Custom Drapery Ideas for French Doors

Sheers and Panels

• These drapery styles normally cover the glass panes in a French door and leave the wood and hardware exposed. They attach at the bottom and top and lay flat against the glass, are tied back on either side or decoratively cinched in the center. Sheers are made from nylon, lace or other translucent fabrics that let light filter through. The fabric used for drapery panels is thicker and blocks out most light, providing more privacy than sheers. Some decorators match the panels or sheers on French doors to the upholstery of the sofas and chairs in adjoining rooms.

Valances

• To showcase the beauty of your French doors, leave the bulk of the doors exposed and simply decorate the top with a valance. This drapery option provides the maximum amount of natural light between rooms, albeit the least amount of privacy. The valances can be coordinated with the patterns in other home draperies or upholstered furniture or stand alone in design and color. Valances can be neatly tailored and pleated, free flowing and casual or formed into puffy, formal shapes atop the French doors.

Conventional Draperies

• French doors that open onto a porch or veranda can be decorated with traditional floor-to-ceiling draperies. These are typically installed on the walls on either side of the French doors instead of on the doors themselves. Draperies made from lightweight, airy fabrics are frequently hung from rings strung on straight curtain rods and tied back with ribbons or sashes. Those made from insulated or heavy fabric are commonly attached to track systems and controlled by strings and pulls.

Combined Treatments

• If you use your French doors for various purposes, you can combine panels and sheers with traditional draperies. In the months when you want light and sunshine streaming into the room, you can use the sheers and keep the heavier draperies permanently open. When you need warmth and insulation or you desire privacy, the heavy floor-length drapes can be drawn closed over the panels or sheers on the French doors.