Narrow Window Shades & Blinds

A narrow window is one where the usual question flips. On most openings you check whether a shade is wide enough. On a slim pane beside a fireplace, a skinny window in a hallway or a strip of glass next to a door, you check whether it is narrow enough, and that answer changes with the lift system rather than the product. Everything here is made to the width you measure and shipped direct to you.

Which shades and blinds fit a narrow window

Cellular shades are the most forgiving choice. Ordered cordless, they build down to 12 inches wide and 12 inches high, with no chain hanging down the side of a window that has little room to spare. Light filtering cellular suits a hallway or living room pane where you want privacy without losing daylight, and blackout cellular suits a narrow bedroom window.

Woven wood shades bring texture to a slim window that is otherwise easy to overlook, woven from bamboo, jute, reed and other natural fibers. On the clutch and loop system they reach 11 3/4 inches wide, the narrowest of any woven option. Add a light filtering liner, which takes the weave from about 50 percent see-through to about 70 percent, or a blackout liner for full blackout.

Light filtering and blackout roller shades give the simplest look, a flat fabric that disappears into a small cassette when raised. A manual clutch loop roller also starts at 11 3/4 inches wide.

Minimum widths change with the lift you choose

This is where narrow window orders go wrong, so check your width against the lift before choosing a fabric. Manual clutch loop roller and clutch loop woven wood both start at 11 3/4 inches. Cordless cellular starts at 12 inches. Cordless roller needs far more room, 19 3/4 inches on our 2 15/16 inch squared and round cassettes and 23 5/8 inches on the 3 1/2 inch squared cassette, because the spring sits inside the tube. Cordless woven wood also needs 19 3/4 inches, and a woven wood wand needs 24 5/8 inches.

Motors need the most width of all, since the motor has to fit inside the tube or headrail. A motorized roller needs 8 to 10 inches more than the manual version of the same shade, landing between 20 1/8 and 21 1/4 inches, and motorized cellular needs 23 inches. The exception worth knowing is woven wood on the standard DC motor, which drops to 12 3/4 inches where the lithium and AC motors need 25 1/4 inches.

Many narrow windows are also tall. Cellular on a bead chain reaches 157 inches of drop and needs 18 inches of width, while cordless cellular caps at 94 inches high. Light filtering roller reaches 137 3/4 inches high on the 3 1/2 inch squared cassette, and woven wood reaches 118 inches on clutch and loop.

Measuring and installing a narrow window yourself

Measure the width at the top, middle and bottom, and use the smallest figure rounded down to the nearest 1/8 inch. For an inside mount the shade is built about 1/4 inch narrower than the opening to clear the frame. For an outside mount, add about 3 7/8 inches to width and height so the shade overlaps the opening and closes the light gap, which on a very slim window can also lift you over a minimum width. Check depth for woven wood: it needs at least 1 5/8 inches inside the frame and 2 5/8 inches to sit flush.

Roller shades fit with a cassette bracket and a 6 mm drill bit, with screw holes marked at 1.1 inch spacing and two anchor types in the box for drywall or masonry. Two screws on opposite sides hold each bracket on a sound wall. Hook the valance groove onto the bracket latch, press back until it clicks, and confirm both the top and rear have locked.

A pair of narrow windows either side of a fireplace or bed reads best when both shades match in fabric and stop at the same height, so order them together.