Wood & Faux Wood Blinds for Bay Windows

A bay window is three or more openings set at angles, and covering it with blinds means getting several separate pieces to look like one. Wood blinds are a favorite answer because horizontal slats line up from pane to pane, and tilting them lets you steer light across the whole bay while keeping the view in from the street closed. This page gathers our made-to-measure wood and faux wood blinds for bay windows, with two cellular shades for comparison, each built to the size you measure and shipped direct to you.

Wood, faux wood and cellular options for a bay

Wood blinds lead this page. Real wood slats give a bay warmth and depth, and the grain ties in with wood floors, a window seat or a dining table set into the bay.

Faux wood blinds give the same slatted look with a painted finish. They suit a bay with white trim or painted woodwork, and a kitchen or breakfast bay where you want the blinds to blend into the frame rather than stand out.

Light filtering cellular shades and blackout cellular shades are the fabric alternatives. The honeycomb lifts into a compact stack at the top of each pane. Pick light filtering for a living room bay and blackout for a bedroom bay.

A few design notes. Use one product and one color on every pane so the bay reads as a single window. Set the slats at the same tilt on all the blinds when they are down, because mismatched angles are what make a bay look busy. A stained wood tone suits a traditional bay with a window seat and dark trim; white or a pale painted finish keeps a small bay from crowding the room. If the bay has a seat, picture where the raised blinds will sit so they stay clear of cushions and books.

Narrow side panes and what to check

In most bays the flanking panes are narrower than the centre one, so check that each pane suits the product you want, not only that the centre fits. Size limits and configuration options for wood and faux wood blinds are shown on each product page as you build the blind, so check them there against every pane. If a side pane is unusually narrow, send us the measurements and we will confirm what can be made.

If you are comparing cellular shades for the same bay, their limits are documented. A cordless cellular shade builds down to 12 inches wide and up to 94 inches wide and 94 inches high, which covers most bay panes. A bead chain cellular shade needs at least 18 inches of width, and a motorized one needs at least 23 inches and stops at 79 inches high, so a motor can rule out a slim side pane that a cordless shade would fit. For a cellular shade mounted outside the frame, add about 3 7/8 inches to the width and height so it overlaps the opening and closes the light gap.

Measuring a bay yourself

Measure every opening in the bay on its own, even when the side panes look identical, because bay frames are rarely square. Take the width at the top, middle and bottom and the height on both sides, write down every number, and label each one left, centre or right so each blind goes back to the right pane. Decide between inside and outside mount for the whole bay rather than pane by pane, so the blinds all sit at the same depth and the slats line up across the angles.

Inside the frame, look closely at the corners where the panes meet. Blinds on neighboring panes need room to hang and tilt without touching at the angle, and a deep window seat, a sill plant or casement handles can get in the way. Open any operable windows fully and check that nothing will catch.

Order samples, hold them in the bay at different times of day, and choose the finish you want to live with. Then send us every measurement, and we will build each blind to its own pane and ship the set direct to your door.