The sliding glass door in my dining room currently has vertical blinds on them. I really don't like them very much and I was thinking about hanging curtains instead. Not the ones that are on a track and you pull the cord for it to go to the left or right, I want curtains on a rod. My question is, should I extend the curtain rods past the windows enough so that I can move the left curtains to the left and the right to the right. I would have to extend because of the fact that the sliding door opens on one side.
I wouldn't want to have to move the curtains out the way every time I needed out the door. Do you think that would like fine or should I just do the, "all the curtains to the one side thing"?' Also, do you think sheer in the center with thicker curtains on the outside would look nice or should I just stick with one fabric?
Priscilla from Zwolle
Answers:
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
I bought a thermolined patio panel from JC Penny. I made a rod pocket at the top. It comes with a pleated top. Just open the pleats and make the pocket. I then mounted a rod about four inches out and right along the top of the door. The curtain pulls to the side during the day. Put a tasseled pullback on the side held with a cup hook half way down on the right.
At the top of the doors I mounted another rod. I made a valance to match the swag on the window across the room. It looks great. A plus is our living room-dining room [we live in a bi-level] has been a lot warmer! Good luck. The panel was not cheap but I'm sure it will pay for itself soon, with lower electric bills. (02/22/2008)
By Pat
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
If it's your house, do what you want. I live in an apartment that doesn't allow us to drill holes for curtain rods. I got a spring rod that was long enough to fit the inside of the door. In other words, it's between the vertical blinds and the glass door. I got two floral twin sheets, sewed a slot for the rod at the top, sewed an appropriate hem at the bottom and hug my curtains.
I don't see any reason to have to open them in the middle, sliding them to the left gives us plenty of outdoor light. Spring rods are terrific and the one I got holds my curtains nicely. Just make sure that the curtain slides easily. Good luck. (02/22/2008)
By Dianne
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
We had a patio door on the longest wall in our big kitchen at our former house. We installed a rod that we could pull the drapery towards the side opposite where the door opened and hung insulated draperies on it. In the wintertime, we closed it at night to keep the room warmer. In the summertime, we usually kept it open most of the time and I pulled it back with a decorative cord so it looked more fashionable and didn't just hang straight down on one side.
When it was extremely cold out, I'd open the drapery just far enough to let our dog in and out of the door. That set-up worked very well for us. (02/22/2008)
By Sharon
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
Christopher Lowell says: ( I confess to just LOVING him and his style!)
- To make your room appear larger, take your draperies up to the ceiling or as high as you can go. Then to make your windows appear bigger and wider, hang the draperies so when they're open, they hang over the wall, past the windows, not over the windows, themselves. You can't beat this advice. Don't hang your draperies only to the size of your windows, as this will not only make your windows look smaller, but it won't let as much light in.
- The above advice is for regular windows. As far as large sliding glass doors, what I'd do if you want to go past the door is to hang one pane to meet at the doors exit/entrance area and hang an extra panel after the exit/entrance on the wall area. You still can easily open the curtains. But, I'd also ask myself:"How much do I use this sliding glass door?" If it's twice a day or more, then you had better go with what's easiest to open, but if you only use the sliding glass door once a week, then that's a totally different story!
- Vertical Blinds may be kind of ugly, but they sure are functional when it comes to sliding glass doors! So if you want to hang curtains that aren't on a draw string, then you had better go with whatever is easiest to open, that's not curtains hemmed and threaded onto a curtain rod, or even curtains on fabric tabs. What you'll need is to hang your draperies from metal rings, hung on a metal rod, as these can easily be opened and shut with one hand. If you want to go fancy, then get you "fancy-on" by using a fancy valance. Keep you curtains simple.
- I will give you one more piece of advice. If you live in a smaller place, or there's a lot going on in your rooms decor, it's best to buy your curtains. Then match your wall paint to your curtain fabric. That way, the wall will look like one big expanse of color, instead of "patches" of color where the draperies are. That means: White walls = white curtains and Tan walls = Tan curtains. This advise is only for people that live in small spaces. If your room is large, then choose whatever color of draperies and wall color you like. Just be sure to consider any rooms that may adjoin the one your are decorating and their colors!
(02/22/2008)
By Cyinda
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
We just moved into our new home,and the first thing I did was to remove the verticals on the patio doors! I hung a decorative black rod above the doors, and hung tab top panels. It looks great and flows well with the other rooms and the style of our home! Target carries very wide and long tab tops made by Woolrich! (02/23/2008)
By Terry Nuermberger
Curtains Over Sliding Glass Door
I too had the same problem. I took down the verticals because they looked so dated. I got lots of green toille fabric and made drapes from ceiling to floor. I made a very large valance with the same toille and another valance behind that one which hangs about four inches lower to give a nice trim/layered look. I hung the rods about 10 to 12 inches out to either side of the sliding glass doors. At night I pull the drapes closed to provide privacy and open them in the morning - pulling them all the way back over the outside wall and away from the glass doors. This way is doesn't get in the way when we go in an out. It truly looks like a big beautiful, well draped window. During the winter when we don't use the door every day I added sheers to a second rod. Then the window looks more formal. (06/01/2008)
By Jane
