More and more of our homes benefit from large glazed areas, be it beautiful Victorian bay windows, stunning patio doors or modern glazed sections bringing in light and opening our rooms to the outdoors. So how do we dress them without losing the view?

DOES THE GLASS MOVE?

To start with you need to consider the functionality: fixed panels, sliding doors and sash windows have less constraints because they don’t open into a room.

A twin pleated blackout curtain stacks tightly to one side in front of a single wide width voile roller blind for a pared-back timeless look in this minimalist bedroom.

This West London bedroom curtain was designed as a single left stacking curtain so that when open it sits in front of the fixed glazed panel rather than the open & tilt section of the window.

The sliding doors in the adjacent living room are floor to ceiling glass panels occupying most of the wall. Using one roller blind per panel maintains a sleek modern look which blends into the walls when the blinds are up, drawing the eye out to the greenery.

Roller blinds should always be rolled up fully when windows or doors are open to avoid them knocking in the breeze. The movement could unbalance the blind, leading the edges of the fabric to fray and even get caught in the mechanism.

IS THERE SPACE ABOVE THE OPENING?

Where windows or doors open into the room curtains offer flexibility as they can be pulled to the side, unlike a blind that remains in place. This is particularly important where there is little clearance above the opening, if necessary specialist thin profile tracks may be used.

Our client preferred the look of a pole so we recommended a ceiling fit tracked pole to get the look of pole but keeping the functionality of a track.

For wide windows we recommend using a track or a tracked pole as their gliders allow the curtains to pass the full width, unlike poles whose supporting brackets will stop the rings. Wide curtains will be heavy, to prolong your curtain’s life open them using a pulley either side, or a curtain rod, rather than pulling on the fabric itself.

Or you can choose to have several panels which can move freely depending on the light or coverage needed, as shown in this Wimbledon cinema room and bar.

WHAT CURTAIN FABRIC TO USE FOR DOORS?

Voile curtains are a practical way of dressing patio doors. If there is room either side of the door look to extend the track or pole beyond the frame to give curtains a space to stack away from the glass. As for curtain length, avoid pooling for doors on the ground floor where dirt can be an issue.

If you need blackout consider layering a discreet blackout roller blinds with a mid- to heavy-weight voile for a cost effective solution. Our wide range of voiles includes many double width fabrics to keep vertical seams to a minimum.

Single pleat Marianne is used unlined on these garden doors. Texas blackout rollers turn this space into a spare guest room.

When choosing a colour remember being bold or choosing a pattern can work. Smaller patterns can read like a texture when washed across large expanses, and larger patterns will develop fully.

The colours in this pattern are picked up in the soft furnishings of the space, and repeated in the matching roman blind of the dining area.