The hard windows
New homes across Atlantic Canada are built with more glass than ever: two-storey great rooms in Bedford South and Hammonds Plains, floor-to-ceiling glass in downtown condos, ocean-facing window walls on the South Shore and the Avalon, skylights in renovated attics. They are beautiful, until the low winter sun turns them into a glare wall or the summer sun turns the room into a greenhouse.
These windows share three problems: you cannot reach them, standard products do not fit them, and the bigger the glass, the bigger the shade and the heavier it gets.
How we handle them
Skylights
Cellular skylight shades run in side channels that hold the fabric flat against angled or overhead glass. Blackout and light-filtering versions. Usually motorized, sometimes with a solar panel so you never charge them.
Tall windows (over about 2.5 m from the floor)
Motorized roller, solar or cellular shades, so no ladder and no pole. For very tall glass, we fit shades in stacked sections or use larger-diameter tubes that keep heavy fabric straight.
Window walls and very wide glass
A row of matched shades, each covering one section, all controlled together as a group. Seams line up with the window mullions so the shades read as one clean line.
Angled and shaped windows
Trapezoids, gable-end triangles and arches. Some get fixed shades that stay put, some get custom-angled operable shades, some are best left uncovered. We will tell you honestly which.
Why we usually motorize these
On a 3 m window, a cordless shade is hard to reach and a chain is very long. Motors solve both, and add schedules: shades that lower when the sun hits the great room at 2 p.m. in December and rise again at 3:30, without anyone touching them. Motorized blinds.
Frequently asked questions
Can you put blinds on a skylight?
Yes. Skylight shades use side channels to hold the fabric flat against angled or overhead glass. Cellular skylight shades are the most common because they insulate and come in blackout. Most are motorized because skylights are hard to reach.
What are the best blinds for very tall windows?
Motorized roller, solar or cellular shades. Motors remove the need for long cords or poles, and solar fabric is a good choice for tall south- or west-facing windows that take low winter sun.
Can large windows be covered with one shade?
Sometimes, up to about 3 m wide depending on fabric. Wider windows usually work better with two or more shades lined up with the window frames, controlled together as one group.
Do you cover angled or triangle windows?
Yes, with specialty shapes. Some angled windows are best with fixed shades that do not move; others can have operable shades. At your measure we will recommend what works for each window.
Read next: Best window coverings for large windows