French door shades come in many types and varieties, namely Honeycomb or Cellular shades, Roman shades, Wood or Bamboo shades, Pleated shades, Exterior shades and Roller and solar shades. There can be many reasons why you choose one particular kind of shade while you leave out another. You might even consider curtains. Some of the factors you may want to take in to consideration before zeroing on your French door shades are: the amount of light you want in, the over all décor of your room and of course you budget and style preferences.
One of the most common among all French door shades are the Honeycomb. These are crisp, versatile and come in many styles. These are soft and most are very durable. Honeycomb or cellular shades get their name from the layers of small honeycomb-shaped air pockets that they are made up of. These help in temperature insulation and the amount of insulation is determined by the number of honeycombs and the size of the pleats.
If the number of honeycombs is more, it means more insulation. That is why most of these french door shades come in single, double and triple honeycomb variety. Double ones provide better energy efficiency than single ones and similarly triple ones are better at the task than the single ones. On the same note, the larger pleated ones are a better choice than the smaller ones. One of the most popular ones are the 3/8” double cell shades. These are not just good for their functionality but also for a good functionality in a good price.
The first and foremost reason for choosing a cellular shade as your French door blinds is its capacity for insulation. This is good not just for the good temperature maintenance but also because it will save you a lot of money in the long run by providing good energy efficiency. Secondly, the honeycomb shades are easily stackable. This means that when you don’t want the shades around they can be rolled up completely without obstructing the view at all. Thirdly, these provide a great level of privacy without compromising the natural night coming in. You have the choice of selecting from a wide variety of light-filtering or room-darkening fabrics, which are available in hundreds of colors depending on the company you select.
Light-filtering shades cover up your windows without affecting the quality of light coming in. On the other hand, room-darkening shades are an ideal choice for rooms like your media room or any other room that needs a greater amount of darkness. Also some companies offer very advanced features with these French door shades. For example, you can have a cordless shade which will optionally come with a motorized version or you can go for a top-down version rather than the general bottom-up one. Also, some of these come with an extra mechanism to make lifting of heavier shades an easier experience.
Now that was one kind of a French door shade. There are some other varieties also available in the market. Roman shades or popularly roman blinds, are an ideal choice for those who want a rich look at a very affordable cost. These are a sleeker version of the shades and are made up of same drapery material. However they have a better system of control and head rails and are hence easier to install operate.
Woven wood shades are an act of class. These mostly go with any décor in any setting. These can come in privacy weaves or in open weaves. Depending upon the location where you want to install them, you can choose whether privacy is of prime importance or the amount of light coming in is. These come in different woods, the most common among which is the bamboo. These shades are the closest that you can get to the nature and are a very good choice for those who are environmentally very conscious.
Pleated shades are the simplest but the most reliable of the whole lot. These can last your years and years altogether. Pleated shades are a good option of contemporary fashion in good cost with high reliability. An option of soft window covering, these shades come in variety of fabrics. Using the right combination, one can also get a look of plain-uniform white look on the outside of the shade.
Some of the shades companies are now offering very high end shades that are very good for reducing the temperature of your home. One such is the exterior shades which are made up of weather-proof fabrics. Some of these can effectively block 90% of ultra violet radiation from the Sun. but this feature doesn’t come at the cost of light entering your homes. You will still be able to see all the activities happening outside.
To make exterior shades most effective on the outside of homes, these are made up of basswood or twine and are finished with weather proof coverings. These also have wind cords so that they don’t make too much noise due to flapping in excessive windy conditions. Also these are easily hung up at any desired height making them an ideal choice for out of the house blind usage.
Roller shades are a good choice for privacy maintaining shades. These are available in light-filtering or room-darkening variety and can be raised or lowered in just one swift motion. The best part is that these can be used in combination with other shades either to make them more effective or just to make them look more beautiful.
Last but not the least let us talk about solar shades. As the name suggests these offer good protection against sun but do not obstruct your outside view. These are a good usage for media rooms as they cut glare. They are rightly referred to as ’sunglasses’ for windows. They offer protection for the furniture in a room, diffuse light and help heat regulation.
Broadly, these are the French door shades options that are available for your doors and windows. The enlisted parameters and guidelines are a good way of deciding the best way to beautify your room. Go ahead and make your choice now!
