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What blinds are best for bifold doors? For most types of bifold doors you’ll have a few options, with perfect fit blinds being more or less universally suitable for all types of bifolds, and vertical blinds, roller blinds, and Venetian blinds being viable options for most.
This blog post will start with a quick primer on what bifold doors are, and then explain what blinds are best for bifold doors of different types, and on the flipside, which blinds for bifold doors might not be such a good choice and why.
Contents
- 1. What are bifold doors?
- 2. Why are bifold doors popular?
- 3. What are the benefits of bifold door blinds?
- 4. Narrowing down your choices of the best blinds for bifold doors
- 5. Can you get blackout blinds for bifold doors?
- 6. Overall, what blinds are best for bifold doors?
- 7. Which blinds for bifold doors can I also consider if my doors open outwards?
- 8. Which blinds for bifold doors aren’t such a good choice?
- 9. Can you tell me what blinds are best for bifold doors in a specific setting?
1. What are bifold doors?
Bifold doors (sometimes called folding doors) are a type of door constructed as a series of individual hinged panels, which concertina together into a stack when you open them. You can get both internal bifold doors (bifold doors that divide two separate sections of the inside of your home), and external bifold doors (bifold doors that open onto an outdoor space).
Generally in the UK where the average working family doesn’t have the type of hugenormous houses that require each resident to wear a GPS tracker to keep track of them, bifold doors are used as a partition between the inside of the home and the patio or garden rather than as an interior room divider in a huge space.
There are a few exceptions to this, as interior bifold doors may be used between say, a living room and dining room to give you the option of opening up your space into one big room or partitioning it off into two separate ones. Interior bifold doors are usually (but not always) solid, rather than glazed; which means that they’re of limited relevance to us as a blinds retailer!
For this reason, this guide to bifold door blinds will talk largely about what blinds are best for bifold doors that open onto the great outdoors rather than onto another internal room.
2. Why are bifold doors popular?
Bifold doors opening onto outside enable you to enjoy the widest possible view of outdoors, and to maximise the light you get back; as well as allowing you to combine indoor and outdoor living during the warmer months of the year too.
Bifold doors have a small footprint when closed, folding into a stack against the wall and so, saving space where this may be at a premium.
Bifold doors have become ever-more popular in new builds in recent years, reflecting the changing nature of how we live and interact with each other and our living spaces.
Also, fun fact, while I did say earlier on that this guide would mainly talk about what blinds are best for bifold doors that open onto outdoors, it is also worth mentioning that demand for retrofitted internal bifold doors spiked dramatically during 2021.
This is as a direct result of the huge increase in the number of people who began working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for whom this later became a long-term choice.
How come? Well, bifold doors can allow you to create a separate home office or workspace in a larger room, without the need to permanently surrender that section of the room to your desk, and the cost of installing bifold doors is a drop in the ocean (and offers far more flexibility overall) compared to undertaking a more permanent brick and mortar modification to partition a room.
In fact, bifold doors are actually a pretty solid investment overall, as they’re very energy efficient and a great way to increase the resale value of your property.
3. What are the benefits of bifold door blinds?
Before we look at what blinds are best for bifold doors and why, let’s just briefly cover the benefits of bifold door blinds overall:
- To block unwanted or overly bright sunlight, which in turn helps to reduce overheating in rooms that get very hot.
- Depending on what type of bifold door blinds you choose, they can also be used to filter rather than block the light.
- They’re thermally efficient, helping to insulate the room and cut your heating spend.
- They ensure your privacy and allow you to control the view, and what people outside can see of inside in their turn.
4. Narrowing down your choices of the best blinds for bifold doors
As well as the way your bifold door blinds looks and the light and privacy-filtering functions they fulfil, it is worth noting that the best blinds for bifold doors may depend on the type of bifold doors you have, and this needs to be factored in before you start picking colours and styles.
4.1 Separate blinds on each bifold door panel, or a larger bifold door blind hung over the whole array?
Bifold doors are constructed of a number of individual folding panels, and the first decision you need to make is whether you want each panel to have its own blind, or if you want one (or possibly, two or more) larger blinds hung over the recess of your bifold doors, covering the whole array.
This latter option is almost certainly going to be less costly, but will give you a smaller range of options for how you control the light and enjoy the view because you can only adjust the whole array as opposed to the individual blinds on each panel for the alternative of in-panel bifold door blinds.
However, depending on how your bifold doors open, the decision might be largely out of your hands; because some bifold doors open inwards (and stack on the interior wall of the home) and others open outwards, stacking on your external wall; and which way your doors go might narrow rule out some bifold door blind options for functional reasons.
4.2 Which blinds for bifold doors that open outwards?
Generally, bifold doors open outwards, which helps to ensure that the door stack doesn’t cut into your internal living space.
This outward-opening bifold door arrangement gives you a greater range of choices for bifold door blinds than is the case for inwards opening bifold doors, because you can hang your bifold door blinds either outside of (above) the door recess, or inside of it (if it is deep enough) without having to worry about the doors opening onto them.
4.3 Which blinds for bifold doors that open inwards?
Inward opening bifold doors are far less common, and more limiting; largely in that you’re pretty much committed to needing to choose individual blinds on each separate panel of the doors, as a blind (or blinds) hung above the recess would clash with the opened stack of doors.
Additionally, which blinds are best for bifold doors that open inwards is further narrowed down to those that have a very narrow side profile and that are secured within the frames of each window panel, as bulkier blinds will prevent the stack of doors concertinaing together neatly when opened.
Also, some types of blinds will swing about and clatter together when you open and close the doors, which is both likely to prove an annoyance, and to speed up potential damage to your blinds over time due to the added wear and tear this results in.
This pretty much means in most cases that perfect fit pleated blinds will be the only option for inward opening bifold doors, in terms of blinds that don’t cause problems in one way or another!
4.4 What blinds are best for bifold doors that are really wide?
Bifold door arrays can be quite wide; and if yours is one of them, your options for blinds might be narrowed down even further if you’re planning on choosing just one or maybe two or more large blinds hung in the recess rather than separate blinds for each door panel.
This is because certain types of blinds top out in terms of the width they can be made in, before they become either physically impossible to actually fabricate and vitally, ship, or so heavy as to risk compromising the structural integrity of the wall they’re hung on and being almost impossible to operate by anyone with less upper body strength than The Hulk.
Most types of blinds can be manufactured in a maximum width of around three metres; which means that if your bifold doors are wider than this, your options will consist of either using two or more blinds hung over the doors above the recess, or choosing perfect fit bifold door blinds fitted in each panel instead.
There are some exceptions to this though, such as vertical blinds, which can be made in more or less any width without causing problems.
5. Can you get blackout blinds for bifold doors?
Yes, any type of blinds that are suitable for bifold doors can be made as blackout blinds, so whatever style of bifold door blinds you prefer (or have narrowed your choices down to depending on the potential limitations to factor in) these can be produced as blackout bifold door blinds too.
6. Overall, what blinds are best for bifold doors?
Perfect fit blinds are possibly the best blinds for bifold doors overall. Perfect fit blinds, particularly perfect fit pleated blinds (or cellular blinds) can be made for bifold doors that open either inwards or outwards, and as mentioned, are a universal option for bifold doors of any type.
If your bifold doors are inward opening (which is only a small percentage of all bifold doors in the UK) then perfect fit bifold door blinds will generally be the only option that won’t cause problems in some respect.
6.1 Why choose perfect fit blinds for bifold doors?
- Their narrow side profile enables them to be fitted directly to each door without preventing the doors from opening and closing.
- Perfect fit blinds are aluminium framed, and this frame can be produced in a range of colours to match all of the most popular bifold door designs exactly, creating a seamless, premium finish.
- They’re extremely easy to fit with no need to drill holes; simply slide the mounting brackets of your perfect fit blinds under the edges of the rubber seal around the door glass, clicking the blind into position.
- Perfect fit blinds are tensioned and handle-operated, negating the need for cords, pullies, or control chains. This also means that perfect fit blinds cannot be beaten in terms of child safety.
- Perfect fit blinds are extremely thermally efficient, which can make a significant difference to your heating bills (and summer comfort alike) when fitted to large expanses of glass such as that of bifold door panels.
6.2 Can you have perfect fit blinds for bifold doors of all types?
I’ve talked a lot about “perfect fit” bifold door blinds in terms of them possibly being the only or only sensible option for inward opening bifold doors. But can you have perfect fit blinds for bifold doors of all types, including those that open outwards, or are there some types of bifold doors that they’re not right for?
Perfect fit blinds can fairly be considered to be universal in terms of their suitability for bifold doors; they are made and fitted to each individual door panel, have a very narrow profile, and don’t move or swing about when the doors are being operated.
Perfect fit blinds for bifold doors are a safe option for bifold doors of all types, both those opening inwards and those opening outwards; and also, for internal bifold doors that are used as room dividers rather than as access to outside, should these be glazed.
7. Which blinds for bifold doors can I also consider if my doors open outwards?
If you’re not a fan of perfect fit blinds for bifold doors, you do have a few other options as long as you have outward opening bifold doors and so, the option to hang one (or more) larger blinds over the entire door array rather than in each individual panel.
7.1 Can you use vertical blinds on bifold doors?
Yes, for outward opening bifold doors, vertical blinds are a particularly good choice; especially if your bifold door array is particularly wide.
Why choose vertical blinds for bifold doors?
- A great choice of blinds for wide bifold doors, as vertical blinds are never prohibitively heavy or unwieldy thanks to their lightweight louvres and easy to operate controls.
- Vertical blinds for bifold doors can open and stack to either the left or right, depending on your preferences.
- For very wide bifold doors, two vertical blinds of three metres each can be abutted to cover the space, splitting in the middle like curtains.
- Vertical blinds offer a very fine degree of control over both light filtering and privacy.
- You can also select waterproof vertical blinds for bifold doors in kitchens.
- Vertical blinds for bifold doors can be made with a blackout finish too, and can be fabricated in thermal fabrics for greater energy efficiency to cut your winter heating bills!
7.2 Can you use roller blinds on bifold doors?
Yes, roller blinds are suitable for outward opening bifold doors too, and roller blinds are generally the most economical type of blind to buy. This may be an important factor given the size and so, potential expense of buying blinds for bifold doors.
Roller blinds also provide the greatest variety in terms of colour and design options. Roller blinds can be made in widths of up to three metres, but you can potentially cover bifold doors of a greater width than this by getting a little creative about it!
Why choose roller blinds for bifold doors?
- When rolled up, roller blinds take up very little space above your bifold doors, maximising your available view.
- You can request blackout roller blinds for bifold doors by simply selecting the blackout fabric of your choice.
- Thermally insulating roller blinds for bifold doors can help to reduce your heating spend and make your home more energy efficient.
- As is the case for most blinds, roller blinds can only really be made to a maximum width of three metres; but you can abut two roller blinds to cover a wider bifold door array quite neatly as long as you request that each blind’s controls is placed on the outside of the blind respectively rather than on the side that will adjoin the other blind!
- You can even use three or more roller blinds on very wide bifold doors, if the controls line up with the mullions of the door panels for the sake of neatness.
7.3 Can you use Venetian blinds on bifold doors?
Possibly. Aluminium Venetian blinds (which is the type we mean when we say just “Venetian blinds” without mentioning what they’re made of) are suitable for bifold doors that open outwards, with some caveats.
Venetian blinds for bifold doors have a few more variables to consider than the other bifold door blind options we’ve mentioned to far, the main one being how the blind’s slats stack up above your doors when the blind is open.
Doors are, by nature, tall – which means they need a long blind, and the length of the blind in turn dictates the depth of the closed stack of blind slats for Venetian blinds. This is an issue that you don’t really face with roller blinds or vertical blinds, or at all with perfect fit blinds for bifold doors. A deep stack of Venetian blind slats then can potentially occlude part of your view and also, natural light, as well as looking a bit odd in terms of the aesthetics.
If your window recess has plenty of space above it, the depth of the stack when open won’t be an issue, as the entirety of it will sit above the glass of your bifold doors. However, most sets of bifold doors have a fairly small gap between the top of the recess and the ceiling of the room, in order to enable the maximum amount of window space to be utilised within the doors themselves.
As is the case with the other types of suitable blinds for bifold doors (with the exception of perfect fit blinds fitted to each individual door panel), Venetian blinds for bifold doors top out at around three metres in width before they become overly heavy to operate, but also, they don’t tend to look great when you abut two or more of them together.
8. Which blinds for bifold doors aren’t such a good choice?
Aluminium Venetian blinds for bifold doors may be an option as outlined above, but they do fall firmly on the fence in this respect and aren’t suitable for all types of bifold doors as a result. With that in mind, are there any types of blinds that aren’t suitable for bifold doors at all? Yes…
8.1 Can you use wood or faux-wood blinds on bifold doors?
Probably not. Aluminium venetian blinds are the type of Venetians with the narrowest slats and so, that create the smallest stack of slats when the blind is open; and they’re the lightest of the various Venetian blind types too, which is why aluminium Venetian blinds are suitable for some types of bifold doors.
However, both faux-wood and real wood Venetian blinds are not a good match for bifold doors in most cases, due to a combination of factors. These include the width of their slats and the weight of the blind first and foremost.
Both faux-wood and real wood Venetian blinds are pretty heavy, meaning they’re limited in terms of functional width, and open into a deep stack, meaning they can take up a lot of space at the top of the doors too.
Given that bifold door arrays are wider than your average window and that most types have a limited amount of space between the top of the recess and the ceiling, wood and faux-wood blinds won’t generally be suitable for bifold doors. Also, like aluminium Venetian blinds, they tend to look a bit weird hung in pairs or multiples side by side on bifold doors.
8.2 Can you use Roman blinds on bifold doors?
Again, probably not. Roman blinds can be weighty due to the premium (and so generally, thick and heavy) fabrics they are made from. Also, when the blind is open, the fabric forms into pleats at the top that will partially obscure the glass of bifold doors unless the space between the top of their recess and the ceiling is significant.
9. Can you tell me what blinds are best for bifold doors in a specific setting?
If you’re looking for blinds for bifold doors that are a bit more unusual, such as perhaps bifold doors that divide up an internal space rather than doors to outside, this may come with its own challenges.
If you want to sound me out or get advice on what blinds are best for bifold doors in a certain setting or with specific challenges, feel free to email me and I will do my best to help.
