Vertical Blinds or Drapes?

[Lou]

Moving to an apartment that has sliding glass door to outside. Standard size (8 foot wide). Pros and cons of Vertical Blinds versus Drapes? Hopefully from your experiences:-))

TIA

Lou

[Lou]

Thank You!

Good places to shop?

Lou

[Suzie-Q]

-> Moving to an apartment that has sliding glass door to outside.

-> Standard size (8 foot wide).

-> Pros and cons of Vertical Blinds versus Drapes?

-> Hopefully from your experiences:-))

Anything made of fabric will collect dust and dirt, and will need washing or drycleaning. If anyone in the house has allergies, the fabric is a bad idea.

I'd go with high-quality, attractive vertical blinds. They will also stand up better to the wear and tear of going in and out the door.

[Jennifer]

There's a third option, depending on your budget - sliding panels.

My husband and I really wanted a wood look in our sunroom, but the fake wood vertical blinds look REALLY fake and cheap, and the few real wood blinds we foud were custom made and incredibly expensive.

Our compromise was panel track blinds from Smith + Noble. They were still more money than we'd really wanted to spend, and to be honest, we had a lot of problems with them at first. Because our windows are so tall, the panels they made were heavier than normal and at least four of our panels fell apart. Smith + Noble was great about replacing them when it happened, but they eventually had to re-engineer the product because it kept happening to us and other customers as well. They developed and issued metal reinforcement clips that are invisible and solved the problem.

Sorry, that was a really long story, but I don't want to recommend them without full disclosure :)

In the end, they are a beautiful, practical option for sliding glass doors, now that they've fixed the structural problems, and the bonus is that they can match other normal window blinds in the room for a cohesive look.

-- Jennifer

[Art]

Try Home Depot or Lowes

[Lou]

door that will be open most of the time I would consider curtains. What I call chattering is when the the blind slats hit each other because of the wind. Sometimes the get into some sort of feedback loop and the noise can be pretty obnoxious. My house is full of the things and if I want to open a window or door w/them, which is a must in the summer w/o AC, i have to tie the slats off with the cord (a few loops w/an overhand knot) to keep them quiet. Not a huge deal if the windows/doors stay open all the time but it's a pain on the one door I don't want to keep open all the time.

window/door only partway but in a strong wind this won't work too well.

well. This would stop chattering (until whatever is securing them breaks).

But depending on the room decor they can look a lot nicer than blinds.

It did. Thanks.

[kzinNOSPAM99]

I like like vertical blinds but they do chatter in the wind. If this is a door that will be open most of the time I would consider curtains. What I call chattering is when the the blind slats hit each other because of the wind. Sometimes the get into some sort of feedback loop and the noise can be pretty obnoxious. My house is full of the things and if I want to open a window or door w/them, which is a must in the summer w/o AC, i have to tie the slats off with the cord (a few loops w/an overhand knot) to keep them quiet. Not a huge deal if the windows/doors stay open all the time but it's a pain on the one door I don't want to keep open all the time.

You can stop chattering by opening the blinds all the way and opening the window/door only partway but in a strong wind this won't work too well.

I think they make vertical blinds where the slats are secured on the floor as well. This would stop chattering (until whatever is securing them breaks).

Curtains are much harder to clean and will retain odors as will any cloth. But depending on the room decor they can look a lot nicer than blinds.

hope this helps ml

[Colbyt]

I think 6' is considered the standard for the ready made blinds at Lowes and HD. They may sell an 8' one but I don't recall seeing or installing it.

You did not mention budget. Blinds will be the cheaper.

On most sliding doors you have to do drapes as a one way draw. This always gives the room an "unbalanced look when they are open. To do drapes as a split draw your rod face has to be about 125% of the casing to casing width.

120" ready made draperies will not give you enough fabric for the stack back plus overlap and returns. I am not aware of any ready mades sold that are larger than 120" pleated width.

With a split draw vertical the stackback allowance is a good bit less.

Bottom line, IMO the blinds are a better choice for a place you are renting for how long?

Colbyt

[Lou]

Thanks

Lou