Bluff View? Window Treatments for Large Windows in La Crosse

Once the leaves come down, a lot of La Crosse homes get their bluff view back. When someone in La Crosse asks me about window treatments for large windows, I start with three questions. Do you want the view with the shade lowered? How hard does the late sun hit? What does the glass show after dark? Most big windows end up with a sheer shade, a top-down bottom-up shade or a shade under drapery.

What are the best window covering options for large windows?

On big glass, four kinds of covering do most of the work.

Sheer shades have soft fabric vanes floating between two sheer layers. Open the vanes and the view comes through soft and a bit hazy. Close them and the window is covered, private at night too. They're light, so they lift easily even on wide glass. Once raised, they roll up into a headrail that looks like a small valance.

Top-down bottom-up shades open from either end. You can drop the top and leave the bottom covered, or the other way around. Cellular and Roman shades both come this way.

Solar shades are a woven screen on a roller that cuts glare and keeps a softer version of the view.

Drapery is the layer that closes everything up at night, and it also softens a room that's mostly glass.

Do you want the bluff in view with the shade down?

Grandad Bluff Park sits on the bluff land overlooking La Crosse, and the Hixon Forest trails wind through the wooded bluffs along the east edge of town. Homes on the east side often look up at that ridge. Homes up on the bluffs often look down at the city and the river valley. Where your view sits changes what works.

If the view is above you, a top-down bottom-up shade is a good fit. Lower it from the top, and the bluff and the sky fill the upper glass. The bottom stays covered, right where a neighbor or the street would look in.

If the view is below you, top-down won't help much because opening the top only shows you sky. Here a sheer shade fits better. With the vanes tilted open you keep the whole view soft and a little hazy, while the room feels less exposed.

If you don't care about the view while the shade is down, a light-filtering cellular shade or roller is simpler. You raise it when you want to look out.

How hard does the late sun hit the glass?

This time of year the sun spends the whole afternoon low in the southwest. That low light slips in under any roof overhang and reaches far across the room. A west window on the bluffs can be hard to sit near from about 2 o'clock on.

West glass on the bluffs needs a tighter fabric. That means a solar fabric with less openness, or a sheer shade with the vanes mostly closed for that last hour or two. A top-down shade isn't the tool for this. Low sun comes in through the whole height of the glass, so opening the top just lets it reach you at eye level. Lower the whole shade instead.

A south window is easier. The roof overhang blocks more in summer, and in winter that low sun feels good. A medium solar weave or a sheer shade is usually plenty. An east window looking up at the bluff often gets its morning sun late, once the light clears the ridge. Those windows can stay simple.

Tall glass adds one more wrinkle. A two-story window you can't reach hardly ever gets adjusted, so that's the glass I'd motorize first. Sheer shades, cellular shades and drapery can all run by remote or app. The Holmen room-by-room post has more on great rooms like that.

What does the big window show after dark?

November nights here dip below freezing, so the night question is about warmth as well as privacy.

For privacy, a sheer shade with the vanes closed covers the room. A solar shade doesn't. With the lamps on, it's see-through from outside. Does your big window face a neighbor or a trail? Then add drapery or a second shade to the plan right away. The bare-trees privacy post gets into who can see in from uphill and downhill.

For warmth, add drapery over the shade. Side panels that stay open all day frame the view and add color. Close them at night and they cover the cold glass and its edges. If I had to choose, I'd pick a thermal lining over a heavier face fabric.

One easy check helps before anyone comes out. Sit where you sit most at about 3 in the afternoon, and look at where the glare lands. Then repeat it after dark with the lamps on. The vane styles are on our sheer shades page.

My own favorite on a big bluff window is the sheer shade. It's the one choice that keeps the view soft with the shade down and still closes up private at night. I'd add side panels later if the nights feel cold. Book a free visit about window treatments for large windows in La Crosse whenever it suits you.

Kevin Sill is CFO and co-owner of the family-owned Budget Blinds franchises serving La Crosse, Winona and the Coulee Region.