Window treatments for bi-fold and Crittall doors

Try these window treatment ideas for Crittall, bi-fold or French doors to enhance their style and ensure their privacy.

Large expanses of glass are commonplace in many of our ambitious build or renovation projects as we try to maximise the amount of natural light in our homes as well as uniting the indoors with outdoor spaces.

However floor-to-ceiling windows come with their own challenges, especially when it comes to dressing them with window treatments. Finding a style that doesn’t detract from those beautiful new Crittall windows, bi-fold doors or French windows you’ve just invested in is important, but so is maintaining privacy and controlling light when you need to.

1. In-frame blinds

When dressing something like these black framed bi-fold doors, a subtler, more inconspicuous treatment may be the best option. This means you won’t interfere with the view out to your outside space, and when you have the doors open in the summer, you can create a near-seamless transition from indoors to outdoors.

These blinds from Thomas Sanderson sit within the frame of the bi-fold doors, blending into the frames when fully up, while folding away with the doors when needed. Look out for smart tech styles too which can be controlled by app or even by voice assistant.

2. Recessed tracks

Combining curtains and blinds with floor-to-ceiling windows and doors can be tricky, as you’ve forfeited space for a pole, rail or track. The go-to trick for problem-solving this area is to build in a recessed space above the window when renovating in which you can lay a track. This ensures nothing interferes with the clean lines of the windows when the curtains are open too.

For larger expanses, look out for the likes of Hillarys‘ Wave curtains, which have a clever system in place that keep the curtains undulations regularly spaced apart.

3. Folding shutters

Shutters always look smart and neat, even when used on a larger scale as on floor-to-ceiling windows. However, just consider how you’d feel about shutters when they’re open too. They’re a bulkier dressing option, so will cannibalise the edges of your window space when open, allowing in less light and takin gup part of your view to the outside.

4. Roller blinds

Roller blinds may seem like a primitive style to adorn your expensive new windows, but they certainly get the job done, and are great for offering easy coverage of large windows. You can, of course, incorporate the ideas from above with a roller blind too by recessing them into the ceiling and opting for remote control mechanisms for slicker use.