Window Shade Installation in Vermont

Cellular, roller, roman and solar, made to your window

Four kinds of shade cover most of what a Vermont house needs, and most houses end up with more than one. Each is made to the measurements we take at your window, not cut down from stock. We are based in Middlebury and install across Addison and Rutland counties, the lake towns on Champlain and Dunmore, and the ski areas. Every window covering we sell carries a lifetime warranty.

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Which Custom Window Shades Suit The Room

Most of this comes down to the room, the light and what the window has to do. Here is how we talk it through at the estimate.

Get A Price On Custom Window Shades

We measure at your window and bring the samples to you. The estimate is free and there is no showroom to visit.

What Each Shade Does

A cellular shade is a row of fabric pockets, usually three eighths, half or three quarters of an inch deep, that hold still air against the glass. That air is the insulation, and it is why cellular does more for a cold window than anything else on this page. A roller shade is a single sheet on a tube, in every opacity from a light filter to blackout. A solar shade is a roller with an open weave, built to cut glare and heat without losing the view. A roman shade is fabric that folds into pleats as it rises.

Most houses end up with more than one. Cellular in the bedrooms and on the north side, solar on the lake side, a roman where the room is on show. We bring samples of all four so you can hold them against the window rather than guess.

Shades Or Blinds

A blind has slats you tilt. A shade is a continuous piece of fabric that rises and falls. If you want to angle the light and keep the view with the covering down, a blind does that and a shade does not. If you want insulation, a cellular shade wins outright, because a blind has a gap between every slat.

Blinds also suit a bathroom or kitchen better in faux wood, because steam eventually gets to fabric. Shades are the better choice on a large window, where a wide blind gets heavy and the slats bow, and in any room where softness matters more than the view. We sell both and will tell you which fits the room.

How The Job Runs

We bring samples to you, measure every window ourselves, and quote from that. No showroom trip and no charge for the estimate. The measure matters more than people expect, because an inside-mount shade has to clear the frame by a fraction of an inch on both sides and an older Vermont window frame is rarely square.

The shades are then made to your sizes, which takes two to three weeks on most products. The person who measured comes back to install them. Middlebury is home, and we work across Addison and Rutland counties, up Route 7 to Charlotte and Shelburne, and over to the ski towns.

What Window Shades Cost, And What Moves The Number

We quote after measuring, because the window decides the cost and no one can give you a real number over the phone. What moves it:

• Window size, and how many you are covering in one order
• Which of the four types, and the fabric within it
• Single or double cell on a cellular shade
• Blackout lining rather than a light filter
• Top-down and bottom-up rather than a plain lift
• Cordless or motorized rather than a pull cord
• Shaped, arched or angled openings

Cold Windows And Lake Glare

An old window that loses heat all winter and is not getting replaced this year is the most common problem we see. A double cell cellular shade is the cheapest thing that measurably helps, because the honeycomb holds a layer of still air against the glass. Close it at dusk and the room is warmer in the morning.

The other one is glare off water or snow. A south or west wall over a lake gets light at an angle that makes a room unusable at the wrong hour, and a three or five percent solar shade cuts it without taking the view away. The lake houses around Charlotte, Shelburne and Lake Dunmore usually end up with solar shades on one side of the house and cellulars on the other.

The Questions We Get Most

• How much do window shades cost?

  It depends on the window more than the room, so we quote after measuring. The number moves with the size of the window, how many you are doing, which of the four shade types you choose, the fabric within it, and options like blackout lining, top-down bottom-up or a motor. A roller is usually the least, a roman the most. The estimate is free and we bring the samples to you.

• Which shade is warmest?

  Cellular, and a double cell more than a single. The honeycomb pockets hold still air against the glass, so the window loses less heat. On an old window that is not getting replaced this year, it is the cheapest thing you can do for comfort.

• Can I get blackout?

  Yes, in cellular and roller both. Tell us early if the room is a bedroom or faces a streetlight, because it changes which fabrics we bring to the estimate. A blackout cellular insulates at the same time.

• How long do custom shades take?

  Two to three weeks on most products, counted from the day we measure. Shaped or arched shades can run a little longer because they are built rather than assembled. We give you the expected timing at the estimate.

• Shades or blinds, which should I choose?

  Blinds if you want to tilt the slats and keep the view with the covering down, or for a bathroom in faux wood. Shades for insulation, for large windows where a wide blind gets heavy, and for any room where softness matters more than the view. On a cold window a cellular shade beats every blind we sell.

• Will shades fit an arched or angled window?

  Usually. Arches, angles, trapezoids and skylights all have solutions, and we have yet to find a window we could not cover. Shaped shades are made rather than cut down, so they run a little longer and cost a little more.

• Are cordless shades safe for children?

  Cordless lifts are the safest option and the one we suggest first in a house with young children or pets. There is no cord hanging down the wall. Motorized shades are cordless too, which is one reason people choose them for a nursery.

• How do I clean fabric shades?

  Most take a soft brush attachment on the vacuum, or a light dusting. Cellular shades can be blown out with compressed air. Roman shades depend on the fabric, and we tell you at the estimate which can be spot cleaned and which should not be.

• Solar shade or blackout for a west-facing room?

  Solar if the problem is glare and heat in the afternoon and you want to keep the view. Blackout if the problem is sleep or a screen. Plenty of west rooms get a solar shade for the day and a blackout cellular behind it for the evening.

• Which shade brands do you carry?

  Hunter Douglas and Graber, across cellular, roller, solar and roman. We bring samples from both to the estimate so you can compare fabrics and lift options against your own window.

What Customers Say

4.8 stars from 33 Google reviews