Window Treatments Blog

Not sure how to cover that large expanse of glass?  Behold, you actually have choices.  Allow me to illuminate the possibilities.

When it comes to selecting window treatments for large windows, one of the first things you need to ask yourself is, “what are my light control needs?”  I ask this up front because true room darkening is challenging with large windows and if that’s what you are looking for you may be a little disappointed.  But the reason most homes have large windows is for the view.  

The first two options, vertical blinds and panel track blinds are best for windows that are wider than they are tall.  I’ll start with vertical blinds.  But I am not talking about the ubiquitous vinyl vertical blinds.  Instead, consider some of the other material choices like:  fabric, solar screen, faux wood, wood, cellular and aluminum.  If you want to preserve your view-through consider vertical blinds with solar screen vanes.  If you want room darkening, look into aluminum, wood and faux wood, of course depending on how well these coordinate with your interior.  For a softer look consider fabric vertical blinds or vertical cellular shades.  The advantage of the cellular option is improved energy efficiency.

Next up are panel track blinds.  Panel track blinds are fairly new to the window treatments scene and offer sophisticated, contemporary looks.  They are similar to vertical blinds except they have much larger vanes; that’s why they call them panel blinds.  The blind itself operates on a wheeled track so they open and close very smoothly.  Panel tracks come in a wide variety of materials including solar shade, woven woods, weaves as well as patterned and solid fabrics.  The cool thing too about panel blinds is the panels can be swapped out with different panels if you wanted to redecorate.  As far as I know, no other window treatment allows this flexibility.

The next group of window treatments works best on windows that are taller than they are wide.  This group consists of window shades and drapes; a better fit, in my opinion, for cozy and casual decors.

First are solar shades, also called solar screens which are a great choice for windows with a view.  Solar shades come in a variety of light filtering options which range from 14% openness (allows in the most amount of light) to 3% openness (allows in the least).  Also, solar shades can be purchased with the motorized option; a nice feature for a large shade.  The downside of solar shades is that they do not offer much privacy and are not good for room darkening.  If you need these attributes, look into roller shades which operate the same way but come in materials from sheer to room darkening. 

Rounding out the list are: cellular shades, pleated shades and roman shades.  For energy efficiency look into cellular shades.  For a similar look, but without the insulation consider pleated shades.  If you prefer fabric window treatments, roman shades are the best choice for you.  They come in a wide variety of fabric choices.  That’s why they are sometimes called fabric shades.  Roman shades offer the luxury of a drape with the easy operation of a shade.  

Lastly, no list of window treatment options for large windows would be complete without drapes.  We all know about drapes so I will not go into them very deeply.  They are a good choice for oversized windows, but not for large windows that may be high off the floor.  One choice to consider with drapes that you may not have thought of is to layer them with another window treatment, like vertical blinds.  This offers a richer, more complete look which may be just the ticket for you particular décor.  And, because drapes come in a wide variety of fabrics, colors and patterns, coordinating them is a snap.