You could get two Romans mounted on a single board above the double door, mounted with an extension so that when you close the shades, they will clear the frames. If you use a cornice, it will give the top a more finished effect. You would want to attend to how much of the top part of the frame is covered when the shades are fully up. I have no photos of that treatment, but maybe someone could photoshop it. Smith and Noble probably has examples online. Some shades can be ordered with hold downs so that they don't flap when you open and close French doors. You might want those, should you decide to install separate shades directly onto the doors.

Is privacy an issue, do you need to cover them up. The family room would look nice with roman shades (as much as I would hate to put holes in the wood doors, I would mount them on the door, there isnt much room above the doors). You mentioned no drapes, any particular reason. In the kitchen, I think panels on either end would be very decorative, they would never interfere with the door since you mentioned the doors open out.

kitchendetective: That would be perfect if it can be done. So with the roman shades up, you'd only be able to see the cornice, and when they'e down, which would only be occasionally, they'd provide the privacy DH wants. I looked at Smith & Noble but couldn't find the exact look.

gk5040: We don't really have a privacy issue as we're across a ravine from other houses. DH still wants the ability to know that the view is completely blocked. I hadn't thought about drilling in the doors; that will probably void the warranty so that's another reason for wall mounting everything.

I originally thought of drapes but the designer said that it would make the room feel closed in. Maybe we should revisit that issue.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'd love to see photos if anyone out there has them!

Are they wood or metal. If metal you could try magnetic rods. I even have valences on each door(dbl french doors). Now I'm using sheer white panels but I'm sure you could find some others. The rods I have up are the plastic ones (off-white) from BB&B, but I found some brushed metal ones that I just bought from HD. The plastic ones don't show since I put up the valences but I just know they are there and want to replace them. If you can't find panels with double rod pockets (top and bottom), maybe you could find the fabric and just put them in yourself. I might do that for the winter (and I don't even sew!). We'll see.

BTW, if you find something, please post your choice - I'm anxious.

I'm following this thread closely as well - we just put a "bonus" room addition on our house and we have double french doors that lead into it. I need something for privacy over the glass since it will occasionally be used as a guest room. I'm leaning towards roman shades mounted on the door.

You could do Gallery Glass.

Did you check this out?

Here is a link that might be useful: French door curtains

gneegirl: Do you have any photos of your french doors and window treatments? The more I look at photos of windows and doors, the more confused I get. Now I realize that if I mount the shades or blinds on the wall above the door trim, when the shades are down, there will be a 6" gap between the shade and the door surface. It's a standard Andersen door so I don't understand why this is so hard. Maybe every door is like this . . .

mpwdmom (Susan): Thanks! The paint color in both rooms is by Kelley-Moore, a regional paint company. The color is called Wise Owl and we love it. The floors are quarter-sawn 3" white oak with a custom stain. We wanted to have the same tone as the cabinets but have a contrast but we didn't realize the variation in the floor boards when we picked out the stain. If we could do it over, I would choose a stain that's a little darker.

oceanna: No, I didn't see those photos. Thanks so much!

See page 156, bottom left, April, 2008, Architectural Digest, for one example.

I read this last night but didn't reply because you wrote you weren't interested in curtains for the French door...but since curtains have been mentioned I'll show the pics of the curtains I made for the French door on the half bath in my office. The holdback unbuttons to let the curtain hang all the way across when needed:

kitchen: I have stacks and stacks of magazines here but I'm pretty sure my AD ran out and I didn't renew it. (It was a gift.) I'll check it out when I'm at the store later. Thanks for letting me know about the photo.

Kim: I personally always wanted curtains and thought they would work and I really like what you did. I don't think that would overwhelm my space at all. Of course that means I need to find a fabric that will go with both the eating area and the family room. I'm also hesitant to drill into the french door because it will void the warranty but I will definitely think about it.

Thanks so much for all your help. It's clear that I can't make a decision yet so I should hold off ordering more of that striped fabric until I have a clear plan.

Here's some roman shades I had made for our french doors in the den. I hung them with magnetic rods I bought at BB&B, so no holes in the door!

{{!gwi}}

{{gwi:1538539}}

Oh! Now I get it. Gneegirl had asked me before whether "they" were wood or metal but I didn't understand. They were talking about the doors, not the blinds! I can't tell but they might be painted metal so the magnetic rods might work. That's a great idea!

Traditionalgirl, your treatments look wonderful. Is it possible for you to take a couple measurements for me? When your blinds are completely up, or as "up" as they will go, how long are they? And how much of the door's glass is covered with fabric? How do they look totally up? Thanks!

And thank you again gneegirl and traditional girl for suggesting magnetic rods.

Meg,

Off the top of my head, I'd say they're about 8 to 10 inches long when they're all the way up. I'll try to measure them for you. I don't ever keep them all the way up though, because I don't like the look. The ratio of door to window treatment is off or something - too much door and not enough shade. But that's just my perception. You might like it!

traditionalgirl1: Great shades--beautiful room!

kim2007: Love your tied-back curtain idea and that great rod!

meg711, thanks, and I understand all the considerations! The pics of traditionalgirl's roman shades do look really great, so that's a nice option as well.

amcofar, thank you! Finding a rod finial that was small/narrow enough to fit the space it's screwed on to was a challenge, but we managed to find something that fit without bashing against the door frame.

Meg,

With a lovely high-end home like yours, I'd strongly suggesting going the shutter route for your doors and/or windows.

You may want to check out www.horizonshutters.com. They are a custom company that has reasonable pricing and absolutely amazing shutters.

They'll build to your specs and even paint or stain custom colors if you can't choose from their pre-selected colors.

Also, I love your fireplace! I own a home remodeling company where I do mostly tile work. One of my fav places to tile are fireplaces. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: All About Window Shutters

Tradionalgirl, I LOVE the roman shades you made! Are you an experienced sewer? Is it hard to do? Your room (or rooms) are very similar to our LR, so it's wonderful to see what my french doors would look like with a similar window treatment.

Kim, I love the curtains on the fancy rod on your french door! Maybe that is what I need on my balcony door! Thank you.

Meg, How about HD Silhouettes or Comfortex Shangra-Li for your French Doors that let a lot of light in but when closed give privacy. You can always put a fancy rod on top and follow what Kim has done that I love. Also the Roman Shades with the Magnetic Rods is a great idea someone else suggested.

Hey, egganddart. Thanks! And no, I can't sew a lick. I had them made. If you have the same kind of door/window situation you ought to consider going this route. I just love the way the room turned out, and those roman shades are one of my favorite things about the room!

Hi,

I'm also looking for a window treatment for my French Doors and love all your ideas and suggestions. But mine are in the kitchen and open out. So I can't have a window treatment that blocks the use of the door. Also, my kitchen is small so the window treatment can't be too overpowering.

I'm planning on looking into those magnetic curtain rods at BB&B because those Roman shades looked great! Just wanted to say thanks for all those wonderful ideas as someone who has been lurking on this forum!

Karen

Great ideas everyone! I have also been lurking and wonder why no one has suggested using horizontal blinds on French doors. When I have emailed Hunter-Douglas and American Blinds, both said the most popular treatment was horizontal blinds. My question to that is, How, exactly, do you deal with the door that has the handle/knob?" The only answer was to have the blinds custom (money!) to allow for a specific cut-out. Is it me or does anyone wonder how this treatment can be so popular? It is, by the way, what I would love to use. I have a set of FDs in the home office. Directly out the doors is the pool. I would love the flexibility of being able to view the outside while also needing sun protection. The doors already have a great film to cut out the glare, but they face southeast, so there's always sun all day.
Shutters sound great but aren't they a bit pricy?

nancita - we had horizontal blinds on our french doors for a time and they worked well for a while, but we have 3 boys who are not known for, how shall we say this - closing the door gently, and the piece that secured them to the door on the bottom kept coming loose and then the blinds would swing every time the door was opened or closed. If you have more delicate door-closers at your house it would work, but I think you would have to replace the door handle with a round knob. I can't imagine the shades having a cut out. It seems it would look strange to me.

I just had french doors installed and didn't want curtains but did want "privacy". I bought those "blinds behind glass" that attach to the glass part of the french doors. No drilling. They have clips that insert around the perimenter of the glass in the french doors. The blinds open and close and also can be raised all out of the way till needed. I love em! Easier to clean the solid pane of glass then each individual pane of glass from the granddaughters finger prints! Bought them at Lowes..but Home Depot has them as well. Each cost approx. 118.00.

traditionalgirl1----could you please tell me what color the curtains and roman shades are, I am wanting to use red in my den and the design and strip chair are really standing out to me or maybe you could post a close up of the material and descripe the colors, please. Thanks

linda, I would say they are a very deep red, but not a burgandy red. The stripe in the chair is burgandy, but the window fabric is definitely reddish red. Now that's as clear as mud, I'm sure.

I'll try to get a close-up picture for you when I can!

Kim2007, how far down does the curtain you have go on the door. Is there anyway you can take another picture showing the bottom of the door with the curtain on it also since your window treatment I love and after seeing it again last night, I had my friend come over and move the sheers on the curtain rod a little lower on the door rather than right up at top. My curtains are too long for the door and if I did not have the 3/4 inch honeycombs on top, I would attach them to the bottom. I now wish I went with the smaller pleat size in white rather than the linen color that is so thick since my friend had to use 4 washers to make the sheers go otu far enough. The clear curtain rod would not work since it did not come out far enough. He feels I should just hem that to touch the floor since the two windows on the sides touch the floor.

The lighting is terrible in this photo, but we just used the wood blinds on our french doors.

Kim2007 and traditionalgirl1 - I do love your door treatments!

Kim and traditionalgal, lovely window treatments.
There's not many treatments fir french doors, but I think Roman shades are a wonderful choice.
Traditionalgal's romans are a fine example of beauty in simplicity. I have them in my den and love them. Romans move up and down effortlessly if you need the privacy.

Wowwee, c-and-j! How fabulous is that surround on your french doors?! Very clever, and gorgeous to boot!

And NHD, your wooden blinds in your bedroom look terrific. I'm also drooling over your bedskirt!

traditionalgirl1, I am going to copy your colors for my den, using the red and green, my recliner is dark blue and I can have it recovered with red and get the sofa in green. I had wanted it in red but it has sold and the guy that had Allendale has sold and the one that bought it is not ordering from that company any more and I have another chair that I can recover in the stripe or plaid. My mind has been spinning since you posted your windows. Thanks for changing my mind to green instead of blue. All the samples fabric I had found that I liked had green so my mind is made up thanks to you. Then I can make my pillows out of cordinating fabric and pull all the colors together.

linda - that sounds great! I really like the red, blue, green, gold combination too. (Obviously!) I haven't forgotten the close-up picture you asked for. I'll try to get one very soon.

OMG my sister had the same issue, except that she had this strange bow window with a French door on the side. Here's what she bought:

This is available at Priority Windows.

Here is a link that might be useful: Custom Valances

We have had plantation shutters on our French doors for about 15 years and still like them very much.

Stay away from Smith and Noble. Stay far, far away.

I ordered 6 shades. I paid Smith and Noble to come measure. When the shades arrived, 5 of the 6 were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch too wide for the windows. I asked to return the shades to get my money back. Turns out their "satisfaction guarantee pledge" means that they won't give you your money back, no matter what.

They insist on coming back to re-measure, but a) I can't take time off from work again for this, and b) why would I want to run the risk of further screw ups and hassle?

Their customer service staff come across as Soviet-style bureaucrats. Evidently, Smith and Noble could care less about disappointing their customers and engendering ill will.

I guess my next steps are to file complaints with the BBB and my state's attorney general, as well as dispute the original charge with my credit card company. I'll probably send the shades back to the company's president for good measure.

Keep in mind that Smith and Noble's "partner sites" (i.e. sister companies) include Ballard Designs, Grandin Road, Garnet Hill, TravelSmith, Frontgate, and others. You can rest assured that I won't be giving any of them my business in the future either.

Stay away. Stay far, far away from believing anything posted by user "yoyodyne". This person registered on October 20, 2008 and proceeded to post the exact same copy-and-paste response about Smith and Noble on no fewer than six different discussion threads. Something's fishy. Sounds like a Smith and Noble competitor to me...