Vertical Blind Alternatives
Oh how I hate the ugly things. On top of that, my house is not a regular scale house (being that it's so old). I had custom wood vertical blinds made for my kitchen slider about 4 years ago. They turned out to be crap. Some of the slats have broken off from the clips on top and they are hard to slide etc.
Just buying regular curtains or drapes won't work because of sizing. I would have to have something custom made. Any suggestions for alternative ideas or better made custom blinds?
Calico696 
Calico,
Have you ever thought to replace your sliding glass door with french doors? You can get them with blinds already installed in between the panes. When we purchased our our the previous owners replace a slider with the doors and we love them.
It may be overkill if your just looking for window dressing though.
civilguy80 Do you live in an area where you need the privacy? We have a slider as well and all I have on my door is valances. I opted to have sheers put on as well, but I like just having the valances.
jerseygirl4ever What about applying a frosted glass window film? We have a full glass door and my husband added the frosted film to make it look like a french door.
Baci's mom It would be interesting if you could get that privacy glass where you throw a switch to see out, but otherwise it's opaque.
GC I think Daisy, Miss Scarlett, Oliver, and Lydia ahould make pretty little patterns with their noses and paws...Smudge artwork ;)
Lori...since '73 I didnt want blinds on my sliders either, but I needed something to keep out the afternoon sun, and for privacy. I mounted a decorative pole above the door, bought two long panels, added rings to the top (I sewed mine on, but the do come with a clip) which made the panels easy to slide back and forth. Think outside the box on where to hang the rod....if you have a non standard sized house, hang them higher than the frame ~ it will make the wall look taller as well. And think outside the box for the curtains too....maybe you want to use a tablecloth that you attach with curtain rings. If I am not being clear, let me know I will take a photo, if you want.
LVMomOfBoys Thanks for the responses. We really need something there to keep the sun out late in the day, not so much for privacy.
LVMom - I would love to do that, had that at my previous home. Had sheer panels hanging and had a custom fabric cornice board made at JC Penney. Problem with this house is that the ceilings are too low. 63" panels are too short for a slider and 84" panels are too long for my house. There is only about 1 1/2" of space above the molding at the top of the slider, then you hit the ceiling. So I have roughly 82 1/2" from the the ceiling to the floor.
I might need somebody to make some custom tailored panels for me. Anybody know someone who does this?
Could you just get longer panels and "hem" them? Seems easy enough but then again I don't sew so what do I know. lol
jrsemom There is a woman who advertises in our PTA newsletter,: Debi Pinelli @ 908.256.6338, email anjinteriors@comcast.net or check out our website at anjwindowtreatments.com." I have not used her myself, but she has been around for awhile and I have heard she does nice work. And oops....when you said older house I should have immediately thought LOWER ceilings :)
You could also use the old HomeEc trick I learned years ago....double sided tape or staples to do a hem, if you dont sew! :)
We have what civilguy has and love them. best investment we did 10 yeears ago. No cleaning the blinds and no curtains to wash.
I do sew calico if you find something you like I probably can hem them if they are easy hem. they they are gathered I would not want to venture into that.
Christine If I read it right, you will only have a couple of extra inches if you hang them right at the top of the wall. A couple inches would be easy peasy to do with a double sided tape.
OR if you like the look, longer curtians that kinda puddle on the floor is in. I don't particularly like the look, but to each his or her own. :)
abbadabbadooooo Beer can curtain? Easily customizable to within 1 can height.
http://s4.hubimg.com/u/6053319_f520.jpg
http://tlpoague.hubpages.com/hub/Decorating-the-Redneck-Way
emaxxman Check out this JC Penny site... They are wonderful panel tracks. Work for old or new houses.
Good Luck!
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/XGN.aspx?SearchString=panel+blinds&JSEnabled=false&mscssid=&cmResetCat=true&hdnOnGo=true&submit+search.x=16&submit+search.y=10
GMmom LOL emaxx.
I think I'm probably just going to buy some panels and have them hemmed at this point. Thanks again for the input.
we have a sliding door in our kitchen and had the same problem. i actually went with cordless cellular shades and i love them. it keeps the cold from coming through the glass in the winter and in the summer, it keeps the sun from being too hard in the summer. i love that when they aren't in use, i can just push them all the way up and they are hardly even seen, when they are down, they actually look nice. they were pricey but worth it, since i hate vertical blinds! we got ours from lowes and are by bali.
lovinlv Update. I have ordered this patio panel for my sliding door. Will need to have it hemmed to the appropriate length though. Thanks for all the suggestions.
http://www.touchofclass.com/canvas-blackout-patio-panel-112-x-84/p/V321-002/
Good Choice...Calico! Are you getting a color or just a neutral shade?...this looks good for privacy as well. And the good part it is canvas material and can be hemmed.
Joyful Calico, I have to thank you for this thread. I have always hated the vertical blind in my kitchen and you got me thinking of options. I went with a lined linen double wide drape that hangs to the right when not in use. It's on a pretty bronze rod and attached with rings. If you hadn't gotten me thinking, it wouldn't have occured to me. I love the forum!
Lady Jayne Joyful - I ordered the neutral "latte" shade. Only bad thing, is it's back ordered and won't ship until 6/22. :(
Lady Jayne - You are most welcome. This place can be useful. :)
Calico696, thanks to your suggestion I found a very beautiful curtain for my living room. I was looking for something nice for ages. The store you suggested provides curtain heading types and linings to suit the most discerning of tastes. Good thing I cam across this conversation!
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1433987&st=0&p=65983416&#entry65983416
Meefirst234 I had Hunter Douglas. Vertiglide on a slider....it was pricy but I loved it...not a fan of regular verticles.....
http://www.hunterdouglas.com/product-option.jsp?id=127
5catmom 
fitter We're now in the market for new shades looking to replace our VERY tired cellular shades throughout the house. Our little ones ripped some of the current ones trying to peek out the windows while the shades were down. Grrrrr!!
My wife likes the cordless Roman shades but we nearly fell over while getting prices at JC Penny recently! I'm partial to going again with the 3/8 double cell cellular shades for their energy efficiency. Our windows (contractor special that came with the house) are quite drafty.
Not sure of color yet but we're looking at Bali shades for their quality (don't mind spending a little extra for that) and 3/8 double cell cordless. Is there a go to site online to purchase these from? Lowes looked like they were reasonable. Blinds.com seemed a little pricey. Thanks for any info!
PS...next up we'll be tackling the "Calico Project" lol. Replacing our ugly outdated late 90's vertical blinds over our sliding glass door for something more contemporary! And yes would eventually love to pull out that contractor special sliding glass door for a more efficient and more appealing to the eye French Door.
Vic Commenting is no longer available.