We went with cellular shades too, and honestly, the cordless feature alone was worth it—our cat used to think the cords were her personal playground. 🙄 I debated blackout vs. regular fabric for ages, ended up mixing both depending on the room. Blackout is awesome for movie nights, but I kinda miss waking up to natural sunlight in the bedroom... Installation wasn't bad either, though I did have a brief moment of panic when I realized how big our windows actually were. 😂
Haha, cordless is definitely the way to go if you've got pets—I learned that the hard way after my dog managed to yank down an entire curtain rod chasing a fly. 🤦♂️ I ended up going with roller shades for my huge windows. Installation was straightforward enough—measure twice, panic once, then measure again, right? I did blackout in the living room for movies and regular fabric in the bedroom... waking up naturally beats any alarm clock hands down.
Haha, your dog sounds like mine—always causing chaos over the smallest things. Roller shades are a solid choice, especially blackout ones for movie nights. But have you considered cellular shades? They're cordless too, and the honeycomb design is amazing for energy efficiency. I swapped mine out last summer and noticed a real difference in keeping the room cooler. Plus, they're pretty pet-proof... at least until my cat figures out how to climb them.
Cellular shades are a great call—especially if pets are involved. Had a client last year whose golden retriever was convinced the curtains were his personal playground. We switched them over to cordless cellulars, and it's been smooth sailing since (well, mostly... dogs always find new ways to surprise you).
But if your windows are really huge, sometimes cellular shades can get pricey or tricky to handle. Another option I've had good luck with is solar shades. They're sleek, easy to maintain, and let you keep your view without sacrificing privacy or UV protection. Plus, they roll up neatly out of reach of curious paws.
One thing I'd suggest—whatever style you pick—is going cordless if possible. Pets seem magnetically drawn to dangling cords, and it's safer all around. Good luck with the window adventures...and the pet-proofing!
Cellular shades are definitely nice, but for huge windows I've found solar shades to be the better bet overall. We installed them a couple years ago after our cat decided curtains were her personal climbing gym (cats, right?). Solar shades were easy to handle, even on our largest windows, and cleaning them was a breeze—just a quick wipe-down every now and then. Cordless is definitely the way to go though... pets and cords just don't mix well.
Totally agree on solar shades. We went cordless too after our dog nearly pulled down the blinds chasing a fly... way safer. Plus, solar shades really cut down glare without blocking the view much. Worth it for big windows.
"solar shades really cut down glare without blocking the view much."
Yeah, that's exactly why we went with solar shades too. I was skeptical at first—thought they'd be too sheer—but they're surprisingly effective at cutting glare, especially on screens. We got the cordless ones as well because, honestly, our cat thinks cords are her personal playground... Learned that lesson after she nearly brought down half the curtain rod. Definitely recommend cordless if you've got pets or kids running around.
"solar shades really cut down glare without blocking the view much."
They're decent for glare, sure, but have you noticed how little privacy they offer at night? We ended up layering ours with blackout curtains—otherwise, neighbors get a front-row seat to our living room every evening... Did you run into that issue?
Did you run into that issue?
Yeah, good point about the privacy issue—solar shades are great during the day but pretty transparent at night. Did you find layering them with blackout curtains made your space feel too closed-off or dark during the day? Curious how that balance worked out...
"Did you find layering them with blackout curtains made your space feel too closed-off or dark during the day?"
I worried about that exact thing when I first tackled my big windows. Honestly, layering solar shades with blackout curtains turned out way better than I expected. At first, yeah, it felt a little heavy, but once I started playing around with curtain tiebacks and adjusting how much I opened them during the day, it made a huge difference. You can really control the mood that way—open wide for bright sunshine, partially closed for softer light, or fully drawn at night for privacy. Plus, it gives you flexibility for different seasons. In summer, keeping them partially closed during peak sun hours actually cooled down my room noticeably.
I'd say give it a shot and experiment a bit before ruling it out entirely. Big windows can be tricky, but once you find the sweet spot with layering and positioning, it's totally worth the effort.