Floor to Ceiling Window Shades & Blinds

A floor to ceiling window turns a whole wall into glass. It makes a room feel open, and it also makes it hot in the afternoon and on show at night. Covering that much glass is mostly a sizing problem: the drop is longer than standard shades are built for, the width can run past what one shade can span, and the top of the window may be out of easy reach. Every shade here is made to the exact width and drop you measure and shipped direct.

Shades and blinds for full height glass

Solar shades are the first choice for many floor to ceiling windows. The screen fabric cuts glare and heat while keeping the view, and it comes in 1%, 3%, 5% and 10% openness: the lower the number, the tighter the weave and the less light and view come through. Light filtering roller shades give more privacy by day with a soft, even light, and blackout roller shades are the answer for a bedroom where the glass runs right down to the floor.

Light filtering and blackout cellular shades are worth a look where the window is very tall. A bead chain cellular shade reaches the longest drops of anything we make and puts a layer of fabric cells across the full height of the glass.

Choose a fabric close to your wall color if you want the shades to recede, or a deeper tone to frame the view.

Size limits for long drops and wide walls

On roller and solar shades, height decides the hardware. Any shade over 100 inches high moves to our large cassette with a heavier 43 mm tube, which reaches 118 inches wide and 120 inches high. Below 100 inches, light filtering rollers on the squared cassette reach 98 3/8 inches wide, while blackout fabrics stop at 94 1/2 inches, because the heavier goods are milled on narrower rolls.

Cellular shades go further on height. With a bead chain, a 38 mm cell shade reaches 157 inches high and up to 197 inches wide in a single piece. Cordless cellular stops at 94 inches high and motorized cellular at 79 inches, so on a true floor to ceiling window cellular is a bead chain product.

Wider than one shade can go? Split the wall at a mullion and run two or three shades side by side in the same fabric. If the top of the window is out of reach, a motorized roller is the practical choice. Our battery motors can be charged by a solar panel, which saves taking down a shade that sits near the ceiling; without one, charge each motor for at least six hours every six months.

Measuring and installing floor to ceiling shades yourself

Decide first between an inside mount within the window frame and an outside mount on the wall above it. On full height glass, an outside mount set as close to the ceiling as the space allows hides the cassette and covers the edges of the frame. For an inside mount, measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and use the smallest figure, then measure the height on both sides and use the smaller. Send us your exact measurements and the factory makes its own allowances. For an outside mount cellular shade, add about 3 7/8 inches to both the width and the height for better coverage.

Roller shades hang from two cassette brackets. Drill with a 0.2 inch (6 mm) bit, set the screws at 1.1 inch spacing and use the anchor that matches your wall; drywall and masonry anchors both come in the box. Each bracket has four pre-drilled holes; use the spare two on a wide or heavy shade. Hook the valance onto the bracket latch, press it back until it clicks, and check that the top and rear are both locked before you let go.

If your windows are tall but stop short of the floor, our tall window shades and blinds cover drops of every height. For a wall of glass, hold a solar sample to the window at midday, then measure.