Blinds, Shades and Shutters - Need Suggestions Please

I am remodeling a recently purchased 1980's home with lots of deep wood windows. I have removed all the heavy puffy fabric window coverings and want something more chic that does not take up the top 1/4 of the window. Any suggestions?

You can almost never go wrong with a 2 inch wood blind in a matching or complimenting color..

A pleated shade, cordless, with the top down bottom up feature is a winner.. You can lower the top of the shade for light with privacy, lift the bottom like a conventional shade, you can move the top and bottom anywhere you want..

Woven woods look great in the right setting..

Fabric roman shades are a consideration..


what is it your lookin to accomplish with your shades?

Hello, you can also do vertical treatments, such as vertical blinds or curtains. However, I personally like the TDBU(Top-down bottom-up)


Goodluck w/ your project Tokkie

I have a lovely wooded lot of 2 1/2 acres so I want to have as much window showing as possible. I have neighbors who are far enough away that I don't really see them but I am sure they can see in to my home at night. The motif is contemporary mountain lodge with lots of warm wood. The house is an envelope house so the window sills are very wide. The windows casings are wood all the way around.

I want to bring the outside with the least obstruction of view, but still have a bit of privacy at night.

Whats your budget?
Could you take a picture?


-wood blinds..

Wood blinds would look great, the more ya spend the better they look.. You'd want to get real woods with such wide spans.. The faux woods have more support strings per blind, this looks crappy on a wide window.. They dont look their best when you have them tilted closed at night, Its in the open position during the day time that these look their best.. Woods aren't practical if you plan on pulling them up every day..

-Woven woods

These would match your decor well and come in a huge variety, some with fabrics incorporated in the shade.. Wovens look great at night and even better in the day when you can see the light shine through them.. When pulled up they can also work as a top treatment, The right one will look great as a valance..

-Roman shades

These can be made out of any fabric of your choosing.. They also work great in the up position as a top treatment..

-Verticle Blinds

These retched things are the work of the devil.. Friends don't let friends buy verticle blinds..

-Clutch Roller shades

Surprisingly, I find that the same mesh screen roller shade I install in the Jones's 48th floor Chicago condo looks just as good in their modern rustic lake house.. These shades come in many different pattern and materials.. They roll up to practically nothing when you want a clean open window.. They do interesting things with the light giving the room a different look and block out intense rays of the sun when you need it to.. At night they will give you sufficient privacy as long as you choose the appropriate fabric. Small valances/cornice can easily be made out of stock wood molding to cover the roller itself or some products come with a valance for a cleaner look.. Graber has a nice line of roller shades with nice valances to cover the roller..

Pleated shades-

The top down bottom up, cordless pleated shade cal also be a winner here... They too fold up to almost nothing when you want an unobstructed view..

-honorable mentions

Hunter douglas has 2 products that you may like..

the Trio is hard to explain, its made up of tubes (kinda) that when prompted, expand and close up tight to one another for privacy.. A picture can speak a thousand words so please google this..

The other one i cant remeber what its called.. But it looks like a tradition horizontal 2'' metal blind but when they are in the tilted open position. the slats with pair up giving you 4'' in between each slat instead of the traditional 2..

Wow, thanks for the great suggestions. The way you break down the options is helping me significantly. I will get some pictures in the next few days. What do I do after I have taken pics? Will I post them or send them to you?

You will need to upload your pics to a photo sharing site such as Picturetrail or Photobucket (there's other's, too) then post the link, here. If you need help with instructions on how to do this, please let us know. :)