Top Down Bottom Up Bamboo Shades & Blinds

Some windows need privacy at the bottom and daylight at the top. A street-facing living room, a bedroom next door to the neighbors, a front window at sidewalk level: a regular shade forces a choice between a bright room and a private one. Top down bottom up bamboo shades and blinds give you both. Lower the top rail to let sky and sun in over the heads of passersby, keep the bottom closed for privacy, or raise the shade from the bottom as usual when you want the full view. Every shade here keeps the warm, natural texture of woven wood and is made to the width and height you measure, then shipped direct to you.

Which top down bottom up bamboo shades and blinds to choose

Our woven wood shades are made from bamboo, jute, reed, grass, flax and ramie, in weaves that run from pale and whitewashed to deep brown. Tighter bamboo and bamboo slat weaves read bold and structured, while lighter flax and ramie weaves look soft and airy, so match the weave to the room. Pale weaves suit coastal and Scandinavian rooms, mid browns warm up farmhouse and mid century spaces, and darker weaves ground a modern room with lots of white.

Think about the liner next. Without a liner a woven shade lets the view through, which matters on a privacy window after dark with the lamps on. A light filtering liner keeps the bottom section private while the room stays bright. A blackout liner makes the shade fully blackout for a bedroom. When you add a liner, the valance gets the liner too.

We also recommend adding a valance. On a top down bottom up shade the top rail moves, so a valance gives the window a finished line across the top whatever position the shade is in.

Sizes, liners and mounting depth

Woven wood shades are made up to 96 inches wide and from 18 inches high. If your opening is wider than 96 inches, plan on two shades side by side.

Top down bottom up is not compatible with movable liners, the twin builds where a separate liner raises and lowers on its own. If you want a liner on this style, choose an attached light filtering or blackout liner. Liner colors run from white and cream through camel, taupe and gray to dark brown and black, nine of each.

The valance grows with the shade: 6 inches on shades up to 59 inches high, 8 inches up to 86 5/8 inches, and 12 inches above that. Valance returns that wrap the sides are free on request. Some looser jute, flax and ramie weaves need a narrow edge binding, about 1/2 inch on the face, so the cut edge does not fray. Natural fibers do not like humidity, so for a bathroom choose a fabric shade instead.

Measuring and installing it yourself

For an inside mount, measure the width at the top, center and bottom of the opening and use the smallest, rounded down to the nearest 1/8 inch. Measure the height on each side with your back to the wall and use the smaller number, then measure the depth of the frame. Send us those exact numbers and do not deduct anything yourself; the factory takes 1/4 inch off the width for an inside mount.

An inside mount needs at least 1 5/8 inches of frame depth. The shade hangs on brackets 1 3/8 inches high and 1 3/4 inches wide, with 1/2 inch of clearance for the fabric. If your frame is too shallow, mount the shade on the trim or on the wall above the window instead.

Natural weaves look different in every room's light, so order a woven wood sample before you choose. Every top down bottom up bamboo shade is made to your measurements and shipped direct to your door.