- When chosen properly, window blinds and shades increase your home’s privacy, reduce the glare of the sunshine, and add character, too.
- Blinds are often surprisingly expensive, costing hundreds or thousands of dollars for an entire house, but careful shopping can reduce the expense without sacrificing efficacy or style.
- The First Rate Blinds Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades are our top pick because they open and close with minimal effort and the company has a sterling customer service record.
Over recent years, my wife and I have selected blinds for dozens of windows. In fact, the subject is fresh on my mind, having just bought a new window blind I’ll be installing shortly. Window shades can be notoriously expensive, but they’re also no place to go cheap. Bear in mind you will see them daily and, in the case of many blinds, such as those in your bedroom or any on windows facing the streets or a neighbor, you will likely use them several times a day.
Budget will no doubt be one of the largest factors concerning which blinds you choose, but form and function together should be more heavily weighted in the decision.
Once you’ve decided on the right blinds or shades, go measure the windows very … very carefully. In fact, measure twice.
Here are the best blinds and shades:
- Best overall: First Rate Blinds Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades
- Best solar: CHICOLOGY Snap-N-Glide Cordless Roller Shades
- Best motorized: Springblinds Motorized Roller Shades
- Best blackout: DEZ Furnishings Cordless Blackout Cellular Shades
- Best low-cost: Arlo Blinds Roman Bamboo Shades
Updated 8/27/2020. We updated formatting, prices, and links. We also added a selection of relevant buying guides.
The best overall
The First Rate Blinds Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades are available in multiple colors and are fully customizable to any width between 24 and 48 inches.
When raised, your window blinds are essentially invisible, staying up and out of the way to allow light in and a view out through the glass. But when lowered, your window blinds play a major roll in the interior decor of your home.
The First Rate Blinds' Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades are our top pick. They come in nine different colors and that can be custom cut to fit any window wider than 24 inches and narrower than 48 inches.
These light filtering blinds allow in a decent amount of light while reducing the sun's glare and preventing fading and discoloration caused by extended exposure to UV light. They also completely block the view into the home. As for raising or lowering a Custom Cordless Single Cell Shade, that can be done with minimal effort.
Of equal note along with the quality and selection of the actual products here is the customer service reputation of First Rate Blinds. Shoppers consistently praise the exceptional service.
Pros: Multiple colors available, easy operation, great customer service
Cons: Shades occasionally hang unevenly when extended
The best solar
CHICOLOGY Snap-N-Glide Cordless Roller Shades block enough light to reduce the sun's glare and prevent UV damage while still allowing a partial view through the windows.
It's a shame to cover a window that offers a lovely view, yet sometimes the harsh glare of the sun necessitates drawing the shades in order to make the interior of the home pleasantly habitable. However, when said shade is a CHICOLOGY Snap-N-Glide Cordless Roller Shade, you can still enjoy the view while doing without the glare.
These solar shades feature thousands of small perforations that allow you to see through them while still reducing the amount of light that gets in. Granted, the view through the Snap-N-Glide shades is reduced somewhat, but that's a fair trade for interior comfort. The shades also enhance daytime privacy as another bonus.
As for that name, it refers to the easy opening and closing of the blinds. They pull down with just a few pounds of pressure and stop at any height you want, then they slowly and steadily retract (glide, e.g.) when you give a quick tug at the bottom.
If you need nighttime privacy or blinds that will block the sun so you can sleep, look elsewhere. For reduced glare without a blocked view, you're looking in the right place.
Do prepare for the potential need to request replacements, though, as several customers reported receiving blinds with scratches, pinholes, and other minor defects.
Pros: Reduce glare while preserving some view, smooth glide during closing, easy to install
Cons: Some hardware arrives damaged
The best motorized
At the push of a button, your room can be filled with light, darkened fully, or partially exposed to the world beyond thanks to the Springblinds Motorized Roller Shades.
As it turns out, you can put a price on convenience. And though it's a pretty hefty price, the ability to raise or lower your window shade with remote control is a luxury you won't want to be without once you've had it. The Springblinds Motorized Roller Shade installs easily, features a battery that only requires charging four or five times a year, and is operated by remote control.
Thus from the comfort of your bed, the couch, or your office chair, you can raise the shade to let in the light and enjoy the view, lower it for darkness or privacy, or set the shade at any custom height you'd like.
Add to that convenience the fact that the Springblinds Motorized Roller Shade is available in nearly two dozen colors and can be custom cut to fit windows as narrow as 20 inches and as wide as 84 inches.
While you might expect the installation process to be more complicated with electric blinds, it's really quite a simple process. You just need to affix a pair of brackets to the window frame then pop the shade in place. Its battery can be charged using an included cord, and the motor is quiet and reliable.
Just keep in mind that for the convenience of motorized blinds, you'll pay a pretty penny. Or a few thousands pennies, that is.
Pros: Smooth and quiet remote operation, good light blocking ability, available in many colors
Cons: Very expensive
The best blackout
With the DEZ Furnishings Cordless Blackout Cellular Shade lowered, your room will be as dark as night even at midday, letting you rest, watch movies, or enjoy total privacy.
If you have a job that necessitates working nights and sleeping during the day, you know that one of the hardest things to do is create a good daytime sleep space. Sunshine penetrates thin blinds or curtains and seems to sneak around most blackout blinds as well.
With a DEZ Furnishings Cordless Blackout Cellular Shade, you can mount your blinds either inside or outside the window frame, creating the snuggest possible fit and ensuring the most light blocked.
These full blackout blinds let no light pass through their cellular pleats, which have a crisp finish in any of the available nine colors. The blinds will not only look good in the room but they also reflect solar energy, reducing your cooling costs during the summer. Raising or lowering these blinds is easy, while their cordless design makes them kid and pet safe.
Pros: Fully blocks light, good price point, easy installation
Cons: Installation hardware occasionally missing
The best low-cost
Matched size for size, an Arlo Blinds Roman Bamboo Shade costs nearly 50% less than most other blinds out there, and without a sacrifice in quality.
So-called Roman-style blinds are not for everyone and not for every space. These blinds, made of thin slats of bamboo, might look out of place in a country-themed home or in an ultra-modern abode, but for many homes, they are subtle enough to blend right in. And they will certainly work with any home's budget.
When compared to shades of comparable size, an Arlo Blinds Roman Bamboo Shade usually costs about half as much as a competitor's blinds. Yet the shades feature an easy cordless lift mechanism, they come in several different finishes, and they provide excellent privacy against unwanted views into the home. These are light filtering blinds and won't create total darkness by day, but they do cut the glare of the sunshine and block much of the spectrum's UV light.
The Arlo Blinds Roman Bamboo Shades can be mounted outside a window frame or flush mounted within, and they are available in sizes as narrow as 19 inches or as wide as 45 inches. Just note that you have to add 0.25 inches for flush in-frame installation, so, for example, a 34-inch blind would fit well into a 34.25-inch-wide window.
Pros: Great low price, cordless operation, made from sustainable material
Cons: Some shades hang unevenly
What to consider when buying shades and blinds
Light: Consider how much light you want the blinds to let through. Light filtering blinds can cut the sun's harsh glare while still allowing in plenty of light and are great for kitchens or living rooms, but you'll want blackout blinds for your bedroom.
Room: Which shades you need will depend on which room they are for and what their primary function is. Bedrooms require blackout shades for the best sleep, while you may want something that doesn't totally block your view for the living room. And don't forget about the windows in a bathroom, hall, or any space adjacent to your bedroom. It's amazing how much light reaches us in bed through the bathroom door because we went with a light-filtering shade in there.
Type: There are cellular blinds, rolling blinds, Venetian blinds, solar blinds, and on the list goes. Make sure to consider the safety benefits of cordless blinds if you have kids or pets versus the lower cost of most corded options, consider the appearance of the blinds from both the inside and outside, and about the aesthetics of the room in which they'll be installed.
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