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Design Dilemma
sbcbc

Curtains or blinds on a large sliding door?

6 years ago
We have almost finished our extension (with the exception of the kitchen) and I would love some advice on dressing the windows. We put the windows in last year so have lived with the coldest day and more recently the hottest day. We are south facing and have 4 roof lights that also slide open.

We are not overlooked, but I do like the coziness of closing blinds or curtains in the winter.

Our original concept was to have 3 XL electric blinds covering each panel and an electric curtain rail -silent gliss rail with wave curtains that can be tucked to the sides so not impeding on the glass or door frame. The rail and blind would be boxed in from edge to edge.

The living / dining room is 10m width by 6.5m depth and the kitchen is 5x5m. I have 3 sliding doors, the largest being 7.4m and the others are 3.4m.

So my question is, should I box it all in and have a blind and a rail above the window? Or accept just a curtain rail and have light voile wave curtains or option 3 have 2 rails with 1 with voiles that I mainly close and other with heavier curtains I can dress or close in winter?
Featured Answer
  • 4 years ago






    So sorry for the delay, here they are finally. Three extremely large blinds of 3 metres each spanning 9 metres in total and I am really pleased. They are very strong and sturdy. look really smart, and do the job well. And... for a great price £701 inc VAT, which after some of the mad quotes I had from some companies I think was exceptional for all of them. There are no joins in the fabric, each one is approx 3 metres wide and 2.5 metres high Plus can't fault the service and delivery, really friendly and helpful company. Newblinds.co.uk


    Comments (40)

    • 6 years ago
      Ikea did a system with flat sliding panels that are a bit more modern than an actual curtain.
      It could mean you have a mix of voile type panels and some solid ones for night time if you want that blackout effect. Then they all pull to the side when you don’t want them on at all.

      Obviously curtain type dressing would be cheaper than electric systems and you wouldn’t have to spend out boxing it all in...
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      Suzanne C thanked Tani H-S
    • 6 years ago
      Thank you Tani, I do want an electric curtain and or blind so I can open and close it when at work. I also want to it to connect to the smart home system. I just don’t know what would look best.

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    • 6 years ago
      Ah I’m not sure then, sorry. I can’t picture the system you mean so I’m not much help
      Suzanne C thanked Tani H-S
    • PRO
      6 years ago
      What a fabulous outlook! I can’t quite get the depth of the window recess from your photos, and if you mean to get both curtains and blinds within the recess, It doesn’t look as though you’d have the space you need to fit the motorisation systems within. Wave curtains would be your best option if you’re going down the electric/smart home route. I also think XL blinds would counteract that cozy feel that you want.
      Suzanne C thanked Julie Sinclair Interiors
    • PRO
      6 years ago

      It looks like you have plenty of space all around the windows to have curtains sitting to the side when not drawn, so that you would not lose any light. At this recent project of ours in Highgate, the clients chose curtains throughout, which personally I feel soften the effect of large expanses of glass. Look forward to seeing what you have chosen!


      Full house renovation in Highgate · More Info

      Full house renovation in Highgate · More Info

      Full house renovation in Highgate · More Info

      0
      Suzanne C thanked ODC Door & Glass Systems
    • 6 years ago

      Looking around, I am keen to have a double layer effect, so either:

      1. Electric blinds (x 3 panels) and voile curtains on electric curtain rail

      2. Voile's on electric curtain rail and and a 2nd layer of heavier curtains on another electric curtain rail side by side.

      3. Just go with the easier option and have just blinds or voile's or curtains alone ( not my favourite option)


      Both options would be ceiling mounted (I am unable to recess it into the ceiling as there is a large steel hidden in the roof in the middle). The voile's or curtains would sit by the edge of the windows as ODC suggested so I have full light from the window. I would need 160mm width space for each curtain to be in a wave ripple effect.


      Which option would look the best?

      (This is what the wave curtain would look like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NvWMfZS5XQ)

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    • 5 years ago

      You can also get large roller blinds, ceiling mounted, and battery operated, much cheaper than electric. What did you go for in the end?

      0
    • 5 years ago
      I definitely want an electric system so I can connect it to smart home device. So I have decided to go with 2 electric curtain rails instead of a blind and curtains. We would have a voile and a normal curtain in the wave style so it connects to the electric rails. This way the softness of a voile is there in the summer months and a nice thick curtain in the winter months.
      Once we decide on the colour, I’ll update you with photos!
    • 5 years ago

      cant wait to see them. We are going for battery operated as visually you don't see any difference and we're happy to use the remote control, or switch on the wall, but have no hassle with wires etc, plus the expense was about £1000 more for us, and I wanted the money on other things. Sounds lovely though and I expect they will be fab, can't wait to see pics

    • 5 years ago

      JC, I look forward to your photos too! We already have electrics sticking out the wall when we had originally planned the layout with the electricians...

      So are you going for the wave design too?

    • 5 years ago
      I love the full vista you have; if you’re not overlooked, you could perhaps try one winter season without blinds/curtains :)
      0
    • 5 years ago

      HI Joolshicks, yes we have already had a winter and although we are not overlooked, I quite like the softening effect curtains and voiles have, as well protecting the furniture and floorboards in the summer.

      0
    • 5 years ago

      Hi folks.....anything completed that you might want to share.....just contemplating all of the above so keen to see any finished article and feedback.

    • 5 years ago

      Hi Paul, I'm just ordering mine, so will have them in a few weeks time. I have to say for the same windows, same roller blinds I've had such a crazy range of quotes - everything from £750 to nearly 3k. The more expensive ones claimed that certain mechanisms, pulleys, etc, were all stronger, but when I looked into it and had an expert who works with blinds look at it for me, there really were only slight differences. As it's been such a large cost and choice to make this is why we've taken our time, and also my windows are so large that many places. blinds2go, etc don't do them without a join in the fabric, but I'm happy with my choice now after months of research so am buying this week. I'll update you when up.

    • 5 years ago
      We are still pondering but keen to see what JC has...
    • 5 years ago

      Just to update you we have also gone for normal roller blinds, not battery operated, as the size of ours and weight put the cost up with the mechanisms, so that cost above is literally three roller blinds, nearly 3m wide each and 2.5 drop. I'll post pic when done.


    • 5 years ago
      Looking forward to seeing the photo updates and any tips on suitable providers as we are currently working on the same issue with 5 panel bi-fold door and an oversized window. Would be great to know what providers you ended up using Suzanne, Paul and JC.
      0
    • 5 years ago
      JC - really interested to hear if you like the finished look and to see pics if you are happy to share. Doing something similar at the moment. Thanks!
    • 5 years ago

      Hi like Susan I cant wait to hear or see the finished works as I have the same problem....just had Hilary’s out for consultation but doors to wide.

      Marlene

    • 5 years ago

      We have decided to do a double layer, using a warm grey colour for the curtain- more to dress the room and a white voile that opens and closes. It will be an electric curtain pole with a wave design so we can open and close it with a rocker switch on the wall or set it up with a smart app. We decided against a blind as we wanted to frame the window and we have lots of space either side of the windows to bunch up the curtains when not in use.

      Have we bought it yet? No, we started a build project in the rest of the house and gutted everything so soft furnishings were put on hold....

      Fingers crossed we may do it in the autumn....

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    • 5 years ago

      My bifolds aare a lot smaller than yours but i have electric blinds which allow light through in the daytime and are cosy at night. they are honeycomb shaped which makes them warm in winter too. so they give me privacy when needed but let light through. best money spent on my renovation apart from my bathroom. There are a range of colours to choose from and you can operate them by remote control or app which is very easy to use. the company were very efficient installation was neat, clean and on time and the installer set it up and made sure I could add other compatible smart plugs as well to operate things like lamps.

    • 5 years ago

      hi Julie looks great what company did you use in the end

      0
    • 5 years ago

      Hi Marlene,thanks. i used a company called Appeal Home Shading. The brand is Ultra Smart Pleated blinds

    • 5 years ago

      Hi there, sorry delay due to other building work, but we have decided and are ordering this week then they will be with us in 10 days. Will post when up

      0
    • 5 years ago

      hi jc thank you for info

      0
    • 5 years ago

      Julie your blinds look great

    • 4 years ago

      Happy to put up a pic of all three together with blinds fully down if anyone is Interested or wants more information. Love Houzz so helpful. Thanks everyone for all your tips and hints too.


    • 4 years ago
      last modified: 4 years ago

      The more, the merrier!

      Perhaps you can take some photos from further away so we can see them in context with (some of) your room?

      Blinds and doors look great.

      How do you operate the blinds?

    • 4 years ago

      We had electric blinds for our bifolds (battery powered) about 18 months ago and are still super happy with them. The remote is attached onto the wall and that works well for us. We were warned against white in the kitchen due to stains but I decided to go with white voile regardless and I’m still really happy and have no stains. They give privacy but let light through. We only put the blinds down at night when we want a bit more privacy as we are overlooked and sometimes during the day when we are out. Our kitchen style is more modern however and I think the simpleness fits in. Photos attached.

      https://www.instagram.com/p/BsX5Mm7ngmD/?igshid=1otvhl4pyevq8

    • 4 years ago

      I know this thread is really old but just wanted to say thank you to all the contributors! This has been so helpful in us choosing the coverings for the doors in our extension!!

      0
    • 4 years ago

      So glad! Yes it was a tricky thing. More than happy to show anymore images by WhatsApp if easier or email. Mine are operated simply like normal blinds, and manually, on one side the pulley pulls down two blinds together, which are attached by a connection joining them, so 6 metres across with one strong pulley all come down together, and on the other side it pulls down one blind only. I have to say New blinds were fantastic and spot on even to the point where they did a video call with me to help me give them the correct measurements and miss the handles. I am not good at this, so needed hand holding and they were amazing, and a great price.

    • 4 years ago

      JC thank you again - it's actually your photos that we have saved on our wishlist so it really was a big help! New blinds sound absolutely brilliant so we're going to get in touch once the work starts and hopefully they can provide ours too. If you have any photos they would be most gratefully received, the mechanism you have to pull them all down sounds fab!


      I presume you've not had any problems and they're still going strong!


      At the risk of pushing my luck, do you have any idea of the cost of your lovely sliding doors, to have so much glass, compared to say bifold doors? We've decided we want large sliders to maximise the light, but I'm worried they will be loads more than bifolds which were in our original builder's quote, eek!!


      Thank you again, as you say this forum is unbelievably helpful and I'm eternally grateful to you all!!



      0
    • 4 years ago

      Hi Jill It might be easier on a call, but I can't find a way to send you my number privately? Can you look me up on Linked in and I can do a zoom call to show you, much easier?


      0
    • 4 years ago

      Hi JC. Your blinds look amazing! We were just about to order large sliding doors (6.6m x 2.5) but everyone who quotes is telling us to go bifold! So annoying as the slides look so much better (imo). Just wondering how you are getting on with the sliders? Biggest concern that have been raised are the doors being too heavy and the heat loss. Hoping the blinds will help with that.

      0
    • 4 years ago

      Ours are 9m wide by 2.5, and we have just three doors across that large width, my kids can operate them so not heavy, but we do have the schuco lift and slide system. No heat loss in the slightest, we only use the blinds for privacy, nothing to do with heat. Not sure why anyone would have told you that you would have lost heat? There are less joins than bifold? We went for sliding doors as less sight lines to obstruct view into garden plus no gathering of doors at one side. Maybe the old plastic type sliding doors you would have had those issues, but things have moved on massively with technology these days.

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    • 4 years ago

      Thanks for the quick answer. The heat loss is mentioned when talking about bifold or sliding, I should have mentioned that. I'm guessing you have a large space with doors that big. Any problems with it being too hot or cold? Would love to go for the lift and slide but we need to have the track covered, which I'm led to believe isn't the case with l and s. Our youngest is visually impaired so we are thinking covered track is better, but we cold be overthinking it......again!!

    • 4 years ago

      Hi tombean79, just to say that we have 6.6x2.5 sliding doors. Interestingly, everyone we spoke to told us to go for sliding over bifold. We don’t have lift and slide - the doors are heavy, but fine for adults to open. My eldest child is 6 and I doubt that she would be able to open or close the door (we don’t live there yet).

    • 4 years ago

      Thanks Jemma. Good to know. Was going to ask you about heat/cold issues but I suppose you're in the same boat if you don't live there yet! Do you

      you have a large space to heat?

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    • PRO
      3 years ago

      Hello! Please have a look at our recent post on how to dress bifold doors. It is packed with useful ideas - https://www.polesandblinds.com/blogs/how-to-dress-bifold-doors-beautifully-useful-ideas/

      0
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