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Mix roller blinds with cellular shades.... or not?

last year

In my den I have two windows along one wall that look out onto my neighbor's yard:




That wall meets the end of the house, which has two windows that frame an 8' high sliding door.




I want to get top down / bottom up cellular blinds for the first windows that look onto the neighbor's yard so we can have both light and privacy.


The sliding door needs a roller blind as I can't find a cellular blind tall enough.


The question is what to do with the windows that frame the door -- should I get roller blinds to match the door that the windows frame, or cellular blinds to match the windows that look onto the neighbor's yard?


Thanks in advance!

Comments (11)

  • PRO
    last year

    So I am always confused about privacy it is IMO mostly in your head but in this case why not do something on the outside like some kind of outdoor drapes to give privacy when you are on the deck instead of fighting with window covering on the inside . Patio doors always are hard to cover thet have to move and unless you use something like drapes always bit awkward . Do you want privacy inside ? Hoestly I cannot imagine the neighbors being able to see inside unless they climb over the fence I use solar shades for daytime privacy they allow the view and control heat and UV but not mightime privacy . So maybe some solar shades roller type for the side windows and some panels the same solar but slide on the patio door to allow access. Then the same shades on the other window mixed with some drapes for night time privacy if you need it

  • last year

    I'm not sure how easy a roller blind or shade would work on a slider. Wouldn't it be inconvenient? Like have to raise and lower it a lot for egress? We use drapes that pull to the side. Yours could extend to include the side windows. They look too narrow for roller blinds.

    Drapes go with blinds and shades. but no to both roller and cellular together.


  • last year

    Roller blinds on the patio doors are not going to be practical since you'll be bending to ankle height to raise and lower them. You can get custom cellular shades to fit patio doors with an outside mount. Consult a good local blind store, not a big box store.


    You can also consider a classic combination of sheer curtains and opaque curtains on double rods. Alternatively, the sheers can go on interior tension rods while the curtains get an outside mounted rod.

  • last year

    @Patricia Colwell Consulting we're 40 feet away from three houses who can see directly into our house through the back, and 8 feet away from another who can see directly into our house from their deck (first photo is view out the side of our house to their deck). Nighttime privacy is the main thing - back windows onto our deck will be open during the day, side windows will have top down bottom ups halfway open for daylight and privacy from our next door neighbors.


    @chispa Hunter Douglas Vertiglide is nice, thanks. Roller blind on the sliding door isn't a big deal - we'll raise it in the morning and lower it at night. Maybe motorized.


    @apple_pie_order Can't do drapes on either wall -- the two windows are each 5" from a wall on one side, and the windows that frame the door have trim that's basically flush against a shelf.


    @tracefloyd "Drapes go with blinds and shades. but no to both roller and cellular together." -- so are you suggesting cellulars on two windows on the one wall, and rollers on the door and the windows that frame it? THey're 24" wide, just fine for rollers.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I understand that your primary concern seems to be privacy, and secondarily, aesthetics meaning that you want your window coverings to complement/match.

    If privacy is THAT big a concern, (and I can see why!), have you explored simple landscaping solutions along your property lines? In SoCal, people often use "Hollywood-style hedges" or fast growing tall trees strategically placed.

    Will that solve 90% of your privacy concerns?

    Have you explored window film?

    Because if you are concerned about neighbors being able to see inside your home at all times, then you need to actually block the view inside, or else when would you ever even have your blinds in the UP position to let in the light? If they're going to be closed at all times, then I would have them matching each other, and/OR I would do a wholly different kind of window covering, like plantation shutters, which have some nice solutions for patio sliding doors, like this:



    Finally, I'm not sure why you seem to not be able to find a cellular blind long enough for your doors. In our previous home, our doors were taller than yours seem to be and finding blinds long enough was not an issue. I think you could keep looking. Do you have a blind and window covering specialty store near you? They may have solutions you haven't considered as well.

  • PRO
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Find a Hunter Douglas dealer in your area. Ask for an in home visit. Let them recommend and measure.

    There are SOOOOO many options, and you can't buy H.D online. You must go through a local dealer.

    Will it be cheaper than some online stuff? No. But it may lead to a far more unified look in your home.PROBABLY all the windows in cell shades. With a remote or at least cordless.

  • last year

    Thanks for replying. I misspoke. No rollers or shades on a slider. You have to raise and lower it to go in and out. I meant drapes across the whole thing.....slider and side windows.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    If you want to balance natural light and privacy, I recommend choosing day and night blinds. Cellular shades offer day-night options, and roller blinds, zebra blinds, or Shangri-La blinds can be combined in pairs to create a day-night setup.

    Typically, one layer is translucent or light-filtering, while the other is completely blackout. This allows you to switch between different lighting and privacy levels at any time, depending on your needs.



  • 11 months ago

    I have Hunter Douglas Vertiglide on my slider and absolutely love it. If you go with that, then you can add cellular shades to the windows that flank your slider, and it should all coordinate well.

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    I don't understand a need to cover either the door or the adjacent windows. Any blind for the door would simply get in the way. The neighbor's house is far away and even if it weren't, its occupants are just not interested in what you're doing.

    "The spotlight effect is the psychological phenomenon by which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are. Being that one is constantly in the center of one's own world, an accurate evaluation of how much one is noticed by others is uncommon. The reason for the spotlight effect is the innate tendency to forget that although one is the center of one's own world, one is not the center of everyone else's." -- wikipedia