Sliding Window Shades & Blinds

A sliding window opens sideways: one sash glides past the other on a track, and the whole unit is usually wider than it is tall. That shape changes what makes a good shade. You are covering a long, low stretch of glass, often over a kitchen counter, a bed or a sofa, with a latch or pull on the sash sitting right where a shade wants to hang. This page is for horizontal sliding windows in any room. Sliding glass doors have their own page.

Which shades and blinds suit a sliding window

Roller shades are the cleanest match for a wide, short window. Light filtering roller reaches 96 inches wide on our 2 15/16 inch cassettes, which carry up to 80 inches of drop, plenty for most sliders. Blackout roller covers a slider in a bedroom. Solar shades are rollers in a screen fabric sold by openness from 1 to 10 percent, for a slider that takes direct sun; the lower the openness, the more light is blocked. Zebra shades have alternating sheer and solid bands, a good choice in a living room where you shift between light and privacy through the day.

Light filtering cellular shades give a soft pleated face that suits bedrooms and family rooms. Woven wood shades bring natural texture and reach 96 inches wide on every lift system, with a light filtering or blackout liner if you need privacy after dark.

Width, one shade or two, and clearing the latch

Measure the full width first, because it decides the fabric. Blackout roller is milled on narrower rolls, so it reaches 86 inches on the 2 15/16 inch cassettes and 94 1/2 inches on the 3 1/2 inch squared cassette, where light filtering goes to 98 3/8 inches. Cordless cellular reaches 94 inches wide, and cellular on a bead chain goes much wider, up to 197 inches in one shade.

On a slider you can also choose two shades instead of one. Our 2 15/16 inch roller cassettes can carry two shades on one headrail, either as separate shades that raise independently or on a middle mechanism that drives both together. Independent halves suit a slider where only one sash moves: raise the shade on the opening side for air and leave the other down. Woven wood also builds multiple shades on one headrail, up to 118 inches in total. A cordless two-on-one works only as separate shades, since one spring cannot drive two panels.

The sash latch or pull often projects into the space a shade needs. On a roller we can reverse the roll, so the fabric hangs off the front of the tube, clear of the latch and of a deep sill.

Measuring and installing it yourself

Choose inside or outside mount. An inside mount looks tidy on a deep frame; an outside mount covers the whole frame and hides the track. For an inside mount, measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and use the smallest, rounded down to the nearest 1/8 inch, then measure the height on both sides the same way. Cellular 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 glass and closes the light gap. Woven wood needs at least 1 5/8 inches of frame depth, and 2 5/8 inches to sit flush.

Roller, zebra and solar shades hang from a cassette bracket. You need a 6 mm drill bit, holes are marked at 1.1 inch spacing, and anchors for drywall and masonry are in the box. On a wide shade, use all four pre-drilled holes in each bracket rather than two. Hook the valance groove onto the bracket latch, press back until it clicks, and confirm the top and rear have both locked.

Over a kitchen sink or a bed, a cordless lift keeps cords out of reach and is the child and pet safe option. Every shade here is made to your measurements and shipped direct to your door.