French door shutters

Doors need a little extra thought

French doors can look beautiful with shutters, provided everything has room to open properly. We'll help you think through handles, clearances and the panel layout so the doors remain easy to use.

Fitting a shutter to a window is mostly about the opening. Fitting one to a pair of French doors is about the door. The doors swing, the handles stick out, the glass is often in a frame that moves, and everyone walks through it. We want your shutter to look lovely and glide past the handle every time you step into the garden, so the design starts with how the door behaves.

Which way do your doors open?

Doors that open inwards bring the shutter in the swing path. Doors that open outwards leave the interior free, so a shutter fits more easily. The choice of design follows from this.

• Shutters fixed to the door itself move with each leaf, so the shutter swings along with the door. This needs the shutter to be light enough for the hinges and to clear any frame depth.
• Shutters fixed to the frame or wall open and close separately from the door, so you open the shutter and then the door. These suit outward-opening doors and deeper surrounds.
• Tracked shutters slide across the opening and avoid swing altogether. See tracked shutters.

Handles and locks

A door handle, a thumb turn or a multipoint lock sticks out from the glass by a set amount, and the shutter has to stand clear. Where a shutter would otherwise press against the handle, the options include a cut-out, a shutter that sits slightly further forward, or a layout that avoids the handle zone. We measure the handle projection and the gap to the glass, and we will let you know if it is too tight for a given design. Some doors have handles that are low, or lever-shaped, which changes the answer.

Clearances we look at together

• The gap between handle and glass, and the gap between glass and any shutter frame.
• Whether the door leaf is flat or has a beaded profile that stops a panel sitting flush.
• The depth of the frame and the reveal.
• Whether the doors have to fully open to clear furniture or a step.
• Whether the threshold allows a bottom guide or is better left clear.
• The weight of the panels, which the hinges must carry without pulling the door out of line.

Light, privacy and security

French doors are glass from top to bottom, so privacy is a main reason people want shutters here. Louvres tilt to let light in and limit the view from outside, and panels can open in sections. Shutters are not a security feature, so we do not describe them as one, though they can make a glazed door feel more private at night.

When another covering is easier

If the doors open inwards and there is little room, a roller blind, a Perfect Fit blind that moves with the door, or vertical blinds may be easier. Our patio door blinds page and the article on blinds for patio doors compare these. Shutters have a lovely solid look, and we are happy to say if another covering would suit your doors better.

Our approach to measuring glazed doors

At the free home measure we look at which way each leaf opens, how the handle sits, the frame depth, floor level and how you use the doors every day. If you go out to the garden often, we weigh that heavily. Then we confirm what shutter design suits, or whether a different covering is the better answer.

Day to day care

Dust the louvres with a soft cloth. Check the hinges occasionally, as doors are used more than windows and the hinges work harder. Wipe fingerprints from the door-side panels with a barely damp cloth.

French door shutters are part of our secondary shutters range, so we explain what we can arrange for your doors. For other styles see shutters.

Not sure which way to go? Book a free measure, tell us what you have, and we will confirm what suits before you commit to anything.

Inspiration