Start with how the door is used
A patio door is part window, part entrance. It gets opened with wet hands, carried through with shopping, and pushed by dogs. A blind that looks good on a window can be less convenient on a door that is used every day. So it can help to think through a few practical questions before style or colour.
Seven questions to think about first
- Does the door slide or swing? A sliding door leaves the handle side clear but means the blind needs to avoid catching on the moving panel. A hinged door, such as French doors, swings into the room or outwards, and the blind has to allow for that swing.
- Which way does it open? An inward-opening door needs room for the door and the blind to coexist. Outward-opening doors give more freedom for fitting inside the frame.
- Where is the handle? Handles stick out. Anything fitted flat to the glass needs to clear them, and a blind hung in front needs to allow the handle to turn.
- How deep is the frame? Some door frames have almost no flat surface to fix to. That can point you towards fitting above the door or on the wall instead of inside the frame.
- Do you need to see out when the blind is closed? Some people want daylight and privacy together, others want it fully shut for the evening.
- Is the room used for screens? Glare on a television at the end of the day can matter more than privacy.
- Are there children or pets? Dangling cords and loose bottom edges are worth thinking about. See our child safety guide.
The common options and how they behave
Vertical blinds
A traditional choice for wide doors. The slats draw to one side or split to both, which keeps the doorway clear when you walk through. They can swing when the door is open in a breeze, and a bottom chain or weights can help keep slats steadier depending on the range. Our vertical blinds page has more detail.
Roller blinds
A roller gives a flatter, calmer look, but it is raised to use the door, and a handle can catch a blind that is fitted too close. Rollers tend to suit a door with a decent gap above the frame and a layout where you do not need to go in and out constantly. See roller blinds.
Day and night blinds
Two layers of fabric stripes that slide against each other, so you can shift between privacy with light and a more closed look. They work like a roller in terms of fitting, so the same handle and clearance points apply. See day and night blinds.
Frame-fitted blinds for uPVC doors
Some blinds are fitted into their own frame that attaches to the door rather than the wall, which keeps the blind close to the glass and moves with the door. Whether this suits depends on the door profile and handle, so ask us what applies. See Perfect Fit blinds and our compatibility guide.
Shutters and curtains
Both can work on patio doors too. Shutters need careful planning around door swing, and curtains hang on a pole or track beyond the door width. Tell us what you have and we'll happily confirm what is practical. See shutters and curtains.
Light, privacy and glare
Doors usually face the garden, so privacy matters most in the evening, when the room is lit and the garden is dark. A light-filtering fabric helps by day, while a fuller covering helps at night. If you want both from one blind, day and night blinds or angled vertical slats are the usual compromise.
If you're covering a door in a bedroom, ask about blackout options and expect some light at the edges unless the blind is designed to close it off. Our bedroom light control guide goes into this.
Practical checks before you order
- Open the door fully and check nothing, including the blind, will be knocked.
- Look for any trim, lock or letterbox that sticks out.
- Check how much clear wall or ceiling you have above the door for fixing.
- Think about where you'll stand to operate the blind, as a controller that sits behind the door can be awkward to reach every day.
Getting it measured properly
Doors are one of the places where a few millimetres change which product works. We can look at the door, handle and surrounding wall in person. Book a free measure and we'll show you what suits, and talk through the options that fit your door best.
