Stack left or right
All vanes to one side, over the fixed panel of the door. The most common choice on a two-panel slider.
Vertical Shades
Vertical shades you can walk straight through.
Fabric vanes that hang like a drape, rotate like a blind, and part when you walk through the door, then fall back into place. SmartDrape™ for patio doors and walls of glass, in light-filtering and room-darkening fabrics, installed by PAPABLINDS across the Greater Seattle Area.
Why the vanes hang loose.
Each vane is suspended on its own, not clipped into a rigid track carrier. That is what lets you push through the shade with a hand or a hip on the way to the deck: the vanes part, you pass, and they swing back to where they were. No stacking the shade aside first, no wand to find in the dark.
Rotated, the vanes overlap into a soft wall of fabric; open, they hang edge-on and the door is a view again. A wand or a motor turns them, and the whole set stacks to either side, both sides, or the center when you want the glass clear.
- Individually suspended vanes that part and return.
- Light-filtering and room-darkening fabrics, 100% polyester.
- Stack right, stack left, side by side, traveling center stack, or center opening.
- Wand or Norman Smart Motorization; cordless, certified Best for Kids.
© 2021 Norman®. All Rights Reserved.Stack configurations.
Where the vanes gather when the door needs to be fully clear. Chosen to match which panel of the door slides.
Center opening
Vanes split to both sides and open in the middle, like a pair of drapes. For wide glass and doors that open in the center.
Walk through
No stacking at all: push through the closed shade and the vanes fall back. The everyday move on a door to the deck.
SmartDrape™, vertical blinds, or shutters?
Three coverings we install on the same patio doors, for different rooms and budgets.
| SmartDrape™ shades | Synchrony™ vertical blinds | Sliding door shutters | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Soft fabric vanes | Fabric-look or faux wood vanes | Composite or hardwood panels on a track |
| Walk through | Through the closed shade | Slide the vanes aside first | Slide or fold the panels first |
| Look | Drapery | Vertical blind | Architectural |
| Light control | Rotate; light filtering or room darkening | Rotate | Louvers tilt |
| Price | Middle | Lower | Higher |
The other two are on vertical blinds and sliding door shutters.
Where SmartDrape™ fits.
The door used all day
Kids, dogs, and hands full of plates go through without touching a wand.
Floor-to-ceiling windows
One headrail across the whole run, vanes stacked to the side when the view is the point.
Room-darkening vanes
Closed, the overlap dims the room; open, the deck is back.
Slider with no wall beside it
A traveling center stack or side-by-side stack parks the vanes where there is room.
Vertical shade questions.
Will the vanes tangle when I walk through?
They are designed to part and return to position. Walk through at a normal pace and they settle back on their own.
Is it private at night?
With the vanes rotated closed, yes. Room-darkening vanes also dim the room; light-filtering vanes glow with the lights on but block the view.
How does it compare to a vertical blind?
Same idea, softer material, and you can walk through it. Vertical blinds cost less and take more abuse; SmartDrape™ looks like drapery and handles the door better.
Can I match it to the windows next to the door?
Yes: PerfectSheer™ and Soluna™ roller fabrics in similar colors on the windows, SmartDrape™ on the door. We lay the samples side by side at the visit.
Vertical shades for sliding doors in the Seattle area
The door to the deck is the most used opening in most Seattle-area homes and the hardest to cover: it needs privacy at night, light by day, and a way through with your hands full. SmartDrape™ vertical shades hang individually suspended fabric vanes from one headrail; rotate them for light, stack them aside for the view, or walk straight through them. PAPABLINDS measures and installs them in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and nearby communities.
Choosing the stack
On a two-panel slider the vanes usually stack over the fixed panel, left or right. On a wide door or a wall of glass, a center opening or a side-by-side stack splits the vanes to both ends. A traveling center stack lets them gather anywhere along the track. We measure which panel moves and where the wall space is before recommending one.
Light filtering or room darkening
Light-filtering vanes glow when closed and suit living rooms, kitchens, and dining rooms. Room-darkening vanes in Soft White, Crema, Coffee, and Carbon dim a bedroom or a media room with a slider. All fabrics are 100% polyester and wipe clean.
Matching the door to the windows
A door and the windows beside it should read as one set. PerfectSheer™ sheer shades or Soluna™ roller shades on the windows pair with SmartDrape™ on the door in similar colors, so the room has one palette and two mechanisms.
Request a free in-home visit and we measure the door, the handle, and the stack side while we are there.