Covering for sliding glass door

[pumpkin]

We have a very frequently used sliding glass door off the kitchen in our new home. We are getting way too much sun so I need to put something up that will block some of the heat and improve our energy efficiency.

I'd like to keep the view and some natural light at least a bit instead of just hanging something heavy and opaque. We also use this door to get to the backyard to play so we are in and out often.


I absolutely refuse to get vertical blinds again. I hate them and they make me want to tear my hair out every time I have to use them. I have no idea what else might work.

[ChetMC]

Ideas

We have venetian blinds on our patio door. When it's hot I keep the blind down on the side that doesn't slide. I've thought about lowering the blind on the side that is used to the height of our tallest child. It's really just the kids that use that door.

You could cover all or part of of the doors with a translucent film. We have it on the lower half of our lower floor windows for privacy. We didn't put it on though. I don't know if it's a special film for windows or if it's just contact paper.

[ChristyMarie]

We also have the film on our first floor windows. It really cuts down on how much people can see into the house but it really doesn't block the sun or cut down on the sun warming up the room or anything like what you seem to be wanting.

[2cutiekitties]

^ I love that film. I remember my parents had it for their window and you couldnt see inside, amazing.

OP, I have sliding glass doors too. I would never get the vertical blinds again. I will refrain from describing how I feel about them. Dont want to offend anyone! But what I did was dress them just like the other windows because mine are where my dining room table is. I put Dupioni silk drapes up and when closed it looks really pretty and when I want to open them for sun, I just slide the right side to the right and the left to the left. Now when I want to go through the slider, I slide the left side to the middle. I love it. It gets used a lot and so far no problems. I have had the setup for 9 yrs.

[sunnysandiegan]

We have a retractable awning outside and it does an amazing job of keeping the kitchen cooler in the summer. We got it on costco.com when they had a sale going. It was drop-shipped for free and we had all our neighbor friends over to help us install it. It's been up for 4-5 years now and still looks great and does an excellent job!

When we replaced our sliding doors last summer, we got the low-E type for the kitchen slider. WOW! That has also made a huge difference.

We also have a slider in another room 90 degrees to the kitchen. That door is smaller and we got the type of slider with the blinds built-in to the door. Oh, is this a dream door!!! It is better quality all-around than our other door and I can open and close this door with my pinky finger. The kitchen slider is much bigger and is a pain to open and close (always has been, even with the old door), so we decided to stop using the kitchen slider for walking into the backyard. We open it a bit for fresh air on cool days and at night and leave the screen closed all the time. We use the other slider for going in and out and leave the screen open all the time. It is soooooo easy!

Anyway, since I have the awning outside and the low-E door and we don't go through the slider in the kitchen, I decided to go pretty. I got 100% cotton sheers from Ikea and put those up. They are a bit too long and I just tied them in a knot for the last year. I love the look of them puddled on the floor, but we have a kitten and she climbs them when they are puddled on the floor. If they are tied, she mostly leaves them alone and they still look nice. I am resisting cutting and hemming them to the proper length because I am hoping she will outgrow the urge to climb them in another few months.

[annethcz]

I have curtains covering my sliding glass door in the eating area of the kitchen. I have double rod, with sheers and then heavier curtains over that. It works well for us.

[mattemma04]

I like using those covering that you stick to windows.Some have designs.I like the one that is like a mirror from outside and allows some light in.