Stack to one side
Vanes or cells gather over the fixed panel and the sliding panel is clear. The setting for most two-panel doors.
Sliding Glass Door Blinds
Sliding glass door blinds that stay out of the way of the door.
A slider is a window you walk through, so the covering has to stack, part, or fold clear of the handle and the track. Vertical blinds, SmartDrape™ walk-through shades, vertical honeycomb, and bypass or bi-fold shutters, measured on the door itself by PAPABLINDS across the Greater Seattle Area.
Four ways to cover a slider.
The right one depends on how often the door is used, how much wall there is beside it, and whether the room needs to be dark.
| Option | How it opens | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synchrony™ vertical blinds | Vanes rotate with a wand and stack to the left or right | Rentals, budgets, doors used a few times a day | Vanes clatter in a draft; they are not a blackout product |
| SmartDrape™ | Fabric vanes part anywhere; you walk through open or closed | The door to the deck that everyone uses all day | Room darkening fabric dims the room but does not black it out |
| Portrait™ vertical honeycomb | Cordless cells slide left, right, or to the center | Cold rooms, kids, a quieter look than vanes | Stacks on the glass, so pick the side that clears the fixed panel |
| Bypass or bi-fold shutters | Panels slide on a track, fold to the sides, or fold flat to the wall | A door you want to look built in, and the darkest option with louvers closed | Bi-fold needs wall space beside the door; bypass leaves one side covered |
Not sure? We bring a SmartDrape™ sample and a shutter panel to the door and open both.
Which side does it stack on?
The stack should end up over the fixed panel of the door, not the panel that slides. Which one that is decides the order.
Center opening
Splits to both sides. For wide three- and four-panel doors and for rooms where a stack on one side would block a view.
Walk through
SmartDrape™ only: push through the closed vanes and they swing back. Nothing to open first when your hands are full.
The door to the deck gets used 20 times a day.
That is the whole design problem. A covering that has to be opened before the door is opened will be left open, and then the room has no privacy at night. SmartDrape™ solves it by letting you walk through the closed shade; shutters solve it by folding flat to the wall with Bi-fold 180™; vertical blinds and honeycomb solve it with a stack over the fixed panel and a clear path past the slider.
The second problem is the handle. Inside-mount products have to clear it; outside-mount products have to cover the frame without blocking the lock. We measure the handle, the track, and the wall beside the door before recommending anything, because on Eastside townhouses there is often no wall on one side at all.
- Handle and lock clearance measured on the door.
- Stack over the fixed panel, never the sliding one.
- Room darkening where a bedroom or nursery opens to a deck.
- Cordless, certified Best for Kids on vertical blinds and honeycomb.
© 2021 Norman®. All Rights Reserved.Sliders we see most in the Seattle area.
Living room to the deck
Used all day in summer. SmartDrape™ or Bi-fold 180™ shutters so nothing has to be opened before the door.
Primary bedroom to the patio
Privacy at night matters more than traffic. Vertical honeycomb in room-darkening fabric, or shutters with the louvers closed.
Dining nook to the yard
Grease and hands. Wipeable vanes: Synchrony™ vertical blinds or a Woodlore® Plus track shutter.
No wall beside the door
Bypass shutters slide on their own track and need no wall at all; SmartDrape™ stacks on the glass.
What we measure at the door.
- Which panel slides and which is fixed, and where the stack should land.
- Handle and lock projection, and whether the covering mounts inside the frame or on the wall.
- Wall space beside the door for bi-fold shutters, and ceiling height for a track.
- Floor clearance for vanes and cells, including rugs and thresholds.
- Privacy at night: which fabric or louver closes tight enough for the room.
Sliding door questions.
Can I walk through it without opening it?
With SmartDrape™, yes: the vanes hang individually and swing back after you. With vertical blinds you push the vanes aside; with honeycomb and shutters you open the stack first.
What is the darkest option for a bedroom slider?
Shutters with the louvers closed, or vertical honeycomb in a room-darkening fabric. SmartDrape™ in room darkening dims the room but light comes through the gaps between vanes.
Do vertical blinds still make sense?
For a rental, a rarely used door, or a tight budget, yes. Synchrony™ is cordless and certified Best for Kids. For the main door of the house we usually show SmartDrape™ or shutters first.
Can the covering be motorized?
SmartDrape™ can, with Norman® Smart Motorization: the vanes traverse from a remote or the app. See motorized shades.
Sliding glass door blinds, shades, and shutters in the Seattle area
PAPABLINDS measures and installs coverings for sliding glass doors in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and the surrounding communities. The four products we fit to sliders are Norman® Synchrony™ vertical blinds, SmartDrape™ walk-through vertical fabric shades, Portrait™ vertical honeycomb shades, and Brightwood™ or Normandy® shutters on bypass, bi-fold, or Bi-fold 180™ tracks. All of them are cordless.
Choosing by how the door is used
A door to the deck that is opened all day wants SmartDrape™, which you walk through without opening, or Bi-fold 180™ shutters that fold flat to the wall. A bedroom slider used mostly for light wants privacy at night first: vertical honeycomb in a room-darkening fabric or shutters with the louvers closed. A rental or a rarely used door does fine with Synchrony™ vertical blinds.
Measuring a slider
Every recommendation depends on which panel slides, how far the handle projects, and how much wall there is beside the door. The stack has to land over the fixed panel, the covering has to clear the lock, and bi-fold shutters need wall space to fold into. We measure all three at the free in-home visit and bring samples to the door.
Request a free in-home visit to see SmartDrape™ and a track shutter panel on your own door.