The doors and windows around your entryway can bring beautiful natural light into your home, but they can also create challenges with privacy, glare and light control. The right window treatments for entry doors and sidelights can help you find the balance, creating a welcoming entrance without leaving the interior of your home exposed. From narrow sidelights and glass front doors to French doors and specialty-shaped windows, let’s explore some of our favorite ways to add privacy, manage natural light and find window coverings that work beautifully at the entrance of your home.
For even more options throughout your home, explore our window treatment solutions for patio, French and sliding glass doors.
Balance Privacy + Natural Light
The ideal combination offers comfortable–or adjustable–privacy while still welcoming glowing natural light. When it comes to windows around an entryway, the top-down feature is a strong favorite because you have access to both.
By lowering the shade from the top, you can welcome daylight into your home while keeping the lower portion of the window covered. It’s a useful option for front-facing windows where privacy from neighbors and passersby is just as important as natural light.
Window Treatments for Sidelights
Sidelights can make a front entrance feel bright and open, but their location beside the door can also give visitors and passersby a direct view into your home. The narrow dimensions make it important to choose a window covering that fits the available space while providing the privacy you need.
Window shades are a favorite for sidelights because of their low-profile design and range of light-filtering fabrics. Depending on the window and collection, adjustable privacy features can allow natural light to enter while limiting the view inside. Shutters can also be customized for entryway windows, offering another way to coordinate the sidelights with the style of the surrounding space.
Light Filtering to Light Blocking
When you have an entry that faces the sunshine, you might need constant control, ranging from light filtering to light blocking. Sheer shades are a great option due to the range of lighting control they allow.
Silhouette® Window Shadings can help cut the glare, adjusting from view-through sheer fabrics to vanes that close for increased privacy. This flexibility can be especially helpful at an entrance, where your needs for natural light and privacy can change throughout the day.
Specialty Windows Around the Entryway
A popular architectural feature at the front of the home, uniquely shaped windows can be tricky to cover. Entryways and foyers can feature tall, angled, arched or hard-to-reach windows, making the shape, placement and operation of the window treatment important considerations.
Honeycomb shades offer an impressive range of solutions, including options for energy efficiency, room darkening and motorization. They’re also one of our favorite choices for covering windows with unique shapes, helping you maintain a coordinated look throughout the entryway.
Window Shades for Narrow Door Frames
An option exclusive to the Duette® Honeycomb Shades collection, TrackGlide® offers an innovative solution for narrow doors and French doors. The system keeps the shade secured against the glass while allowing it to move with the door, making it especially useful where traditional window treatment hardware can be challenging.
Consider Door Handles, Levers & Locks
An important consideration as you decide which style and function suit you best is how the window covering will interact with the door itself. Handles, levers and locks must remain capable of operating as intended, and their placement can affect which window covering products work best.
The good news is that many collections include low-profile options designed to work in challenging spaces. Plantation shutters can also be customized beautifully around door hardware.
Find the Right Window Treatments for Your Entryway
Your entryway should feel welcoming while providing the light control and privacy you need every day. Whether you’re covering narrow sidelights, glass French doors or specialty windows surrounding the entrance, the right solution depends on the shape and size of the glass, your privacy needs and how the doors need to function.
For a closer look at options for doors throughout the home, explore our patio, French and sliding glass door window treatment solutions. Our window covering designers at Skyline Window Coverings can help you find the right fit for your home. Schedule a complimentary design consultation to get started.
