Door Window Treatments For Your Home

Time was when all doors in a home were solid panels.  Peepholes which allowed you to see who stood outside your door were the only opening.  Times have  changed.  Today entrance doors are available with a wide variety of decorative glass panels.  Some leaded glass or frosted glass panels allow light to pass through, while others are completely transparent.  Then there are the sliding glass doors so many people have installed as dramatic entranceways to patios and decks.  Adding door window treatments to doors like these in some cases serves a functional purpose and in others they serve a cosmetic purpose.  The first step you need to take if considering door window treatments is to determine what you want to accomplish with the door window treatments you will select.

Most people are interested in maintaining privacy or controlling light.  Sliding glass doors is a good place to illustrate.  Unless your sliding glass doors face a forested area where the only living objects you'll see looking back at you are deer or racoons, you're going to want some privacy, especially at night.  There are some extremely expensive  custom shutter or sandblasted glass panels available, but the most common door window treatments for glass sliders are curtains and mini-blinds.   With curtains you simply stretch your rod across the top of the sliders and you're done.  Curtains are available in variety of styles and fabrics to coordinate with the decorating theme of the rest of your room.  A valance covering the rod gives you a place to add more fabric for greater depth. 

Vertical mini blinds are like a curtain in that they draw back and forth.  The "vanes", as the blinds are called in this style of door window treatment, are available in a variety of colors.  Because of their width it is possible to get them with designs on the vanes as well. If you really like the traditional horizontal mini-blind look  more and more sliding door manufacturers are offering mini-blinds enclosed within the door as an option.

Any of these options deal with the privacy issue, but how about light?  After all, most people chose glass panels to let in more light.  But suppose your sliders are in a family room where your home video center is located.  Some people with this kind of setup find it difficult to watch television during the day because of the light streaming in.  So if you want your door window treatments to block out light,  you've going to be looking at different kinds of curatin fabrics and blind vanes than you would if light were not an issue.

The same selection principles and options apply to entrance door window treatements.  No vertical blinds here, but mini blinds can be attached to the bottom and top of the glass panel in your door for a tight fit.  If you like the decorating possibilities of fabric, attach a cafe rod to the top and bottom and select a facbric that matches the decor of your room.  If you would like to filter light, but not block it, select a sheer fabric.  With all these door window treatment options available, it is important that you remember to ensure you understand what you are trying to accomplish.  If you really like light and only want privacy and you select a heavyily designed fabric, you might be disappointed.  Good luck wih your door window treatments!