• Julia Nilstål
Open up to spring! At last it's time to enjoy the sun and warmth again after a long winter. But spring is, after all, at its loveliest outdoors, and with stronger sunshine comes a greater need for stylish and functional solar shading products in your home.
With us, you'll find a large selection of quality sun protection products that suit all homes and needs, but some windows may feel more obvious than others to update with good sun protection. Common sun protections such as roller blinds or free-hanging pleated blinds are often installed in a way that suits traditional windows that open outwards, which is often not the case with, for example, balcony doors.
Most homes today have a balcony or patio door, and when spring arrives these doors are often used much more. However, the need for solar shading remains here too and can be especially important on hot days, when the sun beats down and heats up the room. So here are our best tips on blinds for balcony and patio doors in particular – whatever their design.
Blinds for inward-opening doors
Many balcony doors open inwards, which can be a challenge when it comes to solar shading products – especially during the warmer months of the year when the door is in frequent use. Our clever solution is called Multifix and suits inward-opening windows and doors where blinds mounted on the wall or in the recess can get in the way when the door is opened. Multifix clamps onto the window sash, which means the blind moves with the door when it opens without getting in the way. The product is available in several different fabrics depending on your solar shading needs, and also as a pleated blind – the on-trend blind with pleated fabric that looks really good in the window.
Extra height for glass doors
Perhaps your balcony or patio door opens outwards but is made entirely of glass, which means an extra area to cover. In that case, you can order a roller blind with an extra-long drop, where the fabric can be pulled down further than on standard roller blinds. These roller blinds are available in heights up to 280 cm depending on the model, and in a wide range of fabrics from sheer to blackout. Bear in mind that the maximum height stated is the roller blind's operating height – in other words, the maximum height to which you can pull down the roller blind. Never pull the roller blind down further than the recommended operating height, even if there is fabric left on the tube – the fabric could then come loose from the tube.
Smart solutions for larger window sections
Is your balcony door part of a larger window section? Then it can look great to choose a blind that covers the whole section for a more cohesive feel. Vertical blinds are both a stylish and a smart choice for window sections like these. This type of blind filters the sun's strong rays without blocking the light transmission, and it also takes up minimal space when open. The vertical blind gives you flexible shading in large window sections where the sun beats down, and it counteracts an uncomfortable indoor climate caused by heat.
Flexibility with curtain panels
Another option is to go for made-to-measure curtains across the entire window section. Wide, floor-to-ceiling curtains are a really stylish part of the decor, and here too you can choose from several different fabrics depending on how opaque you want the curtains to be. Curtains can look just as good when open as when drawn, but if you want to avoid constantly drawing them aside, a tip is to place the seam between two curtain panels right next to the door. When the curtains are hanging, it gives the impression of one continuous "curtain wall" but at the same time, it's easy to slip out in between without drawing the curtains – smart!
Safe blinds for children full of spring energy
What could be better than when the little ones can finally run in and out through the patio door and enjoy the warm weather? At this time of year, safety also becomes extra important, as many blinds have hanging beaded chains that can pose a risk to young children if they hang freely. All our blinds with a cord or beaded chain are therefore supplied with safety devices that keep the cord/beaded chain out of children's reach. Make sure you mount the safety device at a sufficient height in accordance with the instructions supplied. When ordering a made-to-measure blind, you also state the installation height of the blind – we then make the beaded chain at a child-safe distance so that it ends up 150 cm above the floor.
You might also like:
Prepare your windows for summer
Guide: Large window sections
Guide: Sun Protection Products for Different Windows