Which curtains work best for sliding doors, French doors and bifold doors?

A door is used far more than a window, so curtains over one work harder. They are opened and closed often, they brush past handles and furniture, and they have to leave the doorway clear when open. A few details decide whether the curtain works well.

Track length and stack

When a curtain is open, all its fabric gathers into a stack at the end of the track. If the track is only as wide as the door, that stack sits over the opening and blocks the way. Run the track past the door, so the stack sits on the wall beside it. How much wall is needed depends on the fabric, the heading and the fullness, so there is no single figure.

Which way to stack

A one way stack puts the whole curtain on one side. It suits a sliding door where you want the doorway clear, or where one side has no wall. A centre opening pair splits the fabric into two smaller stacks, which suits a wide set of doors with wall on both sides.

Floor, handles and doors

• Floor clearance. Sliding doors run on a bottom track just above the floor, and fabric that touches or pools there can catch and wear. Agree the clearance with your retailer.
• Handles. Check that the curtain clears door handles and any lock.
• Bifold doors. The doors fold and stack to one side or both when open. The curtain has to stack where it does not get in the way of the folded doors.
• French doors that swing in need room for the door to open, so the track and the curtain have to clear the swing.
• Hands. A wand, a cord or a motor keeps hands off the fabric. Cords carry safety rules in Australia.

A ceiling fixed track lets the curtain run from the ceiling to the floor, which suits a tall door and limits light escaping over the top. Heavy or very wide curtains put more load on the track, so the fixing matters.

Your curtain retailer will look at the door, the wall and the way you use it, then measure, quote and order. Speedy Blinds makes curtains and tracks for retailers.