Glass sliding door blinds/curtains

[Triggaaar]

I hope it's ok to put this here, I couldn't find anywhere else that seemed appropriate.

 

I'm planning to put 7m x 2.75m sliding glass doors in our new kitchen extension. They will be floor to ceiling and should look fantastic. However, I cannot come up with a suitable method of covering them. The room is east-south-east facing. Privacy isn't a big issue. We're overlooked a bit by some student accommodation, but it's a couple of hundred feet away and not an issue.

 

Option 1) - Don't cover them.

This is the cheapest option   In summer, they will look good. It's not dark outside much, so the only negative is that the sunlight might be a bit strong in the morning (the sun rises fairly quickly though). The problem is that from October to March it's dark outside a lot of the time, and I imagine a large expanse of glass will look a bit stark. Some material would help soften the area and make it feel more cosy.

 

Option 2) - Electric roller blinds

a) In a box in front of the doors. In my mind, this isn't an attractive solution, and takes away from how nice the doors will look when not covered. Instead of a box, we could have the ceiling plastering extended vertically down for 5" to cover where the blinds would go. I imagine the effect would be similar to a box.

b) In the ceiling. This would look good, but it would be prohibitively expensive. This is because we won't be able to cut 5" out of the 8" roof joists. What we have to do is stall another steel of about 7.7m to support the roof, so that we could have small roof joists (just 4 x 2) between two steels where the blinds would go. That would be ridiculous, and I don't know how else we'd get blinds in the ceiling.

 

Option 3) - Curtains

We could easily fit a hidden curtain track in the ceiling (eg, silentgliss). We could put up quite thin curtains for 6 months of the year. This would be affordable. It would look good in summer if we took them down, and soften the area in winter. It would be a hassle putting them up and down, and when up they wouldn't look so good in the day when open, as even thin curtains would take up a fair bit of space when over 3.5m each side.

 

Option 4) - We could use moveable screens. They could shield us from the sun when needed, or add some warmth in winter. One issue is that a couple of screens might look a bit puny compared to what will be very large glass doors.

 

I've never lived with nice big glass doors before, so would love some tips from those of you who have.

 

Many thanks

[Bitpipe]

We have similar at the back of the house, two 4.5 x 2.2m sliders, facing west over garden.

 

At the front of the house we have concealed motorised venetian shutters which are excellent but given they stay down most of the time and we adjust the angle of the slats, not ideal for a door you'd like to walk through now and again!

 

Our only issue is strong sun later in the day for a few hours or so. We looked at internal blinds and curtains, both really expensive and occupy a lot of space when not in use.

 

I went for a tensioned wire spanning each window (Ikea do a 5m one for £10)  and Mrs B. bought lengths of grey linen type voile (also from Ikea £8/m) and cut & hemmed it into individual panels, about 1.5m wide. These attach to the wire using a simple peg & loop fitting (yes, also from Ikea) and when the sun is out we pull them into position for shade but they're easily hidden to the side when not in use and as they're pretty thin they take up next to no space. Because they're so light they only deflect the wire by 1cm in the centre - I may put a hook up there if I can be bothered (you'd probably need to given the greater span).

 

Nice also in winter to make the space feel a bit more cosy.

 

Net total cost about £60-70.

[Triggaaar]

9 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

We have similar at the back of the house, two 4.5 x 2.2m sliders, facing west over garden.

 

At the front of the house we have concealed motorised venetian shutters which are excellent but given they stay down most of the time and we adjust the angle of the slats, not ideal for a door you'd like to walk through now and again!

 

Our only issue is strong sun later in the day for a few hours or so. We looked at internal blinds and curtains, both really expensive and occupy a lot of space when not in use.

 

I went for a tensioned wire spanning each window (Ikea do a 5m one for £10)  and Mrs B. bought lengths of grey linen type voile (also from Ikea £8/m) and cut & hemmed it into individual panels, about 1.5m wide. These attach to the wire using a simple peg & loop fitting (yes, also from Ikea) and when the sun is out we pull them into position for shade but they're easily hidden to the side when not in use and as they're pretty thin they take up next to no space. Because they're so light they only deflect the wire by 1cm in the centre - I may put a hook up there if I can be bothered (you'd probably need to given the greater span).

 

Nice also in winter to make the space feel a bit more cosy.

 

Net total cost about £60-70.

 

Thank you for the reply. We have Venetian blinds at the front of the house. They let light in, but offer privacy. A much better alternative to net curtains IMO. We certainly don't want anything like that at the back though. We want to enjoy the view and let in lots of light. I don't think the wire option would work for us, as the span is longer, but it sounds very similar to having a flush curtain rail in the ceiling. Your grey voile panels are about 1.5m wide each - how many of them do you have, and how much space do they take up when pushed to the side?

[Mr Punter]

You could consider SageGlass. I think it is very expensive but very effective.

 

 

[Bitpipe]

4 minutes ago, Triggaaar said:

 

Thank you for the reply. We have Venetian blinds at the front of the house. They let light in, but offer privacy. A much better alternative to net curtains IMO. We certainly don't want anything like that at the back though. We want to enjoy the view and let in lots of light. I don't think the wire option would work for us, as the span is longer, but it sounds very similar to having a flush curtain rail in the ceiling. Your grey voile panels are about 1.5m wide each - how many of them do you have, and how much space do they take up when pushed to the side?

 

We have 3 per window. As the wire runs inside the reveal, space is limited but you could run it above and extend a bit further either side.

 

Just make sure you have something solid to fix the ends to, ours go into the 50mm batten that surrounds the reveal to take the PB.

 

 

[Triggaaar]

11 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

You could consider SageGlass. I think it is very expensive but very effective.

Do you know of sliding door manufacturers that offer SageGlass?

[Triggaaar]

3 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

 

We have 3 per window. As the wire runs inside the reveal, space is limited but you could run it above and extend a bit further either side.

 

 

Thanks for the photos, really helpful!

 

If we went for a thin curtain like that, I think I'd want the flush curtain rail, rather than a cable. We could put it in front of the doors, which would give 25cm of space either side (total room width 7.5m).

 

[Bitpipe]

Just now, Triggaaar said:

 

Thanks for the photos, really helpful!

 

If we went for a thin curtain like that, I think I'd want the flush curtain rail, rather than a cable. We could put it in front of the doors, which would give 25cm of space either side (total room width 7.5m).

 

 

It's really more of a voile than a curtain and being individual panels vs a continuous length means it's a bit more flexible to deploy but as it was a complete afterthought it was the only option that worked with minimal disruption.

 

As it is, it looks vaguely contemporary and was cheap as chips so I'm pretty happy with it. Surprisingly effective at minimising solar gain as well.

 

Flush rail would be a good option, gives you options to have a pull cord to move it around too.  

 

[Mr Punter]

1 hour ago, Triggaaar said:

Do you know of sliding door manufacturers that offer SageGlass?

 

No I have never used it. https://www.sageglass.com/eu/case-studies/waves-beaulac-hotel-switzerland looks like they have it. If it needs mains electric I guess they have to build this into the track at the top or bottom, like a tram.

[lizzie]

Depends really why you want to cover them.  I have blinds fitted inside the frame reveals of my sliders in the bedroom to block out the light so we can sleep. They are minimal.

 

In my living area I have 3 sets of large floor to ceiling sliders which are not covered as we dont want to lose our view or spoil the minimal look, I like the frames and want to see them.  Our frames are dark contrasting with pale walls.  I dont think they look stark but my house is fairly minimal and very modern.  Our windows are lit inside from below at night which is a nice effect too. Those windows are south and west facing.  

Edited July 20, 2019 by lizzie

[Triggaaar]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

 

No I have never used it.

 

Sorry, my mistake, I thought the link in your first post was to a post of yours. The price there was £1k/m, and that was for fixed glass, not sliding doors. So for 7m x 2.75m, only £20k, plus dealing with the fact the doors move. Yeah, nice as it would be, that's just not going to happen

[Triggaaar]

1 hour ago, lizzie said:

Depends really why you want to cover them.

I put the reasons in the first post.

 

1 hour ago, lizzie said:

In my living area I have 3 sets of large floor to ceiling sliders which are not covered as we dont want to lose our view or spoil the minimal look

Yes, that's my concern with having roller blind boxes in front of them. It's not that I think they frames will look good (we're not going to go for the ultra slim ones), but that I think the overall look would be a little spoiled with blinds there (during the day, when the blinds are up).

 

 

1 hour ago, lizzie said:

I dont think they look stark but my house is fairly minimal and very modern.  Our windows are lit inside from below at night which is a nice effect too. Those windows are south and west facing.  

This is for a kitchen extension, so it will also be modern. I'm not worried about the look when it's daylight, only when it's dark outside at like 5/6pm. I was thinking of a row of spotlights in the roof that overhangs the door, but I hadn't thought of lights inside, and certainly not thought of lighting them from below. What lights have you used, what flooring are they in, and how would you describe the look? Sounds like something with light could be a good option.

 

Thanks for the suggestions

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by Triggaaar

[NSS]

1 hour ago, Triggaaar said:

 

Sorry, my mistake, I thought the link in your first post was to a post of yours. The price there was £1k/m, and that was for fixed glass, not sliding doors. So for 7m x 2.75m, only £20k, plus dealing with the fact the doors move. Yeah, nice as it would be, that's just not going to happen

Don't think it would work anyway as there has to be a hard wired connection to each glass unit.

[Jeremy Harris]

From what I can gather, Sage glass uses very little power, so I wonder if it might be possible to fit a rechargeable battery, power supply and wireless controller into a sliding door frame,  Including a wireless charger, so that the battery recharges whenever the door is closed, would make for a neat solution for moving glass panels.

[Adam2]

6 hours ago, Triggaaar said:

The problem is that from October to March it's dark outside a lot of the time, and I imagine a large expanse of glass will look a bit stark

We had a 5.5m opening from living area into garden and like you, didn't want to cover. In the end it was actually really fine in the dark - we had lighting in the garden under trees & large shrubs which made for a nice scene rather than being stark. Not overly lit, just enough to highlight the underside of branches etc. Lights on a timer and daylight sensor so on when dark enough but off at say midnight until 5pm. Depending on what is outside, this may work for you also.

[Triggaaar]

2 minutes ago, Adam2 said:

We had a 5.5m opening from living area into garden and like you, didn't want to cover. In the end it was actually really fine in the dark - we had lighting in the garden under trees & large shrubs which made for a nice scene rather than being stark. Not overly lit, just enough to highlight the underside of branches etc. Lights on a timer and daylight sensor so on when dark enough but off at say midnight until 5pm. Depending on what is outside, this may work for you also.

 

Thank you. I like this solution and wouldn't mind giving it a go.

 

You can't really test it at this time of year, but I wonder how it would feel in winter if you switched the outside lights off?

[MJNewton]

The glass will appear black and reflect tne interior if lit. Even a low level of outside illumination will make all the difference. 

[Jeremy Harris]

Just now, MJNewton said:

The glass will appear black and reflect tne interior if lit. Even a low level of outside illumination will make all the difference. 

 

This is exactly what we experienced with our glazed front gable.  The black reflected interior at night made the whole of our entrance hall seem very exposed at night, as we couldn't help thinking that people outside were peering in (not very likely).  We opted to fit electric Duette blinds and they have really transformed this space when they are down.  They don't do much to reduce solar gain, but having a cream coloured covering for the otherwise black glazing makes that whole area feel a lot more comfortable.

 

 

[Triggaaar]

7 hours ago, JSHarris said:

 

The black reflected interior at night made the whole of our entrance hall seem very exposed at night, as we couldn't help thinking that people outside were peering in (not very likely).  We opted to fit electric Duette blinds and they have really transformed this space when they are down.  They don't do much to reduce solar gain, but having a cream coloured covering for the otherwise black glazing makes that whole area feel a lot more comfortable.

 

Yeah this is my concern. Although it's at the back of the house, I imagine it's not a comfortable feel. I'd like to see what it's like with some subtle outside lighting though.

 

[andyscotland]

This might not work depending on your reveal /opening detail but could you make the opening a bit wider with a thin vertical cupboard either side of the frame for the curtains to recess into? Or similarly, recess a box into the floor for a blind roller?

 

You could have a flap (maybe a nice timber board) that hinged toward the door, so when the curtains are open you don't see anything, and when the curtains/blinds are closed the flap is behind them. For floor to ceiling blinds you'd either need to have vertical wires for them to run up, or come up with some sort of telescopic support from the floor a bit like a marketing "popup" would have.

[lizzie]

I am not a good photographer so bear with me on photo quality, I probably could have done better with the refelections.

 

This is my inside uplighting at the sliders. I have a tiny little led spot set into the floor at each end of the opening.  Outside I have the same tiny little led spots in the soffit.  It is very effective just wish I could have go a better pic!

 

 

[Triggaaar]

3 hours ago, lizzie said:

I am not a good photographer so bear with me on photo quality, I probably could have done better with the refelections.

 

This is my inside uplighting at the sliders. I have a tiny little led spot set into the floor at each end of the opening.  Outside I have the same tiny little led spots in the soffit.  It is very effective just wish I could have go a better pic!

 

Thank you so much for doing those, much appreciated.

 

Any idea what model the lights are, or what wattage they are etc?

 

Thanks

[lizzie]

1 hour ago, Triggaaar said:

 

Thank you so much for doing those, much appreciated.

 

Any idea what model the lights are, or what wattage they are etc?

 

Thanks

This is the spec...no back boxes for internal ones (we have external ones too lighting a wall and that is why ref to backboxes). All that is needed for internals is a duct through slab/screed depending on what you have.  I have passive slab no screed floor build up so my ducts are in the slab. (external soffit lights are just downlight version of these)

 

They are dimmable too which is nice.  Got ours with all the other lightmaster stuff not sure if they do retail but should be easy enough to find same spec online

Edited July 21, 2019 by lizzie

[Triggaaar]

Am I allowed to post links to Houzz?

 

I just found the example below of an open plan kitchen with lots of glazing. They have roller blinds without a box, and they don't seem to detract from the look of the room at all. I think the reasons it works are that the floor, walls, ceiling and blind are all white or off-white, and the glass doors have a very slim frame around it. I don't think I'll be able to get such slim door frames (due to budget, as they're such large doors), but maybe we can come up with a solution:

 

https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/1950s-residential-transformation-contemporary-dining-room-phvw-vp~129829757

[lizzie]

14 minutes ago, Triggaaar said:

Am I allowed to post links to Houzz?

 

I just found the example below of an open plan kitchen with lots of glazing. They have roller blinds without a box, and they don't seem to detract from the look of the room at all. I think the reasons it works are that the floor, walls, ceiling and blind are all white or off-white, and the glass doors have a very slim frame around it. I don't think I'll be able to get such slim door frames (due to budget, as they're such large doors), but maybe we can come up with a solution:

 

https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/1950s-residential-transformation-contemporary-dining-room-phvw-vp~129829757

I looked at that type of thing. It looks really bitty when down, gaps between each section.  Not a great look in my opinion.  See if you can find some pics of them when down and you will see what I mean.

 

If you have not yet ordered your windows and you want disappearing blinds why not look to see if you can get ones that are integrated into the window glazing. Some on here have that. Various manufacturers do them i.e. Internorm....not sure if they do for sliders though I cant see why not. Not a cheap option though.