Simple But Important Tips for Choosing the Best Patio Doors

The patio doors you choose for your home are very important, as they need to be stylish yet still functional, making way for lots of foot traffic when you're entertaining guests. To ensure you choose the best patio doors for your home, note a few important tips to keep in mind before you start shopping.

Swinging versus sliding

A wall of glass doors that you can slide out of the way will mean the most light and air circulation into the home when those doors are opened, but consider if you will want window treatments over those doors to block sunlight during the day or to close off the view into the home at night. A full wall of sliding doors can be difficult to cover with wide curtains or with sliding vertical blinds. If you know you will want some privacy from the patio doors, consider French doors, with roller shades or blinds attached to the inside of the door itself. You can even add sheer curtain panels to the doorframe, and these will obscure some light and offer some privacy during the day but not completely block the view to the outside.

Material

Aluminium is very lightweight, so it's good for a wall of sliding doors, as they then won't become overly heavy and cumbersome when you slide all of them out of the way. Vinyl is also lightweight and may offer more insulating properties than aluminium, so it's a good choice for areas with extremes in temperature, as this will mean losing less heating and cooling from inside the home.

One drawback to both materials, however, is that they may not be very attractive and may not coordinate with wood window frames, wood furniture inside the home, and other such pieces. Wood French doors are often considered the most attractive of all patio door styles, and this material can be easily painted or stained when you want to change the colour of the doors.

Grid style and grilles

Grid style refers to having blocks of glass that make up the door itself, rather than one large pane of glass. Grilles are small pieces of wood that are added to one pane of glass to make it appear as if the glass is several smaller blocks or pieces, and this creates your grid style. Consider a unique grid style, rather than simple rectangles, such as diamond shapes, or long horizontal pieces at the top of the doors to add width and visual interest.