Drapery for Sliding Doors vs French Doors
Two of the most common door conditions in Los Angeles residential design — and two completely different drapery specifications.
Sliding doors and French doors look superficially similar — both are operable glass openings to a terrace or yard — but they require fundamentally different drapery systems. The difference is mechanical: one slides in its own plane, the other swings into the room.
Drapery for Sliding Glass Doors
Wide spans, indoor-outdoor living, and stack-back that has to clear the operable panel — every inch is engineered.
DoorsDrapery for French Doors
The cloth has to clear the swing, frame the architecture, and resolve daytime and nighttime privacy without ever touching the door.
Stack-back and clearance
Sliding doors require the drapery to stack entirely off the operable panel. French doors require the drapery to clear the swing arc — usually meaning a wider stack-back well past the casing.
Heading and cloth line
Sliding doors usually read best on a ripple fold or wave fold on a recessed track — a continuous architectural line. French doors usually read best on a hand-tacked French pleat or Euro pleat on a brass or bronze rod mounted above the casing — they are a more decorative architectural moment.
Privacy layer
Sliding doors typically resolve privacy with a layered ceiling-track system. French doors typically resolve daytime privacy with a sheer panel mounted to the door itself, separate from the outboard drapery.
Still deciding? Walk the room with Olga.
Every consultation begins with the window itself. We will tell you which solution the architecture is asking for — and why.
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