French Door Curtains: Top Styling Tips to Enhance Function & Flair

Whether framing a garden in bloom or lending gracefully to the next room, French doors hold a quiet magic. Their grid of glass set in an elegant frame catches the light like a faceted jewel, transforming even the most ordinary view into something dreamy. Their opening feels like an arms-outstretched welcome, and their closing whispers linger, look through. The curtains here must echo that same enchantment, completing architecture’s poetry with fabric’s art. But looking pretty is not enough—they must also dim the glow and cocoon with warmth. This blog will serve as a guide to choosing and styling French door custom curtains that add those finishing touches to an already magnificent scene, while veiling the room from what lies beyond. So, on to the top styling tips from our drapery experts:

Choose the Most Apt Mounting

When it comes to deciding how to mount French door curtains, options abound: inside the doorway, above the door trim, or on the doors themselves. Each position offers its own allure and has related limitations that must be carefully considered. Let’s take a closer look at the alternatives.

Inside-mounting, or mounting the curtains within the opening of the doorway, assumes that the doors swing outward. The curtains sit flush within the doorway’s recess, stay neatly tucked away in high-traffic zones, and offer a sleek fit for space-constrained rooms. However, the curtains will partially block the doorway even when drawn open, so secure them to the sides with hold-backs, preventing them from hindering passage and light inflow.

Outside-mounting, that is, mounting the curtains on the wall above the doorway, stretches not just the scale, but also the possibilities. However, to reap the benefits to the full, you must mount the hardware about 6-12 inches above the doorway and extend it by that much beyond the left and right sides of the door trim, too. Or, better still, let the curtains sweep from floor to ceiling and/or stretch from wall to wall. This generous coverage ensures maximum insulation for bedrooms and media rooms where light leaks must be curbed. In addition, the curtains can be stacked clear off the doorway, letting you make the most of the light, air, and the view, plus, they don’t hinder passage. And, you can savor the charm of your French doors, framed by the delicate undulation of drapery, rather than hidden behind it.

Door-mounting is the classic way of dressing French doors with curtains - practical in essence, and steeped in nostalgia. So, if you’re aiming to perfect your Parisian aesthetic, there’s no looking beyond rideaux de porte française avec passe-tringle! Held taut between two sash rods affixed to the door’s frame, delicate double-pocket rod pocket panels ruche with grace, softening the glass without concealing its charm, like the bride’s veil that flatters rather than hides. Offering both space efficiency and laidback charm, these curtains are perfect for cottage kitchens, sunroom patios, and petite dining nooks where floor-sweeping drapes might prove too dressy and impractical. Stick to lightweight or sheer fabrics so that the curtains don’t add too much weight to the doors, and reduce their ease of operation.

Style the Reverse Side, Not Just the Front

For interior French doors, the curtains have to be dressed up from both angles, as they contribute to the decor of both rooms. Here, design insight must extend to the rear side of the drapery, and, in that regard, these points are worth pondering:

FABRIC: Even if not exactly the same as the front, the fabric must look presentable on the rear side. So, think again before choosing velvets, one-sided printed fabrics, and embroidered fabrics. Instead, look for fabrics that look presentable on both sides, whether plain or printed. 

LINING: While we recommend lining for its many functional benefits, internal French doors are the rare exception. Their reverse side is always on show, and a visible lining may be less than ideal for the room’s aesthetic. However, if you’d like to add a lining, coordinate its color with the decor. Our standard options come in versatile neutral tones that effortlessly blend with any palette, but we can customize the colors for a more curated design—just let us know in advance.

HEADING STYLE: The design of the top header of a curtain panel is referred to as heading style. Some styles, like pinch pleats, look elegant from the front, but are less appealing on the back. Avoid these for internal doors, and look for headers that look (almost) equally good from front and back, such as rod pockets, flat panel tops, grommet tops, tab tops, and back tab tops. 

Choose the Right Fabric & Lining

French doors are meant for drawing light in while maintaining separation between spaces. Hence, they are naturally not designed to control light or insulation. This is where the choice of material becomes vital, especially for external French door curtains. So, pay special attention to the drapery fabric’s composition and opacity, and the type of lining.

COMPOSITION: The composition, weave and finish of the drapery fabric register your decor style instantly, so make your choice based on your aesthetic and the mood you aim to create. For French doors located in a formal living or dining room, silk and velvet are best to bring a sense of occasion. Lightweight cotton and linen, on the contrary, speak to the laid-back ease of casual spots like breakfast nooks and sunroom patios. Cotton and linen-blends bring a dressed-down look with a touch of polish, making them perfect for modern homes and semi-formal traditional spaces. So, depending on which room your French door is placed in and what aesthetic you’re after, choose the fabric.

OPACITY: Generously sized and fitted with glass, French doors bring a steady stream of light into the space, which needs to be tailored to the purpose of the room. Also, safeguarding privacy becomes key in bedrooms and nurseries. So, choose a fabric of the right opacity: 

• Sheer and semi-sheer curtains are apt for diffusing daylight in living rooms and kitchen patios, and for internal glass doors where the goal is semi-privacy.

• Non-sheer curtains are ideal for an average level of light-blocking and round-the-clock privacy.

• Blackout curtains block light and noise, making them ideal for bedroom patios and internal glass doors where flawless privacy and room-darkening are desired.

LINING: Curtains for internal French doors, as mentioned earlier, will do better without the lining to maintain an aesthetically pleasing look on both sides. But, for French doors opening to outdoors, curtains, especially those sewn of bright cotton and pure silk, may need to be lined for protection from sun damage. And in rooms with blackout goals, the lining plays an even more vital role. Therefore, choose a lining that serves the purpose of the room. Treat sheer curtains as exceptions, as they are meant for light-filtering, and so are internal doors, where curtains don’t risk color-fading under sunlight. Sewn offers two types of lining: privacy lining for lending body structure, and a layer of protection for the face fabric; blackout lining for room-darkening and enhanced protection from UV rays. Head to Sewn’s Lining Options to discover the benefits and key considerations for each lining.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Sheer Curtains | Blackout Curtains

Pick a Suitable Heading Style

The heading style determines the overall appeal of the drapery, making it lean formal with tailored pleats or casual with less dressy folds. It also affects the functional aspects of the curtains—how they operate, block light, and insulate against the weather. Since French doors deserve the best, both aesthetically and functionally, the choice of the heading style becomes extremely important, calling for these considerations:

EASE OF GLIDE: As the curtains will be operated often to allow passage (unless mounted on the frame itself of course), opt for headers that use rings, grommets, or drapery pins as they ensure a smooth glide. These include pinch pleats, grommet tops and flat panel tops. For stationary framing panels that are not expected to be moved, consider styles with fabric pockets or tabs, such as rod pockets, back tab tops and tab tops.

DECOR STYLE: Silk and velvet curtains make an aesthetic statement with the pre-sewn headers of pinch pleats. Whereas cotton, linen, and their blends look to dressed down styles that keep the ambiance more informal. Alongside these decor-related considerations, when it comes to internal French doors, one more aspect needs attention - the appearance on the reverse side - as already mentioned earlier.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Velvet Curtains | Linen Curtains | Silk Curtains

Tailor the Drop

Unlike window curtains, doorway curtains demand a more considered length since they are part of a passage. So, tailor the drop point of your French door curtains to suit how you use this space. The ‘float’ and ‘graze’ drop points, where curtains hover above the ground or only mildly touch it, are ideal as they promise a smooth glide and won’t get under passing feet. ‘Puddling’, by contrast, lets fabric spill onto the floor lavishly, lending the most fitting finishing touch to a super-formal setting where space is abundant and curtains play purely an aesthetic role. The difficulty in operating the curtains and the risk of tripping make this drop point impractical for narrow doorways or settings where you anticipate operating the curtains often. If you wish for more information to decide the drop point, visit our blog on How Long Should My Curtains Be?

Seal your Aesthetic with Palette and Pattern

This is where curtains get to wear a touch of your personality, echoing your taste and the overall mood of the room. So, take advantage of Sewn’s extensive catalog, spanning versatile solid neutrals, bold prints, and everything in between, to voice your aesthetic. Think classic white linen, the archetypal choice for white French doors that crave the lived-in charm of relaxed slubs. For a touch of romance, lean into misty English florals, and for a countrified note, look to vintage-inspired checks and stripes. In more modern settings, look to plain neutrals for a minimalist appeal, and graphic abstract prints, geometric patterns, or sleek, clean-edged stripes to create a focal point. Whichever path you choose, let your French door curtains be not mere curtains, but the verses that give your aesthetic its voice.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Check Curtains | Plain Curtains | Floral Curtains

Shop French Door Curtains at Sewn

French doors will always be more than mere portals; they are poetry in architecture—the song of sunlight, the embrace of welcome, the whimsical threshold where dreams pause before alighting. And French door curtains don’t just dress, they converse, answering that quaint charm with gentle folds of warmth and elegance. At Sewn, we strive to bring this vision to life, curating sheers as light as a breath, cottons and linens spun with ease, and silks and velvets steeped in allure. So step into our virtual aisles where every French door meets its most fitting flourish. Bon Drapage!