Window Coverings for Sliding-Glass Doors

Luminette® Privacy Sheers Fabric: Solar Screen Color: Perfect Storm

Buyer's Guides

Window Coverings for Sliding-Glass Doors

January 14, 2021

by Hunter Douglas

Find the perfect window treatment for your sliding glass door. Beyond traditional vertical blinds, we have many innovative alternatives to choose from.

If you’re looking to cover your sliding-glass doors, how do you know which window treatments will work best? While virtually any Hunter Douglas window treatment can be outfitted to cover sliding-glass doors, certain styles are better suited for large expanses of windows simply because they traverse horizontally, making them easier to operate on these applications.

Vertical Cellular Shades for Sliding-Glass Doors

Duette shades come in a variety of pleat sizes, colors, patterns and textures. And most fabrics will be white on the back, so you have a uniform look from the outside. With the Vertiglide™ operating system specially made for vertical applications, you have the flexibility to use either one shade to cover the entire expanse of windows or two independently operated shades of varying opacities for more light control.

If your sliding-glass door is located in an area like a media room where you want to be able to achieve more darkness, choose the LightLock™ system that features an innovative side-channel designed to trap and absorb nearly all incoming light.

Known for their superior energy efficiency, cellular shades are ideal for patio and sliding-glass doors—especially if you live in a particularly hot or cold climate. Cellular shades feature a unique honeycomb construction that traps air in distinct pockets, creating an extra layer of insulation at the window. For even greater energy efficiency, choose Duette® Architella® with their honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb construction. The honeycomb pleats of both products also stack tightly together when your shade is open for a clean, unobstructed view.

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Duette® Honeycomb Shades Fabric: Architella® India Silk Color: Sira

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Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades Material: Alexa Color: Modern Gray

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Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades Material: Thea Color: Hudson Gray

Key Benefits of Cellular Shades

  • Their superior energy efficiency is invaluable for large expanses of windows like patio and sliding-glass doors in extreme hot or cold climates.
  • With an extensive fabric collection, cellular shades can work with virtually any dĂ©cor.
  • The flexibility of using independently operated light-filtering and room-darkening fabrics on the same shade gives you more ways to control natural light.

Vertical Blinds for Sliding-Glass Doors

Vertical blinds offer a sleek, contemporary look that maximizes views. Made of flat, vertical fabric panels that slide side-to-side, Skyline panels are easy to operate and are available in over 450 colors and numerous textures, openness factors and opacities.

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Skyline® Gliding Window Panels Fabric: Formosa Color: Stormy Gray

Key Benefits of Vertical Blinds

  • With so many fabric options and styles to choose from, they’re one of the most versatile solutions for your sliding-glass doors.
  • Vertical blinds have minimal stackback, enabling you to maximize your views.

Privacy Sheers for Sliding-Glass Doors

Luminette® Privacy Sheers pair soft fabric vanes with a sheer facing, so a single treatment does two jobs. Rotate the vanes open and daylight diffuses across the room while the view stays; rotate them closed for privacy after dark. The whole panel then draws to one side to clear the door. For a wide opening where you want the softness of drapery without giving up light control, this is the most versatile option on the page.

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Luminette® Privacy Sheers Fabric: Voyant Color: Daylight

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Luminette® Privacy Sheers Fabric: Voyant Color: Daylight

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Luminette® Privacy Sheers Fabric: Terra Color: Wild Rice

Key Benefits of Vertical Sheers

  • Vertical sheers have the functionality of vertical blinds with the classic elegance of draperies.
  • The sheers beautifully diffuse natural light, creating a soft ambiance in the room.
  • With hundreds of colors, patterns and textures to choose from, vertical sheers work well with almost any dĂ©cor.

Woven Wood Shades for Sliding-Glass Doors

Crafted from natural woods, bamboo, reeds and grasses, Provenance® Woven Wood Shades provide a one-of-a-kind look for sliding-glass doors. Artistically woven, they’re crafted to minimize stretching, bowing or breaking.

Woven wood shades are versatile enough to work with many home styles, from island and Mediterranean to traditional—plus, they’re available in both horizontal and vertical applications, so you can carry the look throughout your home.

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Provenance® Woven Wood Shades Fabric: Calliope Color: Pebble White

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Provenance® Woven Wood Shades Material: Soho Color: Concrete

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Provenance® Woven Wood Shades Material: Positano Color: Pebbled Beach

Key Benefits of Woven Wood Shades

  • They offer a truly one-of-a-kind, organic feel to any room.
  • Woven woods are extremely versatile and can fit almost any room dĂ©cor.

Shutters for Sliding-Glass Doors

Shutters might not be the first window treatment you think of for sliding-glass doors, but their durability, energy efficiency and classic style make them an excellent choice.

For a sliding-glass door, shutters mount on a bi-fold or bypass track so the panels fold or slide clear of the opening. Heritance® Hardwood Shutters give you a real hardwood finish, and NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters pair a wood look with added moisture resistance.


In areas with high heat or humidity, you may want to consider hybrid or non-wood shutters for sliding-glass doors. Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Shutters are the most durable option. They have the look of finely painted shutters, but they’re guaranteed never to warp, crack, fade, chip, peel or discolor, regardless of extreme heat or moisture.

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Heritance® Hardwood Shutters Color: Dark Oak

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NewStyle® Hybrid Shutters Color: True White

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Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Shutters Color: White

Key Benefits of Shutters

  • They’re durable, energy efficient and classically beautiful.
  • With so many design options, you can find the perfect shutters to fit your style.
  • Because shutters are permanent fixtures, they can actually increase the value of your home.

Drapery Ideas for Sliding-Glass Doors

Draperies and side panels add a soft, elegant feel to sliding-glass doors and are available in a variety of beautiful, distinctive fabrics.

While drapery on its own is terrific for light control, enhanced privacy and added insulation, you’ll need to pair side panels, which are stationary, with another window treatment to reap those benefits. If you’d prefer side panels over drapery, choose your accompanying window treatment first, followed by your side panel selection. Carole Fabrics offers the widest range of drapery fabrics for a wide opening.

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Carole Drapery Fabric: Hope Color: Natural

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Carole Drapery Fabric: Sheriff Color: Powder

Key Benefits of Side Panels and Draperies

  • They create a soft, elegant feel to any room.
  • With so many patterns, textures and styles, there are endless design options.

Top Solutions for Sliding Glass Doors—At a Glance

Cellular Shades

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Cellular Shades

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Vertical Blinds

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Somner® | Vertical Blinds

Panel-Track Blinds

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Woven Wood Shades

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Shutters

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Draperies

Carole Fabrics

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