French Door Treatments

French doors have replaced the slider as the “door of choice” for new houses and for renovations. They are certainly more of a decorative element than the sliders were and can look very attractive if left unadorned.

There will be instances though when the French door is a passage-way to the outdoors necessitating either treatment for privacy or warmth. Perhaps there are a bank of French doors in a great room which lead to the deck but the glare from outside interferes with the big screen TV.

The good news is that any type of window treatment may be applied to French Doors. So you may wish to make them a focal point by treating them as something unique to the room or you have the option of putting the same treatment on them as in the rest of the space.

Any valance or top treatment must clear the door so usually if you have a valance, it should have a return of about 3” so it can stand away from the door not only physically but visually.

Drapery panels are a very attractive solution for French Doors if there is ample wall at either side of the doors for the draperies to stack (or clear) the passageway. If you have a set of French Doors where only one of the doors is active, then consider having draperies with a one way draw instead of a center symmetrical draw.

Shutters are a fabulous, no-fuss application for French Doors. A truly custom feature is the ability to create a cut-out around the door handle so that the shutters fit closely to the surface of the door without a concern for the practical operation of the door.

Like any shutter, they can be divided top and bottom in any
proportion you like. In this way, the top and bottom
operate independently

The one very important point to remember is that these are working doors…that means that the doors open into the room and any applied shade or shutter must be prevented from knocking into the adjoining door or wall when fully open. This problem is easily avoided by installing a door hinge pin stopper. Simply replace one of the door hinge pins with this device available at any home improvement center and…voila!