The single most common question in our inbox: how much light should my shades block? Here is the five-minute version of the answer we give on every consultation call.
Choose sheer or woven if…
The room faces north, or the view is the point. A woven shade like Reed & Grass filters sun into a warm, dappled glow and keeps daytime privacy — but after dark, with lamps on, open weaves read mostly transparent. Bedrooms need more.
Choose light-filtering if…
You want the room bright but private, day and night. This is the right default for kitchens, living rooms and offices — a linen-faced Flat Roman or the honeycomb Hive Light glows softly at night without showing shapes, and the cellular structure of the Hive Light insulates the glass while it's at it.
Choose blackout if…
Anyone sleeps in the room past sunrise. Go with the Eclipse Roller, or take any of our roman shades and add the sewn-in blackout lining — the room-facing fabric still looks and folds like itself. True blackout is a lining, not a fabric color: a dark unlined weave still glows at the edges.
Still unsure?
Order the same colorway in two opacities as free swatches and hold each against the glass at 8pm. The answer is usually obvious in about thirty seconds.
