of what really a French door is (for those who don’t know), the different kinds, their utility and finally what kind of blinds can be used to beautify them.

A French door as defined as “a door that has multiple windows ("lights") set into it for the full length of the door”. For a lay man though, these are doors with a full length (may be assembled or one piece) of glass spread across them. Traditionally, these doors were set to open in the centre but with years of change they now come in various moulds. Today sliding and folding French doors are getting increasingly popular due to more utilitarian purposes.

French doors bear their origin to the 17th century and were used to allow maximum light in to the room (imagine, there was no electricity then!). But today their purpose is more of beautification than anything else. In the past they were used more towards the exterior to enable light in to the building but in the present times, they are used everywhere, right from a bathroom to a patio to a bedroom. So depending on where you intend to put them up, the doors can be different kinds like sliding, hinged, double-door, multi-panel or folding type.

Now some people do question the usage of French doors because of the lack of privacy they offer. But for those who really want to beautify their homes, there is no better way. With a good cover up like French door blinds, one can use them even while having an open look at your beautiful lawn in the front, or the blue sky ahead or to bring a cheerful look to your room and even as an alternate to a wall!

Even as we learn the beauty of French doors we also ought to know how to adorn them further. Some people are wary of putting up curtains on these doors, quite rightly so because what then is the purpose of having a French door if you are going to cover it up. So a more interesting and useful way would be to use blinds. French door blinds are a fashion statement for your home in the present times. They add glamour and a few hundred extra dollars to your asking price for a house if you plan to sell it. These can be of many kinds including micro blinds, mini blinds, vertical blinds, and wooden blinds. But what you need to remember essentially is that with blinds you can control the amount of light coming in and creating the ambience, so a proper assessment must be made in that regard.

Micro blinds seem to be best suited for French doors as their small slant size makes them look attractive. Some may even prefer Mini blinds. While mini blinds are horizontal blinds made with 1" wide aluminum blind slants, Micro blinds are made with ½ " wide aluminum slants. There is another option in the form of Vinyl mini blinds. These are a good practical solution for high-humidity places like a bathroom or a kitchen. While aluminum ones blend well with modern interiors, vinyl blinds may seem a little out of place. So make sure you read the surrounding first before mounting any of these.

Meanwhile Vertical blinds are also a popular option among French door blinds. These essentially are simpler and cheaper choices available to you. These collect less dust and in fact can be cleaned even while left hanging. These are easily available everywhere and in fact you can find one in your neighborhood home-improvement store also. But one major negative with these is that they can be pretty noisy because they have a lot of movement. So take that into consideration while installing these.

Also if you want a classic, royal look you can go for wooden blinds. These can come in many shades and hues depending on the type you select. Most popular come in Basswood while bamboo is also gaining popularity increasingly. While many may go for bamboo blinds owing to their cheap price, yet most will contend that there is nothing as versatile as a bamboo product. Also with growing demand for eco-friendly home products, bamboo takes the top slot. It is closer to nature than any other product available in the same category.

Now before you decide on the kind of French door blinds you want to use, keep some other factors in mind. First of all remember that horizontal blinds need good space when open completely. Choose an appropriate size. If the standard ones don’t suit your purpose, some manufacturers provide you the option of custom made blinds called ‘cut-outs.’ These can take in to consideration the blind size and also space for the door knob.

Also make sure that you have enough mechanisms in place to control the flapping of vertical blinds in case the door is left open. Wood Venetian blinds though can work well in this situation due to their weight. Also if a door knob is causing a problem, go for the low profile head rail and a device that keeps the blinds to remain closer to the door.

Go ahead and set your blind date with French door blinds today!