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Design Solutions

An Education in Keeping the View
Sometimes a client wants it both ways: full exposure and complete privacy.

by Sharon L. Anderson

CHALLENGE: I hope you can help. I have a client with a large, 12-foot Andersen sliding glass door in her family room. It has two stationary doors and, in the center, two doors that open. My problem is that she would like privacy in the evening without losing any of the beauty the door provides with its view during the day.

The door molding and framing is stained wood, and the entire room has the feeling of a ski lodge in its décor. There is a natural stained wood floor and the furnishings are somewhat contemporary modern.

The sliding door is off-center in the room. There is approximately 12 inches of wall space on one side of the door and 30 inches on the other side. I had thought of designing sliding shoji screens or some sort of by-pass door, but I had been advised that they either would be too heavy or they would stick out too far from the door. What can I tell my client?

SOLUTION: Your client’s home sounds beautiful! Keep that view, and your client will always appreciate it and thank you for your design. Here are some ways you can treat the door and not interfere with the view it provides during the day.

The first suggestion would be to tint the windows, if they are not tinted already. Privacy tinting will give your client a full view from the inside, but the room will remain private from the outside.

Another alternative would be a soft, pleated shade such as a Duette® Vertiglide, which operates horizontally, or one of the “hybrid” products that combine the functionality of a vertical blind with a softness of sheer fabric. Many of these products offer a small stackback—that is, when fully opened the product stacks to only about three to six inches leaving the rest of the view open.

Multiple pleated shades on a single headrail could also work. Operated vertically, these treatments also offer a small stackback and could open all the way above the door to allow the door to swing or slide open without interference.

Yet another suggestion would be sliding fabric panels. These panels hang from a multi-track headrail that will allow the individual panels to slide into any position and “stack” one on top of the other completely off to one side, leaving the rest of the window area open.

Judging by your measurements, it sounds as if you have an appropriate amount of space to mount shades, blinds or other product so as not to interfere with the door’s wood molding.

Your suggestion of the shoji screen is also a good idea. Also consider sliding and bi-pass shutter panels. But you will want to check with the manufacturers first to make sure you allow for the amount of space needed to open these treatments. These suggestions might not maintain the full view the client wants during the daytime.

These are suggestions that would assist you in planning your window treatment ideas. Always sketch out the ideas to show your client a visual of how the window will look before she invests your time and effort and her money in a new idea. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Editor’s note: This is a continuing series of articles written by Sharon L. Anderson that will answer some of the many questions we receive at Draperies & Window Coverings as well as questions Anderson has encountered in her own business. If you have a question you would like Anderson to address, please send it to:

Design Solutions
c/o Draperies & Window Coverings
1724 E. Grand Ave.
Lindenhurst, IL 60046
Fax: (847) 356-9013
E-mail: DesignSol@dwcdesignet.com