Patio Door Blinds: Vertical Sheers, Roller Shades or Drapery?
A patio door is a window you walk through several times a day. Whatever covers it has to clear the handle, move out of the way easily and still look good closed.
In short
- Mount high enough that the covering clears the door handle when it is raised.
- Vertical sheers and drapery open sideways, so you can walk through without raising anything.
- Wide doors look and work best with two roller shades side by side.
- West-facing doors need heat and glare control most.
On this page
What makes patio doors tricky
- Handles. Door handles stick out, so anything that rolls down in front of the door has to clear them.
- Traffic. You open the door often, sometimes with your hands full or a dog waiting.
- Width. Sliding doors are wide. One large shade is heavy and awkward; two are easier.
- Floor-length glass. There is no sill, so light shows under a shade that stops short.
- Sun. Many patio doors face the backyard and the afternoon sun.
Vertical sheers
Vertical sheers have soft fabric vanes attached to a sheer backing. Rotate the vanes to let light in or close for privacy, and draw the whole covering to one side to walk through. They look like a curtain, move quietly and suit doors you use all day.
Roller shades
Roller shades are the clean, modern choice. Mounted above the door frame, a raised shade clears the handle completely. On wide doors we usually install two shades side by side so the one over the sliding panel can go up on its own, like the family room above. A screen fabric keeps the backyard in view; a light-filtering or blackout fabric gives privacy at night. See roller shade fabrics.
Drapery on a track
Ripple-fold drapery on a ceiling-mounted track glides open and closed and stacks neatly to the side. Extend the track past the door frame so the open curtain stacks on the wall, not the glass. Drapery adds softness and can be layered: sheers for the day, blackout for the night. See curtain styles.
Zebra blinds
Zebra blinds work on patio doors when they are mounted high enough to clear the handle, and on the fixed panel of a sliding door. For a door you use constantly, a covering that opens sideways is usually easier.
Compared
| Vertical sheers | Roller shades | Drapery | Zebra blinds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk through without raising | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| View | Soft, vanes open | Clear with screen fabric | Through sheers | Through sheer bands |
| Night privacy | Yes | Yes, with the right fabric | Yes, with lining | Yes |
| Look | Soft, curtain-like | Clean, minimal | Soft, layered | Modern stripes |
| Motorized | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Practical tips
- Mount above the door frame so raised shades clear the handle.
- Extend coverings past the frame so they stack off the glass.
- Stack drapery and vertical sheers away from the sliding panel.
- Let floor-length coverings stop just above the floor so they don't drag.
- Motorize wide doors so both shades move together.
West-facing patio doors
A west-facing door takes the low, hot late-afternoon sun straight into the house. A screen shade at 1% to 3% openness cuts the heat and glare while keeping the yard in view, and a motorized shade can lower itself before the room heats up. See shades for south- and west-facing windows.
Motorized patio door shades
Wide patio doors are one of the best places for motors: both shades move together, nothing hangs within reach of children or pets, and the shades can lower automatically on hot afternoons. We use smart motors with 2 Nm of torque, and for curtains and vertical sheers, motorized tracks. Every motor and its programming is covered by our full 3-year in-house warranty.
Winter drafts at the patio door
Sliding doors lose heat through their large glass panels. Lined drapery, or a shade mounted above the door that overlaps the frame, cuts the chill noticeably on winter evenings. Close it at dusk, and on south-facing doors open it again in the morning to let the sun warm the room.
Common questions
What is the best covering for a sliding door I use all the time?
Vertical sheers or drapery on a track, because they open sideways and you can walk through without raising anything.
Can a roller shade cover a patio door?
Yes. Mount it above the door frame so it clears the handle when raised, and use two shades side by side on wide doors.
What is the difference between vertical blinds and vertical sheers?
Vertical blinds are separate hanging vanes. Vertical sheers attach soft fabric vanes to a sheer backing, so they look like a curtain and move quietly. We install vertical sheers.
Will a motorized shade hit the door handle?
No. We set each motor’s top and bottom limits at installation so the shade stops clear of the handle and the floor.
