We have five sliders and five french doors (Pella)...and a lot of window washing! The french doors are all single doors and twp of the sliders are doubles (i.e., four panes of glass each). We live in the Sacramento area and enjoy bringing the outdoors in. The screen doors on the sliders are spring-loaded so they close behind you automatically, a very handy feature. Space wasn't a concern for us and we easily could have accommodated french doors throughout but for us the focus wasn't on the doors but rather on the view and the sliders are very unobtrusive in that respect. And although our home is an old-world Tuscan design, the sliders work just fine aesthetically. On the subject of window washing, we discovered the Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Washing system makes washing all those windows a breeze. It's a device that attaches to the hose and dispenses either soap or clear water. But it also dispenses de-ionized water for use in the final rinse so that windows can self-dry without spotting...a big time saver. No squeegeeing, no wiping and the windows are spotless! We wash the windows with a sponge mop, rinse with water and DI water and we're done. If you have divided light windows, it wouldn't be of much help but for large panes of glass, it's invaluable. Bob

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.

First-- you can buy extra hook carriers so you are not limited to the number that come with the rods, though you probably won't need them. Second--For full drapes you will need 3x the width of the window or the width you want the finished drapes to be if you make them wider than the window. If you make five finger pleats you may need more. You will need the length you want the finished drapes to be plus an extra header width and a good sized hem. If they are full length drapes I usually put a 4 or 5 inch hem, but it depends on your material. Don't go too small or they look cheap. To make pinch pleats. You need header tape. Remove the selvedge edges from the sides. Put the header tape on the top end 1 1/2 inch in from the edge--stop 1 1/2 inch from the other edge and cut the tape. Fold the material down over the tape 1/2 inch and sew. Make a 1 inch hem on the sides. Now fold the tape down so the tape is enclosed in the material and pin. Now comes the measuring. I prefer a 3 finger pleat. If I want extra fullness I make the pleats closer together. You need 1 inch for each finger--a 3 finger pleat requires 3 inches. Measure 1 1/2 inches from the edge and make a mark. You can use chalk, sewing pencil or even a soft lead pencil. You don't need a big mark , just something you can see to mark where the pleat pocket is. For a 3 finger pleat with 2 inches between pleats---Measure the curtain across the top. Take off 6 inches--for ends and pleat at the end. Divide the remainder by 5 and see how it works out. You may have to increase or decrease the end measurement or make it 2 1/2 inches between pleats.now measure 3 inches and make a mark. Now mark the distance between the pleats 2, then 3 for pleat repeat across the top. Sew your pleat loops from top to bottom of thr tape so you have one big pleat. Now pleat the loop and finger press into 3-- 1/2 inch pleats and stitch across the bottom of the pleats at the bottom of the tape. If you want to make it easier then buy pleater tape that has strings you pull to pleat them. This makes very nice pleats all across the drape. The tighter you pull the strings the fuller the pleats. You sew it on flat and then pull the strings and tie them off. I suggest you get hooks that go the full length of the tape in both cases. Little hooks tend to make the tape fall forward on top and if you put them higher the rod shows. I also suggest that you look at rods that have wooden rings on top and clip on to the drapes. They are as easy as a shower curtain to open and close. The link below is very good and it will give you a lot of info about making drapes Here is a link that might be useful: tutorial on drapes

I have Pella patio doors with blinds between the glass in both my dining room and in my master bedroom. Love them. Both of those doors face south and get loads of sun. I hated the vertical blinds I had on the previous doors. Prior to getting the new door I had removed the vertical blinds from the dining room and just hung grommet top panels. I didn't like having to slide those panels across every sunny day and every night. It's so much easier to raise/lower and or tilt the blinds of the between the glass blinds for light control. And the blinds are never in your way when going through the patio doors. I did leave the curtain panels on each side of the dining room door for decoration. I have had the between the glass blinds for almost 4 years and they have been problem free.