Drapes for sliders have been a genuine pain for me. For one, it would be best to have a single wide panel. These are not readily available in good variety. So I have a pair of panels that both draw to the left. They are pinch pleats hung on a traverse rod with rings, and the stack back is 42"!!!. Do you have that much wall space on the stationary side of your slider? If not, you will be blocking the light even when the drapes are open. If you don't get the blinds will you be forced into a decorating decision due to the need for privacy or a dislike of black glass at night? I'd rather not be forced into choosing fabric before I'm ready. I'd get the blinds. Also, I like to layer windows, but it's hard to layer a sliding glass door. With the built-in blinds you have a built-in first layer. You didn't ask, but if I had a choice between french doors and a sliding doors I'd take the french door in a heartbeat. A center opening is so much easier to work with, and you can attach sheers or blinds directly to the doors, which really opens up the options.

Oh, I am so sorry! I forgot that I posted this! We had a couple of long distance phone calls on Saturday and one on Sunday and all of them, plus weekend errands, took my mind away from this forum! Thank you for your replies. What I'm reading is that you like your blinds and would get them again. The question of malfunctioning and length of usable life is something to ask about. Justgotabme - I understand your kitty issue. Our male is the one who "must" have access; the female just tags along. But he will paw our den shades until they are twisted back, make peek-through marks with his black fur on the drapes if they're not open, and rattle the up-down bar on the shutters to try to see outside. Not that I decorate around the cats - but I do, sort of. Makes life so much easier. Brutuses - Thanks for posting your pictures. The doors are very handsome. I'd already admired your beautiful fireplace and didn't notice the blinds in the doors. Oddly enough I have decided that our MBR will either have warm cream or very soft green walls (we have a lot of off-white woodwork and some o.w. furniture). Would you mind telling me which paint colors you used? Do you plan to have any fabric treatments on the doors? And we'll go to HP and check their stock. Our GC is suggesting either Pella or Anderson, IIRC. Michelle - I'll check the websites. However, we do have to replace our windows, so I'm not sure that adding the blinds on would work. Believe it or not, I hadn't thought about the cleaning factor. That's actually a must; what a relief to never clean blinds again. And I would pay extra if need be, to be able to raise and lower the blinds. Our view is all greenery and good bird activity - it would be a shame to have that obstructed. Any other suggestions, opinions? TIA once again - Sable

We moved into our new house three years ago. After much research on windows, we went with Marvin Integrity for the whole house [LOTS of 6ft. double windows with transoms, six sets of Atrium (double) doors, full glass.] When the estimate came in, about $4k over budget, we decided to change the atrium doors to Therma Tru and we couldn't be happier with them. There are no drafts, they are holding up great! I would definitely go with Therma Tru to trim your cost. We love our Marvin windows too, make sure they are installed correctly ~ I think proper installation is the most important thing on them.

I dislike curtains on sliders so I did a cornice with a roller solar shade. You could do the same on the window also .