6 Best Roller Shades for Small Windows in Apartments That Create an Open Feel
Maximize space in your apartment. Our guide to the 6 best roller shades for small windows shows how to boost light and create an open, airy feel.
You step into your new apartment and the first thing you notice are the small windows. They feel more like portals than openings, making the whole room feel a bit cramped and dark. The wrong window treatment will only make it worse, but the right one can completely change the perception of the space. Choosing the right roller shades isn’t just about privacy; it’s a strategic design move to make your small apartment feel open, airy, and bright.
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Choosing Shades for an Airy Apartment Feel
The biggest mistake people make with small windows is covering them with heavy, dark materials. Bulky curtains or thick blackout blinds can swallow a window whole, making it feel even smaller. The goal is to manage light, not eliminate it.
For an open feel, light-filtering shades are your best friend. Unlike blackout shades, they soften harsh sunlight into a pleasant glow, illuminating the room without the glare. Think of them as a dimmer switch for the sun. The color matters, too. Stick with whites, off-whites, and light neutrals to reflect light around the room and blend seamlessly with the walls.
Roller shades excel here because of their minimalist design. When rolled up, they practically disappear, leaving a completely unobstructed view and clean lines. This is a huge advantage in a small space where visual clutter can quickly make a room feel crowded and chaotic.
IKEA SKOGSKLÖVER: Affordable Scandi Style
For renters or anyone on a tight budget, the IKEA SKOGSKLÖVER is a fantastic starting point. It’s a cordless, light-filtering roller shade that nails the simple, clean Scandinavian aesthetic. It diffuses light beautifully, providing privacy while keeping the room bright.
The main advantage is its accessibility and price. You can walk into a store and walk out with it the same day—no waiting for custom orders. The cordless design is also a major plus for safety and a clean look. The tradeoff, of course, is the fixed sizing. You might not get a perfect fit, but for many standard apartment windows, it’s more than good enough.
SelectBlinds Light Filtering: Custom Sizing
When off-the-shelf sizes just won’t cut it, online retailers like SelectBlinds are the next logical step. They bridge the gap between budget options and high-end custom solutions. Their light-filtering roller shades offer the crucial benefit of being made to your exact window measurements.
This is more important than it sounds. A perfectly sized shade eliminates the awkward gaps you get with pre-sized options, creating a much more polished and intentional look. It ensures maximum light control and a clean fit within the window frame or a proportional look when mounted outside. Getting a custom fit makes a small window look well-dressed, not just covered up.
SelectBlinds also offers a wide array of fabrics and colors, so you can find the perfect light neutral to match your walls. This helps the shade blend in, contributing to that seamless, open feeling you’re after. Watch for their frequent sales, which can make a custom product surprisingly affordable.
Levolor Roller Shades for Bright Interiors
Enjoy enhanced privacy and a darkened room with these easy-to-install cordless blackout roller shades. The reliable, cord-free design offers a safe solution for homes with children and pets.
Levolor is a legacy brand you’ll find at big-box hardware stores, and their reputation for quality is well-earned. Their roller shades are a solid, reliable choice that combines accessibility with a good degree of customization. You get a durable product with a smooth, dependable rolling mechanism—a small detail that you’ll appreciate every day.
Many stores offer a cut-to-width service for Levolor shades. This gives you a semi-custom solution without the wait time of a fully custom online order. You can pick out a style you like and have it sized for your window on the spot.
Their light-filtering collections are designed specifically to brighten interiors. They offer various textures and weaves that add subtle interest without being visually heavy. This makes them a great middle-ground option, delivering a quality feel and a tailored fit that elevates a room beyond basic budget solutions.
Bali Solar Shades: Maintain Your Outside View
Enjoy clear outdoor views and UV protection with these cordless solar shades. The safety-certified design features a smooth spring system for easy, manual adjustment and a clean, elegant look.
Solar shades are a game-changer, especially for apartment windows with a view. Unlike a standard light-filtering shade that just diffuses light, a solar shade is made of a woven material that you can see through. It cuts glare and blocks UV rays while preserving your connection to the outside world.
These shades come in different "openness factors," typically from 1% (very tight weave, more privacy) to 14% (very open weave, clearest view). For most apartments, a 3% to 5% openness is the sweet spot. It provides daytime privacy and significant glare reduction while still letting you see the trees, sky, or city outside. This visual extension of your space can make a small room feel infinitely larger.
The critical tradeoff is nighttime privacy. When it’s dark outside and your lights are on, the effect reverses, and people can easily see in. For this reason, solar shades are perfect for living areas but aren’t the best choice for bedrooms or ground-floor units where privacy is a primary concern.
The Shade Store Solar: A Premium Solution
If your budget allows and you want a flawless, high-end result, The Shade Store is the premium choice. Their products are an investment in quality materials, precision engineering, and expert service. This is the solution for when you want it done right, with no compromises.
What you’re paying for is not just the shade itself, but the entire experience. They offer professional measurement and installation, which eliminates any risk of error on your part. Their solar shade collection is extensive, with a huge range of materials, colors, and openness factors that you won’t find elsewhere. The hardware and mechanisms are top-of-the-line, ensuring smooth and silent operation for years.
While not for everyone, this option is perfect for a long-term rental or for someone who values impeccable detail. A perfectly fitted, high-quality solar shade from The Shade Store can truly transform a window, making it a feature rather than an afterthought.
Blinds.com Essentials Light Filtering Shade
Blinds.com is another giant in the online custom window treatment world, and their "Essentials" line is a standout for value. It offers the core benefits of a custom-fit roller shade without the price tag of more decorative or high-performance fabric collections. You get a clean, simple, and effective solution tailored to your window.
The ordering process is straightforward, with clear instructions for measuring. This empowers you to get that perfect custom fit yourself. For a small apartment, getting a simple, light-filtering roller shade that fits exactly right is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make for the cost.
Think of this as the workhorse option. It’s not about fancy features; it’s about doing the fundamental job perfectly. It will diffuse light, provide privacy, and look clean and minimal, all of which contribute directly to making your space feel more open and considered.
Mounting Tips for a Wider, Taller Look
How you hang your shades is just as important as which ones you buy. To make a small window feel larger, you need to trick the eye. The best way to do this is with an outside mount, installing the shade on the wall or trim around the window opening, not inside it.
Follow two simple rules: go high and go wide.
- Mount it high: Install the shade bracket 4 to 6 inches above the top of the window frame. When the shade is rolled up, it will sit well above the glass, exposing the entire window and drawing the eye upward, creating an illusion of height.
- Mount it wide: Order the shade to be 3 to 4 inches wider than the window frame on each side. This makes the window itself appear much larger than it is and allows the rolled-up shade to clear the glass completely, maximizing the natural light that enters the room.
While an inside mount provides a very clean, flush look, it forces the shade’s hardware and fabric roll to sit inside the frame, blocking the top few inches of glass even when fully open. For the specific goal of creating an open, airy feel, a high and wide outside mount is almost always the superior technique.
Ultimately, the best roller shade is one that fits your window, your budget, and your lifestyle. By choosing a light-filtering or solar option and mounting it strategically, you can do more than just cover a window. You can actively manage light and perception to make your small apartment feel brighter, taller, and more welcoming.
