Can I Install Wide Window Blinds on Any Window?
Your gorgeous picture windows were one of the reasons you fell in love with your home. But now you're standing in your living room squinting against the afternoon glare, wondering how to cover these expansive spans without blocking all that beautiful light.
Standard blinds look tiny and inadequate on wider or taller windows, while those big-box store options you tried are already sagging in the middle. Here's the good news: wide window blinds can work beautifully on most windows when you pick the right solution.
Our team at SunGard Window Fashions in Peoria is here to help you find the perfect fit for any window!
Why Window Treatments for Wide Windows Can Be Tricky
Window treatments for wide windows have to handle more than just looking proportional: physics comes into play when dealing with 6-foot spans or longer. Regular blinds start sagging in the middle because they're carrying more weight than they were designed for. The cords get harder to pull, and manual operation becomes a real workout.
Window treatments for short, wide windows can either emphasize that stretched-out look (which is not what you want) or help balance the proportions nicely.
Three Hunter Douglas Solutions That Actually Work
Skyline® Panel-Track Blinds
These are a perfect solution for wide and tall windows. Instead of fighting their natural proportions, Skyline® vertical panels embrace them. Picture sleek fabric panels that glide smoothly along a track system—no sagging, no struggling with cords across an 8-foot span.
The panels come in 11½" or 17" widths and can handle windows up to 192 inches wide. When you want a view, they stack neatly to one side, and when you need privacy, they slide smoothly across.
EverWood® Faux Wood Blinds
Want the classic look of wood blinds but worried about sagging? EverWood® Faux Wood Blinds are built differently. The composite material is lighter yet stronger than real wood, maintaining clean, straight lines across wide spans.
Hunter Douglas reinforces these with extra support brackets and beefed-up headrails for wider installations. You get that warm wood appearance in 2" or 2½" slats, but without the warping or maintenance headaches. They're especially popular in homes where homeowners want traditional styling to handle Illinois weather changes.
Designer Banded Shades
Sometimes the best blinds for your window are shades that look like blinds. Designer Banded Shades by Hunter Douglas are a style of roller shade that fits perfectly on window of all size. Lightweight and easy to manage, these shades are made of a single fabric panel with alternating stripes of sheer and opaque materials. Overlap sheer panel to sheer panel for a view-through with see-through appeal like blinds. Overlap the opaque panels for room darkening and privacy.
Opting for Motorized Blind Installation in Peoria Makes Sense
Your hard-to-manage tall or wide windows are exactly where motorized blinds installation becomes more than a luxury feature for Peoria homes. Try manually operating 12-foot-wide blinds daily, and you'll quickly understand why homeowners upgrade to PowerView® Automation.
Your smartphone or Pebble® remote becomes your control. No more walking across the room, balancing on ladders, and stretching to adjust treatments and wrestling with long cords or hard-to-reach wands. Motorized operation is more than convenient—it's practically essential for those tall, wide windows in entryways or great rooms.
Getting the Installation Right
Wide blinds put more stress on your window frame than regular-sized treatments. A poorly placed bracket here or miscalculated weight distribution there, and you'll have sagging blinds that look terrible and operate poorly.
Our professional SunGard installers know which mounting methods work best for different window types. Sometimes your window frame needs reinforcement. Other times, mounting outside the frame distributes weight better than squeezing everything inside.
Finding What Works for Your Home
Think about how you use these windows. Do you adjust them daily for privacy and light control? Motorization makes sense. Are they more decorative, staying in one position most of the time? Manual operation works fine (and saves money).
SunGard Window Fashions has been helping Central Illinois homeowners tackle tricky wide windows for years. We serve Peoria, Morton, Washington, Pekin, Dunlap, Edwards, and Brimfield with consultation and professional installation that gets it right the first time.
Ready to turn those challenging wide windows into the showstoppers they should be? Let's talk about what would work best for your home.