Vertical Blinds and Shades for Large Windows

A large window is usually the best thing in the room and the hardest thing to cover. A picture window, a corner of glass or a whole wall of panes brings in the light and the view, but it also throws glare across the floor, heats the room through the afternoon and puts everything on show once the lamps come on at night. Vertical blinds for large windows take a different approach, and this page puts them side by side with the wide shades we build, all made to the size you measure.

Vertical blinds and the shades to compare

Vertical blinds lead this page. Upright vanes break a long stretch of glass into a steady rhythm, which suits a wide window and helps a room with a lower ceiling feel taller.

Light filtering and blackout cellular shades are the widest single shades we make. On a bead chain the 38 mm cell reaches 197 inches wide and 157 inches high, so a long window can be covered by one shade rather than several. The honeycomb also holds a layer of air against the glass.

Light filtering roller shades give the flattest, simplest face for a living room window you want screened rather than darkened. Solar shades are for the window where the view is the point. They come at 1, 3, 5 and 10 percent openness, blocking roughly 80, 70, 60 and 50 percent of the light, so you can cut glare and still see out.

A few design notes. On a big window the covering becomes a wall surface, so choose a color close to the wall rather than a contrast, and the window will feel larger. Keep the same product across every pane in a run of glass.

Width, height and lift limits on large windows

Width is where large windows get specific, so check these before you choose. Cellular shades on a bead chain reach 197 inches wide. On a cordless lift they cover 12 to 94 inches wide and up to 94 inches high. Motorized cellular reaches 126 inches wide but stops at 79 inches high and needs at least 23 inches of width, so a tall window and a motor is the combination to check.

Light filtering roller reaches 98 3/8 inches wide on our squared cassette, and blackout and sunscreen fabrics stop at 94 1/2 inches on the same cassette, because heavier goods are milled on narrower rolls. If a fabric roll is narrower than the system allows, the fabric becomes the limit, and two of our series run on rolls of about 90 inches. Any roller shade over 100 inches high moves to the 43 mm tube and the large cassette, which reaches 118 inches wide and 120 inches high.

A motor is worth considering on any big shade you raise every day. Smart control runs from a remote, a wall switch or an app, with Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomePod supported.

Measuring and installing a large window yourself

Wide openings are the ones most likely to be out of square, so measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and use the smallest figure rounded down to the nearest 1/8 inch. Measure the height on both sides. For an inside mounted cellular shade, the shade is built 1/4 inch narrower than the opening. For an outside mount, add 3 7/8 inches to both the width and the height so the shade overlaps the frame and closes the light gap at the edges.

Roller shades mount on a cassette bracket with a 6 mm drill bit and come with anchors for drywall and masonry. Each bracket has four pre-drilled holes. Two screws on opposite sides suit a sound wall, and a wide, heavy shade should use all four. Hook the valance groove onto the bracket latch, press back until it clicks, and confirm that the top and rear have both locked.

Compare vertical blinds with the wide shades here, hold samples against the glass at the brightest time of day, and send us your sizes. Every piece is made to measure and shipped direct to your door.