Patio and Sliding Glass Door Blinds

When it comes to patio doors, sliding glass doors, and room dividers, most interior decorators think that they only have different kinds of vertical blinds to choose from. While there are new alternatives like roller track shades and bead dividers, there are plenty of good vertical blinds options to choose from.

The materials and textures that vertical blinds come in may astound those who lived in apartments with those cheap plastic blinds. Vertical blinds can come in cellular shades insulating material to stop all that heat loss through large glass sliding doors. The opposite of that is translucent materials that stop UV rays but still allow you to see the view with the blinds closed.

One thing you can really do to make those window coverings less boring is to get them with an s curve texture. Instead of looking like cheap vinyl, the vertical blinds now look like drapery because they have a little depth to them. They still have the same problem of bunching up like the normal vanes. Get stiffer materials to reduce the swaying bunching effect. If the s-curve shape is not an option, textured vanes still give a more unique shape.

In addition to different textures to break up the monotony of vinyl vanes, you also have choices on what material you want your blinds to be made from. Fabric is lighter and softer, while you can get faux wood or even real wood to match your interior decor or other window coverings. Note that it is hard to get real wood in such a long and thin shape so you may have to make some allowances in terms of price, thickness and strength if you want real wood vertical blinds.
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Vinyl and faux wood shades are easy to clean. The material is completely water resistant, and static neutral so you can use a damp wash cloth to clean it periodically. Fabric on the other hand needs to be vacuumed. If you have a vertical vacuum you may need a hose attachment. Don't try and run your upright vacuum up the walls! You are just going to break it and it will end up at the Denver vacuum repairs shop. Humidity is your  enemy with fabric materials because it makes dust in the air stick to the vanes. So vinyl blinds might be a better choice in humid climates or in areas like the bathroom.

Fabric is nice because they don't clank and are easier to move around. They may actually be too light, so some come with weights on the bottom to keep them straight. If you want light control on your patio doors, vertical is not the way to go. Consider drapes, curtains or a roller shade because vertical blinds just have too many cracks. A tiny breeze will send them swaying back and forth.