Casement Window Shades & Blinds

A casement window swings out on a hinge and is driven by a crank at the bottom of the frame. That crank is the whole problem. It sits proud of the sill inside the room, exactly where the bottom of a shade wants to hang. Casement openings also tend to be narrow, which rules out more lift systems than most people expect. Everything here is made to the size you measure and ships direct to you.

Which shades and blinds suit a casement window

Roller shades are the first answer, because a roller can be built to unroll off the front of the tube instead of the back. That is a reverse roll, and the reason to specify it is written into our spec book: reverse roll is what clears a deep sill, a handle or a crank. A standard roll hangs the fabric close to the glass and fouls the hardware. Light filtering roller is the daytime choice and blackout roller the bedroom one.

Cellular shades are the other strong fit, for a different reason. Cordless cellular builds down to 12 inches wide, the narrowest minimum of anything we make, and that matters because a casement sash is often only 18 to 24 inches across. Light filtering cellular is the general purpose pick and blackout cellular suits a casement in a bedroom. Woven wood adds texture in bamboo, reed and jute and reaches 11 3/4 inches wide on a clutch loop, with an optional light filtering liner at roughly 70 percent openness or a blackout liner at 100 percent. Leave woven wood out of a casement in a bathroom, since natural fabrics are not suited to high humidity and moisture damage is a listed warranty exclusion.

Minimum width is the constraint, not maximum

On most windows you check whether a shade is wide enough. On a casement you check whether it is narrow enough, and the minimum moves with the lift system rather than with the product. A manual clutch loop roller starts at 11 3/4 inches. Cordless roller needs far more, 19 3/4 inches on our squared and round cassettes and 23 5/8 inches on the squared cassette, because the spring fits inside the tube. Motorized roller lands around 20 1/2 inches.

Cellular is the forgiving one. Cordless cellular builds from 12 inches wide, while bead chain needs 18 inches at 38 mm and 45 mm and motorized needs 23 inches. On woven wood, clutch and loop reaches 11 3/4 inches, cordless needs 19 3/4 inches and a wand needs 24 5/8 inches, though the standard DC motor drops to 12 3/4 inches where the lithium and AC motors need 25 1/4 inches. Depth matters too on a casement, where the frame is often shallow: woven wood needs 1 5/8 inches of frame depth to mount inside and 2 5/8 inches to sit flush.

Measuring and installing it yourself

Measure the width at top, centre and bottom and use the smallest figure, rounded down to the nearest 1/8 inch, then measure the height on both sides with your back to the wall and do the same. Give us the exact opening, because the factory applies the 1/4 inch width deduction. If the crank will not clear a shade mounted inside the frame, mount outside instead and add about 3 7/8 inches to both width and height so the shade overlaps the opening and closes the light gap.

Fitting needs a 6 mm drill bit, and the brackets mark at 1.1 inch screw spacing. Two anchor types ship in the box, so match the anchor to your wall rather than using whichever is on top. Two screws on opposite sides hold fine on a sound wall, and each bracket has four pre-drilled holes if the wall is weak. Hook the valance groove onto the bracket latch, press back until it clicks, and confirm both top and rear have locked.

Order samples before you commit, and note your crank clearance while you have the tape out. Everything here carries a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, with motors and controls covered for five years.