Window Covering Ideas For Sliding Doors + Awkward Windows

At the end of the year, I announced a new series called “DIY On The Fly.” Instead of providing a full-scale room design and mood board, as I do in my Reader SOS series, I could offer a few suggestions or answer a quick question. These quick tips are designed to teach you and help the questioner all at the same time!

I’ve had so much fun answering your design questions every other Friday on my Instagram stories. You can peruse them all right here in this highlight. I’ve received some great feedback on the series and it makes me happy to know you’re learning some new things!

Today, I thought it would be fun to answer a few questions here on the blog. I noticed that quite a few people needed help with window treatments for tricky spaces, so we’ll be tackling all window covering dilemmas in this post. They really are the finishing touch on a room and can make or break the look of a space.

Door Window Covering Ideas

Ideas for door window coverings in my home

“I need help with a window treatment for my sliding glass door. There’s not enough space on the side for a curtain rod. We’re looking for a little warmth and privacy.” – Sarah

This is such a tough one! How do you add a window treatment to a sliding glass door? What you’ll typically find are those cheap traditional vertical blinds. But, they are not a great option if you want things to look nice.

We will address Sarah’s particular situation, but first, I want to walk through some better options.

Option 1 – Keep It Bare

Our family dinners with the shades drawn — Solar shades on our windows, but bare sliding glass door.

I know it may sound weird, but you don’t need window treatments on every single door or window in your home. We often get asked why we don’t have blinds on the exterior doors of our home in our kitchen. Well, we don’t need them! The view is into our backyard and there’s no one peeking into our home from there. Occasionally, it gets too sunny back here, but other than that we don’t see a need for a window treatment.

So the first thing is to ask yourself if you really need a window covering for your patio doors. If you do, move onto the following great options!

Option 2- Curtains

Our bedroom in our old condo with blackout curtains

In our previous home, we had a sliding glass door that went to a balcony off of our main bedroom. Here, we opted for blackout curtains to cover the door and windows. This was the best option because they gave us privacy, while blocking out the light, so we could sleep in in the morning. (Oh, those lovely relaxing mornings, pre-kids!)

If you want something to cover your door, and you have the space, then I think curtains are your best bet for a door window covering. Just be sure to follow my tips to hang them correctly! This blog post goes into great detail and shares some of my favorite curtain panels.

However, custom curtains will not work for every single space, including Sarah’s (above). There simply isn’t enough headroom or wall space to add curtains around Sarah’s sliding door. So what’s our option here?

Option 3 – Panel Track Blinds

There must be another option besides dreaded plastic vertical blinds or cheap honeycomb shades, right? Yes, let’s discuss a few.

Sarah could opt for some sliding panels on her back door, especially if it’s a door they use frequently. They’re made with flat vertical panels of fabric, on tracks, that allow you to slide them to cover or uncover your window.

Sliding track panel shades for a glass door

The biggest drawback is that more of the sliding glass door will be covered, even when the blinds are open, decreasing the amount of natural light in the room. These panel blinds come in a few fabric colors and have great reviews.

Option 4 – Outside Mounted Shades

You could opt for roller shades over a sliding glass door

She could also go for an outside-mounted solar or Roman shade (like this one). For the sliding glass doors, she could opt for one large panel across both sides of the door or individual ones to provide better control over the light coming into the room.

If possible, I would opt for a cordless option that doesn’t have a pulley system or cord on the side, which could get in the way. She could use a motorized option or an option that pulls down and up from the inside.

The only problem with a horizontal system like solar shades or Roman blinds is getting inside, from the outside, when the shades are pulled down. It can be tough to put them back up. If this is a frequently used door, and they would be putting the shade up and down all of the time, then the panel track blinds may be a better option.

How To Cover Short & Wide Windows

“How should I cover my crazy bedroom windows? They are super wide and super short and in the corner of every bedroom (5 or 6ft wide x 2 ft tall) We just got new windows and the coverings are 2/3x as much as the windows! The curtains don’t work and these bedrooms need blackouts. I’d love shutters, but don’t have the $3,000 for custom shutters.” – Hallie

I don’t understand why architects and builders add such strange windows to homes. We’ve had a handful of awkward windows that leave you scratching your head when it comes to figuring out the best window treatments to cover them.

Hallie is right about the curtains. Since the bed is pushed into this corner, curtains are not an option – and please don’t ever do flooded curtains! I’m also a big fan of solar shades (We have them throughout our home.) but they’re also not a great option since these bedrooms need to be blacked out.

My mom's bright bedroom makeover and refresh

In this case, I would go with woven or bamboo shades. You can opt for a blackout liner; there are lots of colors to choose from; and they will add a nice texture to the bedrooms. You can also easily customize the width and length of these shades. I often recommend this brand of cordless Roman shades because you can completely personalize them!

They come in wide panels (so they would fit her 5-6 foot windows) and they can be ordered in a short length. These custom sizes help with awkward windows like Hallie’s.

If those customizations get too pricey, Hallie could always opt for a standard bamboo shade from Lowe’s and have the width cut in store. They can’t alter the length, but I have a DIY tutorial on how to do just that! I had a small and awkward window in old bedroom and I cut the length of the bamboo shade to customize it. It’s a quick DIY project!

Window Coverings For A Door

“Planning to replace the curtains (most likely green) but what to do with this window door?” – Erica

I’ve never had to put a window treatment on a door like this, so it was fun for me to research this one. Since this is a child’s bedroom, I’m guessing that they want both privacy and light control. The sheer shades on the door offer a bit of privacy, but they have no blackout abilities.

Since Erica is going with new green curtains (love that idea!), I would opt for adjustable Roman door shades in a color that complements the new drapes. Here is an affordable blackout option that comes in a variety of colors. That shade would also work well for french doors or as front door window coverings.

More Window Treatment Ideas

Need additional help with your window situation? Maybe one of these blog posts can help.

Submit Your Questions Here!

If you have a design question, fill out this form to submit it. Remember, these aren’t full-scale room designs, just smaller design questions that you might ask a friend or neighbor. Looking forward to helping as many of you as I can with these quick design tips! Thanks for your excitement over this new series.

Casey