Small Window Shades & Blinds

Small windows are easy to overlook until you try to cover one. The square pane above a bathtub, the little window over a kitchen counter, the short opening in a stairwell or a closet: most stock blinds start too big, and the ones that fit often look like an afterthought. A small window still needs privacy and a shade that looks finished. Everything here is made to the width and height you measure and shipped direct to you.

Which shades and blinds suit a small window

Cellular shades are the most forgiving choice for a small opening. Ordered cordless, they build down to 12 inches wide and 12 inches high, with no chain hanging beside a window that has little wall around it. The top-down bottom-up version goes further on height, down to 8 inches, and lets you lower the shade from the top to bring in daylight while the bottom of the window stays covered. Light filtering cellular keeps the room bright, and blackout cellular suits a small bedroom or nursery window.

Roller shades give the cleanest look on a small pane, a flat panel of fabric that disappears into a compact cassette when raised. A manual clutch loop roller starts at 11 3/4 inches wide and 11 3/4 inches high. Light filtering roller works over a kitchen sink or in a hallway, blackout roller in a bedroom. Solar shades, built on the same roller system, are the pick for a small window that takes direct sun, since they cut glare while keeping a view out.

Woven wood shades add texture in bamboo, jute and reed. On the clutch loop system they reach 11 3/4 inches wide, with an 18 inch minimum height. Natural fabrics are not suited to high humidity, so keep woven wood out of a small bathroom with a shower and choose cellular or roller there instead.

Minimum sizes change with the lift you choose

On a small window the question is whether a shade is small enough, and the answer depends on the lift system as much as the product. Manual roller and clutch loop woven wood both start at 11 3/4 inches wide. Cordless cellular starts at 12 inches. Cordless roller needs far more room, 23 5/8 inches on our standard squared cassette, because the spring sits inside the tube. Cordless woven wood needs 19 3/4 inches.

Motors need the most width. A motorized roller on the standard cassette needs at least 20 1/8 inches and motorized cellular needs 23 inches, so most small windows are a manual or cordless job. The exception is woven wood on the standard DC motor, which builds from 12 3/4 inches wide.

Small shades are also priced to their size. Below about 24 by 24 inches, the price scales down with the area of the shade rather than jumping to a full square meter charge.

Measuring and installing a small window yourself

Take the width at the top, middle and bottom, use the smallest figure and round down to the nearest 1/8 inch. For an inside mount on cellular, the shade is built 1/4 inch narrower than the opening to clear the frame. For an outside mount, add about 3 7/8 inches to both width and height so the shade overlaps the opening and closes the light gap. Woven wood needs at least 1 5/8 inches of frame depth to mount inside.

Roller shades fit with a cassette bracket and a 6 mm drill bit, with screw holes marked at 1.1 inch spacing and two types of anchor 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 check that both the top and rear have locked before you let go.

When a small window shares a wall with larger ones, order the same fabric and color for all of them so the small pane reads as part of the set rather than an odd one out.