Egress Window Shades & Blinds

An egress window has a job most windows do not. It is the way out of a basement bedroom in an emergency, so whatever covers it has to get completely out of the way when it is raised. It also tends to be wide and short, set low in the wall, and facing a window well, so it lets in less direct sun than an upstairs window and often looks straight onto a concrete or stone wall. Egress window shades and blinds on this page are chosen for that mix: a clean lift that clears the glass, real privacy and darkness for a bedroom, and sizes that suit a short opening. Every shade is made to the width and height you measure and shipped direct to you.

Shade options for an egress window

Blackout cellular shades are the first choice for a basement bedroom. The honeycomb fabric holds back light for sleep, and with a cordless lift there are no loose cords hanging at bed height, which matters in a child's room or a guest room.

Light filtering cellular shades suit an egress window in a family room, office or rec room, where you want privacy from the window well but still need daylight. A top down bottom up version lets you lower the top rail and keep the lower part covered, so light comes in over the well wall while the room stays private.

Blackout roller shades are the simplest option. A single panel of fabric rolls up into a compact squared cassette above the glass, which leaves the opening completely clear when raised. There are 30 blackout colors, from whites and linen textures to near-black tones.

Zebra shades use a banded fabric in 16 colors. Adjust the bands to let in more or less light, or roll the whole shade up and out of the opening.

Sizes and lifts for short, wide openings

Egress windows are often wider than they are tall, so minimum height and lift type matter more than usual. A standard cordless cellular shade starts at 12 inches wide and 12 inches high and reaches 94 inches in each direction. Cordless top down bottom up cellular starts at just 8 inches high and goes to 98 inches wide. If you want a motorized cellular shade, it needs at least 23 inches of width for the motor in the head rail.

In the standard roller cassette, a bead chain shade starts at 11 3/4 inches wide, a motorized shade at 20 1/8 inches and a cordless shade at 23 5/8 inches. Blackout roller fabric reaches 94 1/2 inches wide. Zebra shades start at 18.8 inches wide.

Measuring and installing them yourself

For an egress window, an outside mount is usually the better choice. Mount the shade on the wall above the frame and it lifts fully clear of the opening, so nothing sits in the way when the window is opened. For outside mount cellular shades, we recommend adding about 3 7/8 inches to both width and height to cut light gaps at the sides. If you prefer an inside mount, cellular shades are built about 1/4 inch narrower than the opening so they clear the frame; give us your exact measurements.

Roller and zebra shades hang on two brackets. Drill with a 6 mm (0.2 inch) bit, space the screws 1.1 inches apart and use the anchor that suits your wall. Both anchor types come in the box, which helps in a basement where the wall may be concrete rather than drywall. Hook the valance onto the bracket latch, press back until it clicks, and check that the top and rear are both locked.

A basement room benefits from light colors that bounce what daylight there is around the space, while a darker blackout shade helps a bedroom feel calm at night. Order a fabric sample and hold it up to your egress window before you send us your sizes.