Patio Doors and Blinds

Over the years customers will ask about horizontal window blinds for the purpose of covering a patio door. Most often the case of a sliding patio door. While the most common trend would be a vertical blind in this application, I find that many prefer the horizontal blind. The reason behind the madness seems to be the situation in which the door is rarily if ever utilized. In such instances the home dweller is actually going for a floor to ceiling window look in order to hide the slider. Should you decide also to disguise your sliding patio glass door as a large window, I have a few thougths to ponder. Outside mounts are usually the norm , due to the lack of needed depth for inside mount (3 inches in most cases). Also, consider the height for mounting the head rail. You may have extra space above the slider for mounting in order to make the opening look larger than it is. This is not un-common when the idea is to have a faux window space in the first place. Should you ever desire using the door consider a two on one head rail that will allow the blind to be raised in portion rather than in entire width. Doing this allows easier function and longer life on the blind as well as limited open space if trying to protect privacy. Consider the pull handle for the door itself. Will it get into the path of the blind operation? Don't let the blind hang too low as to gather on the floor below. Hold down brackets will keep the blind in place if cleaning intereferes with the lower portion of the blind. Placing a furniture piece in front of the glass door can help to disguise the slider and also make the space look more like a natural large window opening. At first thought I must admit, I too thought this usage to be not so functional. In looking at what some homeowners have done here, I can say, they have pulled off a nice full bay window effect while also hiding the unutilized sliding door. The benefit here is reduced cost while creating a faux atmosphere that many guest never even notice.

1" Blinds

A customer asked me the why 1" blinds are still available when they do not seem so popular. Well, first of all they are still fairly popular as an inexpensive vinyl product. Secondly the 1" wood can be an alternative when a customer does not have the normal three inches needed to totally recess a two inch blind. 1" blinds are not readily available in faux and will be found mainly as a 1" wood blind. Another reason 1" wood blinds are still useful is for application to doors. Doors in almost every a situation require an outside mount and the 1" wood blind will protrude from the surface only about 2 1/4" in most cases (manufacturer sizes may vary). We are not interior decorators and do not desire to impose our opinions on the customer, yet I can tell you many designers and clients of designers have ordered the 1" wood blind for doors and the 2" blinds for windows. The contrast of 2" and 1" seems to be an acceptable combination for most consumers. The one inch wood is available in most the same whites and stains and is the same bass wood material thus far. While two inch is still by far the most popular item, the one inch will have it's advantages for doors, boats, motor homes etc. Please keep in mind lift cord and tilt wand position when ordering for a door. You may find it is better to have the lift cord and or wand on the hinged side of the door. This can keep them out of the way when the door is opened and closed quickly. Also hold down brackets for the bottom of the door blind will keep the blind stable.

School is starting back again so please take deep a breath and remember the doctor visits, dentist, school supply and clothes shopping will all be over soon. Things will slow down and you can regain a normal life.

Hope your having a great week so far!