How to measure for window shades?

Find step-by-step fitting and measuring guides tailored to the most frequently encountered window styles: sliding doors, french doors, door windows, bay windows and more. Scroll to find your window type and best shades.

Sliding door shades

Shades for sliding glass doors can be mounted in two ways: on the glazing bead right in front of the glass pane or fully outside the window recess. Both fitting options for pleated shades require drilling. This applies not only to conventional horizontal sliding doors, but also to Double-Hung windows and Single-Hung windows.

On the glazing bead

A sliding window consists of a fixed back window and a slidable front window. To retain a unified look with shades, we recommend choosing the same bracket type for the front and back window. (If desired, using brackets for gluing only on the front window is also possible.)

Pleated shades or cellular shades for the back window should be ordered without the Up&Down handles in order to save space. 

The space between the back window and the slidable front window is usually very limited. For an assembly of shades, the space between the back window’s glass pane and the front window should be at least 1 inch. The depth of the glazing bead on both windows should be at least 10mm. 

The measuring process of the back and front window is the same and is as follows:

Add the two shades into your shopping cart and leave us a short note regarding which of the two should be delivered without Up&Down handles.

Outside the window recess

If your sliding glass window has a window recess, you also might want to mount shades with drilling outside or on the window recess, i.e. wall. 

Pleated shades can be ordered with a width up to 5’11’’ (180 cm). Therefore you might get away with one shade covering the whole window recess. If not, multiple shades can be mounted directly next to each other without any space in between. The bracket of choice for a fit outside the window recess is the “Double 2in1” with drilling. 

Measure as follows for one shade covering the whole window recess:

Measure as follows for multiple shades next to each other:

Roller shades for sliding glass doors 

We recommend mounting roller shades on sliding glass doors only outside the window recess and only if the window recess is not wider than 115 cm, as the maximum width of roller shades is 120 cm (about 4 feet). Mounting several roller shades next to each other is not ideal as a light gap would occur between them.

For sliding glass door roller shades measure in the following way:

Blackout shades for sliding glass doors

Sliding glass doors can also be covered with blackout shades. A total blackout effect is achieved with Blackout Roller shades or Cellular Honeycomb shades. Due to their depth, we advise mounting both of them outside the window recess. The measuring process is as above.

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French door shades

French doors are common door types that these days can be found in the majority of houses. These doors have glass panes covering almost the entire doors. Some french doors open to the outside and other kinds open inwards into the room. Depending which type of french door you have, there‘s a selection of shades just for you! 

French door opens outward

The shape of the door frame and trim is unfortunately not compatible with clamp holders. However a sleek assembly of shades to cover the french door‘s glass pane is still possible. One shade per door. We recommend pleated shades or cellular shades with brackets with drilling our gluing on the glazing bead. For the former the minimal glazing bead depth is 10mm and for the latter 5mm. 

As brackets with gluing are partially mounted on the frame, the space on the frame around the edge of the glazing bead should be clean, straight and without any elevations. Brackets with gluing are not ideal for rounded beads.

General rule: If the glass pane is a lattice window, you should be aware of the depth from the glazing bead‘s edge up to the horizontal/vertical bars. It is this depth that should be at least 10mm for brackets with drilling and 5mm for brackets with gluing.

For an assembly with drilling or gluing measure as follows: 

This also applies to casement windows as they open outwards as well.

French door opens inward

Generally speaking, for doors and windows that open inward there are more shade and bracket options to choose from than with doors that open outward. Here you can choose from an assembly with drilling or gluing as well as clamp holders. We talked about the former above. Let‘s take a look at an assembly with clamp holders.

There are a couple of clamp holder options available. All in all, the minimum depth of the door frame at the point at which the clamp holders are mounted should be 5mm and the maximum 25mm. 

If this is the case, follow these measuring instructions:

French door roller shades

If you’re rather keen on the style of roller shades, mounting these on french doors is also possible. Roller shades have the benefit of being mounted only at the top, which gives more flexibility. You have the freedom of choosing between light-filtering or total blackout fabrics in the whole rainbow palette. Roller shades can not only be mounted with drilling or clamping on the door frame, but also on the recess. The best part is that you can even mount them upside down on the ceiling.

The measuring instructions are just as above for pleated shades with clamp holders. However pay attention to the depth of the door as for roller shades it should be between 15-24mm.

French door cellular shades

If you want to treat your french doors to an all-inclusive treatment, cellular shades with their maximum energy-efficiency, room-darkening and privacy are the top pick. Whether it’s with drilling, gluing or clamping, stick to the guidance above after determining if your french doors open inward or outward.

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Shades for door windows

You might not have french doors, but at times also conventional doors have windows. Even glass panes as small as 20×20 cm can be covered with shades for that maximum privacy effect or simply for giving your door a little glow-up. Our styling experts endorse choosing pleated shades with drilling or gluing for small windows in order to keep the shades as discreet as possible and mount them only right in front of the glass pane.

Roller shades for doors

An assembly of roller shades might be just the shade you were looking for. Sometimes doors with glass panes can prevent you from falling asleep or watching movies, which is where Blackout roller shades can be a lifesaver. Roll down when you need them and otherwise keep them rolled up and out of view.

Whatsmore, light-filtering Day & Night roller shades are ideally suited for keeping them rolled down 24/7. They not only give you and your windows a comfort upgrade, but with their bead chain they are the easiest switch from medium to full privacy while retaining light flow.

Whether mounted upside down on the ceiling or clamped onto the door, the measurement instructions are as follows:

For mounting roller shades upside down on the ceiling, there should be at least a space of 55mm between the door’s top edge and ceiling. For screwing the roller shade onto the wall above the door, a space of minimum 40mm is required.

If you prefer to screw your roller shade to the door right above the glass pane, measure in the following way:

Shades for front door

You wouldn’t want anyone to look into your home and enter your privacy zone, right? Which is why we advise to cover any glass panes on front doors with shades.
As front doors are opened and closed very often, brackets with drilling as the most durable and long-lasting mountings are our recommended pick. As for the specific type of shade, you have the freedom of choice. Measuring instructions can be found above.

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Transom Windows

These windows are typically rectangular, non-openable and high up the wall above doors or windows. They allow for more natural light to enter the room, but are mostly there for decorative purposes.

Due to their appearance, position and function, our maestros recommend pleated shades with drilling on the glazing bead:

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Bay window shades

A bay window is a fully windowed protrusion outwards from the main wall. It forms a trapezoid and consists of three glass panes that are separated only by thin frames. 

Due to its specific shape and the fact that many bay windows can not be opened, the best and least complicated form of assembly would be with pleated shades or cellular shades with drilling or gluing on the glazing bead:

Roller shades could also be mounted, however this depends on the thickness of the frame separating the glass panes. Roller shades protrude about 40mm into the room, which could be problematic with thin window frames as the shades’ edges could get in each other’s way.

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Bow window shades

Bow windows are similar to bay windows, however they consist of at least four glass panes. This is why they are more arc shaped and depending on the number of glass panes can also appear more rounded.
As for window shades for bow windows, the same path applies as with bay windows.

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Arched window shades

Arched windows are just as stunning as they are tricky when it comes to window shades. Due to the rounded arc at the top and the fact that shades come in a rectangular shape, some creativity is required.

In case the arc is not as steep, you could come away with an assembly of pleated shades with drilling right in front of the glass pane on the glazing bead. However this would still mean that the shade could only be opened up to the beginning of the arc and the arc would remain uncovered.

In order to cover the whole window including the windowed arc, an assembly on the window recess or wall is needed. For an assembly like this, there are a couple of shade options to choose from:

A) Pleated shades with “Double 2in1” drilling brackets
B) Roller shades with drilling

Both with the following measuring instructions:

Keep attention to the window handle, as it should not protrude too much from the glass pane. The window handle could prevent the window shade from passing by. If it doesn’t stick out over the wall next to your window at all, you’re good to go. 

C) Blackout curtains (the safest, easiest & most eye-catching option)

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Awning windows 

Awning windows are attached to the frame at the top and swing outward from bottom. Due to this placement of the hinges and the fact that they open outward, it is not possible to mount clamp holders. Nevertheless, covering these windows is possible in multiple ways.

Roller shades

Screw them onto the wall or ceiling above the awning window.

For an installment of roller shades on the wall, the space between the window’s top edge and ceiling should be minimum 40mm. For screwing them upside down to the ceiling, make sure to have at least 55mm space.

Pleated shades

Screw or glue them onto the glazing bead right in front of the glass pane.

The same fitting method applies for operable Clerestory windows.

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Browse through a summary of our know-how:

1. Slidable doors / Double-Hung windows / Single-Hung windows: Pleated shades or cellular shades for the back window should be ordered without the Up&Down handles in order to save space.
   
   
2. Pleated shades with drilling / gluing: If the glass pane is a lattice window, you should be aware of the depth from the glazing bead‘s edge up to the horizontal/vertical bars (not to the glass pane). It is this depth that should be at least 10mm for brackets with drilling and 5mm for brackets with gluing.
   
   
3. Mounting roller shades on the wall/ceiling: the space between the window’s top edge and ceiling should be minimum 40mm. For screwing them upside down to the ceiling, make sure to have at least 55mm space.
   
   
4. Outside window recess assembly: The window handle should not protrude too much from the glass pane as it could prevent the window shade from passing by. If the handle doesn’t stick out over the wall next to your window at all, you’re all set.
   
   
5. Measurements to consider for choosing window shade brackets:
   
   • Pleated shades:
     
     with clamp holders: window/door frame depth between 5-25 mm
     with drilling: glazing bead depth at least 10 mm
     with gluing: glazing bead depth at least 5 mm
     
     
   • Roller shades:
     
     with clamp holders/drilling: window/door frame depth between 15-24 mm

No matter the window type, there’s a window shade to match it.

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