Roller and Solar Shades in Dighton, MA

Old Sash and New Glass in One Room

Roller shades in Dighton, MA often have to solve a puzzle that is particular to the town’s houses. Along Main Street and Somerset Avenue, the farmhouses and capes go back a long way, and many have been added to over the years. The result is a room where a nineteenth-century double-hung window sits on one wall and a big modern window or slider, put in with the addition, sits on the next. The two windows differ in size, shape, frame depth and the light they let in, yet they share a room and need to look as if they belong together.

Down on the Taunton River lots, the same thing happens with a view attached: an older house extended toward the water, with new glass facing the river and the original windows facing the road. Across the rest of town, the housing is older and spread out, and most rooms see plenty of sky. A roller shade can be made to fit any of these openings, which is why it so often ends up being the thread that ties a mixed room together.

• One look across old and new windows
• Screens, light filtering cloth and blackout cloth
• Each window measured where it is, then fitted by our team

What We Offer Dighton Houses

For the original sash

A slim roll at the head of an old double-hung window, leaving the trim and the glass as they have always been.

For the addition’s glass

Shades made to a larger modern opening, matched in colour to the ones on the old windows.

For bedrooms

Blackout cloth that blocks the light coming through, for rooms that face the early sun.

For the river side

Solar screen fabric that takes the glare off the water and leaves the river in view.

Measured opening by opening

Old and new frames are measured separately, because no two in an altered house are quite alike.

With sheers or drapes

A shade behind sheers or drapes can unite two very different windows under one soft frame.

Drapes in Dighton

Matching Roller Shades in Dighton, MA Across Old and New

When a room holds two eras of window, the temptation is to treat each one separately. That usually ends with two different-looking treatments fighting each other across the room. The better approach is to decide what the room as a whole should look like, then make each shade fit its own opening within that plan.

Start with the hem line

The easiest way to make mismatched windows look related is to have their shades stop at the same height when lowered partway. An old double-hung window and a newer, taller window rarely share a top or bottom line, but if both shades are set so that their hems fall level with each other when half down, the eye reads them as a pair. We look at the heights of the frames during the measuring visit and suggest where that line could sit.

The tops matter too. Where the newer window is taller, its shade can be mounted higher on the wall, at the head of the frame, while the old window’s shade sits inside its recess. Seen together, the two rolls should look intentional. Sometimes that means mounting the older shade outside its frame, at a height that lines up with the new one. Each room is a little different, and we decide with you rather than by rule.

Use the same fabric, or the same colour

In a mixed room, keeping the fabric consistent is the strongest single way to make the windows feel like one set. If the addition’s large window needs a solar screen for glare and the old window does not, choose a screen and a cloth in the same colour family, so they read as related even though they behave differently. If the room’s light allows, using the same light filtering cloth on every window is simpler still.

Respect the original window

Nineteenth-century sash has a character that is easy to cover up by mistake. The trim around these windows is often wide and moulded, the glass may be old and slightly wavy, and the proportions are tall and narrow. A roller shade mounted inside the frame leaves all of that visible when raised. Because the fabric rolls up tight around its tube, very little of the window is hidden.

Old frames are rarely perfectly square. They can lean slightly or taper from top to bottom, and the depth of the recess can vary along the frame. We measure each original window at several points, and make the shade to suit the tightest of them, so it runs smoothly without catching.

Handle the new glass on its own terms

The addition’s windows are usually larger, with slimmer modern frames and often less recess for an inside mount. The shade may need to sit on the wall above the frame, overlapping the glass at the sides, which also keeps out the bright line of light that can show around a shade fitted inside a shallow frame. A large window may take two shades side by side instead of one, so each half can be raised on its own and neither is too heavy to lift.

Where the new glass faces south or west, glare is often the main problem. A solar screen softens it while you still see out. The question of openness comes in here: a looser weave keeps more of the yard or the river in view and lets more light in, while a tighter weave calms the glare further and gives more privacy. A darker screen usually makes the view clearer from inside, and a lighter one blends with pale walls.

Deciding which window leads

In most mixed rooms, one window ends up setting the tone and the others follow it. Often it is the original sash, because it gives the room its age and character, and the newer glass is treated quietly so it does not compete. In a room that was extended mainly for the view, the reverse is true: the big new window is the focus, and the old sash takes a simple shade that matches its colour.

Thinking about which window leads helps with every other choice. If the old window leads, the shades might be a soft, warm cloth that suits the period trim, with the new window’s shade in the same cloth or a screen of the same tone. If the new window leads, a screen chosen for the view can set the colour, and the old window follows with a light filtering cloth to match. Either way, the room ends up with one idea instead of two.

It also guides the mounting. A leading window gets the cleanest possible fit, inside the frame if the depth allows, and the following windows are mounted to line up with it. Planning roller shades in Dighton, MA this way, from the room’s main window outward, is usually what makes an altered house feel settled rather than patched.

Houses on the Taunton River Lots

On the river side of town, the older houses that have been extended toward the water are where the mixed-window problem is sharpest. The original part of the house faces the road with its traditional sash, while the newer part faces the river with wide glass, often in a family room or kitchen that opens to a deck.

The river side brings strong afternoon light, reflected off the water as well as coming from the sky. A solar screen on the river-facing glass keeps the room comfortable and the view intact. On the road side, where privacy matters more than view, a light filtering cloth does a better job, softening the daylight while keeping the room from being seen.

Roller shades in Dighton, MA on these properties usually end up as a mix: screens facing the water, cloth facing the road and blackout in the bedrooms, all in one colour family so the house holds together inside and out.

Evening on the river

A solar screen does its best work by day. After dark, with the lamps lit, it gives very little privacy, and a river-facing room becomes visible from the water and the far bank. If the family room is used in the evening, a second layer helps. That can be drapes that draw across at night, or a light filtering shade mounted behind the screen. Because Window Works makes drapes as well as shades, both can be planned and measured on the same visit.

Sliders onto the deck

Many additions on the river lots include a sliding door onto a deck or patio. A roller shade can cover a slider, but a door that is used many times a day is often better served by a vertical blind or panel track that draws to the side. We will tell you honestly which suits your door, and the windows either side of it can still take roller shades that match the rest of the room.

Farmhouses and Capes Along Main Street and Somerset Avenue

Away from the river, the older farmhouses and capes along Main Street and Somerset Avenue have their own needs. These houses sit well apart, on generous lots, so most rooms get light from more than one direction and privacy from neighbours is less of an issue than in a denser town.

In a farmhouse, the living rooms tend to be on the ground floor with tall, traditional windows, and the bedrooms upstairs, often with lower ceilings and smaller windows. Light filtering cloth suits the ground floor, keeping the rooms bright while softening the strong sun that comes in with nothing to block it. Upstairs, blackout cloth helps the bedrooms that face east, where the sunrise comes straight in.

A cape’s upstairs rooms are tucked under the roof, often with dormer windows set into a sloping ceiling. The compact roll of a roller shade fits neatly into the narrow space at the top of a dormer and leaves the most glass clear when raised.

Kitchens in older houses

Farmhouse kitchens have often been updated more than once, and the windows can be a mix of old and replacement. Over the sink, a light filtering cloth that wipes clean is the practical choice, and an inside mount keeps the shade clear of the tap. If the kitchen catches the afternoon sun, a screen there keeps the glare off the counter.

How the Order Works

You hear from the store at each step, and we stay in touch until every shade is up and working.

1. Use the call button or the form to tell us about the house, especially any rooms with old and new windows together, and arrange a free quote.
2. A specialist visits to measure each window. Old frames are measured at several points; new ones are checked for depth and clearance.
3. You choose fabrics and colours with samples held against your own windows, or visit the Swansea showroom to see more.
4. The quote lists every window separately, so you can see how each part of a mixed room is being handled.
5. The shades are made to those measurements.
6. Our installers fit each shade, set the heights so mixed windows line up as planned, and show you how to use them.

Colour in an older interior

Older Dighton interiors often have painted trim in soft, aged whites and creams, plank floors and plaster walls. A stark bright white shade can look out of place against them, while warmer neutrals usually sit more comfortably. In a room with a modern addition, a colour that bridges the old and new parts, such as a soft stone or a light linen tone, can help the two halves feel like one space. For screens, the outward face is seen from the street or the river, so a neutral that suits the house’s exterior is a sensible choice.

Taking care of shades

A roller shade needs little looking after. A light brushing or a pass with a vacuum on its lowest setting clears dust, and most cloths can be dabbed clean with a slightly damp sponge. Rolling each shade fully up from time to time helps keep the fabric flat on the tube. If a shade you already have starts to drift, stick or roll crooked, the store can take a look at it.

Other choices for Dighton windows

Not every window suits a roller shade, and we will say so when one does not. A cold bedroom might be warmer with a cellular shade, a formal room might suit Roman shades, and a farmhouse kitchen might suit cafe shutters. Our window treatments for Dighton homes page lists everything we offer the town, and the main roller shades page explains the full range.

Who You Are Dealing With

Window Works is a family store based in Swansea, a short drive down the river from Dighton. It was founded in 1988 and has passed to the second generation. In over 37 years, its specialists have worked in old farmhouses, altered capes and new additions across the SouthCoast and the East Bay.

• Window treatment specialists with real experience
• Every window measured at the house, old frames included
• Fitted by our own installers
• The store in contact with you until the work is done
• Warranties offered on the products we sell

The showroom has fabrics and screens to compare in person, and the Norman range is on display.

Visit the showroom

Book a Visit

A free quote is the place to start with roller shades in Dighton, MA. The call button connects you to the store to book one, arrange measuring or ask about installation, and the form is there if you would rather write. If you would like to handle the fabrics first, the Swansea showroom is close by, with directions on the contact page. Window Works holds a 5.0 rating on Google.