Norman Blinds and Shades in Cumberland, RI

Two-Storey Entry Windows in the Newer Subdivisions

The subdivisions off Mendon Road brought a style of house with a grand front entry: a foyer open to the second floor, a staircase rising beside it, and a tall window, or a stack of windows, above the front door. Often there is an arched or half-round window at the very top. These windows are the hardest reach in Cumberland, and they raise three questions: whether to cover them at all, what to use, and how to work it.

Do they need covering?

Not always. An entry window that faces north, or looks onto trees, may be fine left bare. But many face the street and catch strong sun for part of the day, and that light can fall straight across the stair, the landing and the rooms off it. Some owners also find the window a little exposed at night, when the foyer is lit and the street is dark. If either of those bothers you, it is worth treating.

What to use

For the rectangular part of a tall entry window, a fabric shade is usually the neatest choice. It hangs as a single clean surface, rises clear of the glass when open, and in a light-filtering fabric keeps the foyer bright while softening the sun. A blind is the alternative if you want to tilt the light rather than diffuse it, though on a very tall window the stack can be significant. Shutters suit the lower windows beside a front door but are rarely used high up.

The arched window at the top is usually left uncovered. It lets light into the foyer without much glare, and treating it well is difficult. We fit the treatment to the rectangle below and leave the arch to do its job.

How to work it

Here is the real issue. A shade at the top of a two-storey window cannot be reached from the floor, and a long cord running down to the landing is untidy. Motorised operation solves this cleanly: the shade is raised and lowered by a remote or a switch on the wall, from the foyer or the landing. It is the one window in many houses where motorisation is not a luxury but simply the practical answer. Our motorised blinds in Cumberland page explains how it works.

The narrow windows beside the door

Many of these entries also have narrow glass panels on one or both sides of the front door. They sit right at eye level with anyone on the step, and at night they show straight into a lit hall. A slim light-filtering shade fitted inside each panel keeps the hall bright by day and private after dark, and it rarely needs adjusting. A shutter panel is the sturdier alternative where the door is used constantly and the panel gets knocked.

The landing above

The stair in these houses usually rises to a balcony or landing that overlooks the foyer, and the tall window lights both. From the landing you are close to the upper part of the window, so whatever covers it is seen at close range. A clean fabric in a colour that matches the walls, rather than one that stands out, keeps the space calm from both the floor and the landing. If there are other windows along the landing or in the upstairs hall, matching them to the foyer shade ties the whole space together.

Light through the day

An entry window facing the street often catches the sun for a few hours, then sits in shade for the rest of the day. With motorised operation, lowering the shade for those bright hours and raising it again is a moment’s work with the remote or the wall switch, so it actually gets done. Without it, a high shade tends to be set once and left, which is fine if you choose a fabric that suits the window in both bright and dull light.

Measuring and fitting at height

A high window needs careful measuring and safe installation. Our specialist measures every part of it on site, including the depth of the frame and anything that might affect the fit, and our installers come equipped to work at height. You do not need to climb anything yourself.

Choosing Norman Blinds in Cumberland, RI for the Rest of a Newer House

Beyond the foyer, a newer subdivision house is usually straightforward. The windows are regular and modern, often with a wide family room window or a slider to a deck, and the rooms are generous. That makes the choice of Norman blinds in Cumberland, RI newer houses mostly a question of material and how each room is used.

The family room

Picking Norman blinds in Cumberland, RI for the back of the house usually starts here. Many of these houses have a large family room, open to the kitchen, with a wall of windows or a slider. A matched set of shades across the windows keeps the room calm, and a treatment that clears the slider’s handle and track keeps the door easy to use. If the room has a television, a room-darkening fabric on the window that throws glare onto the screen makes evenings easier.

The kitchen

Over the sink, a faux wood blind copes with steam and splashes and wipes clean. If the kitchen opens to the family room, keeping the colour the same as the family room shades ties the space together.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms in newer houses are often larger than in older colonials, with two or three windows. Room-darkening shades or shutters suit them, and a matched set keeps the front of the house tidy from the street.

Bonus rooms over the garage

Many subdivision houses have a bonus room above the garage, often with sloped ceilings and dormer or gable windows. These rooms can run hot in summer. A compact blind or a shade with a slim headrail fits the smaller windows, and a darker fabric helps keep the heat down.

Colonials Around Diamond Hill and Arnold Mills

The colonials around Diamond Hill and Arnold Mills are classic two-storey houses with a centre hall, evenly spaced windows and formal rooms either side of the front door. Their windows are mostly regular sash, easy to measure and fit.

Keeping the front orderly

A colonial’s front windows form a pattern, and the treatments should follow it. One colour and style on every street-facing window makes the house look composed, even if the rooms behind use different products. We set every headrail at a common line so the windows match from outside.

Inside the frame where possible

Fitting a blind, shade or shutter inside each frame keeps the trim visible and the window crisp. We measure the depth of every frame, because even in a newer colonial, depth can vary from window to window, especially where a window has been replaced.

Dining rooms and drapery

The formal dining room of a colonial often suits drapery as well as a blind or shade. The Norman treatment handles light and privacy, and drapes frame the window and add colour. We make drapery too, so both can be planned at one visit. More on that is on our drapes in Cumberland page.

Colonials set back from the road

Where a colonial stands well back from the road, privacy from the street is less pressing and the question becomes light. A room that faces open ground can take strong morning or afternoon sun. Slats tilted to send the light upward keep the room bright without glare, and a light-filtering shade softens the brightest hours. Bedrooms that face east often want a darkening fabric.

Older Housing in Valley Falls

Valley Falls holds some of Cumberland’s older housing, with windows that have had a long time to settle. Frames can be slightly out of square, reveals can change depth, and the sizes rarely match a standard.

These windows reward careful measuring. We take several measurements on each one, at the top, middle and bottom, and fit the treatment to the tightest point, so it sits neatly with no gap of light down one side. A blind or shade fitted inside the frame keeps the old trim on show. On a narrow window, a slim slat and a compact headrail stop the treatment looking heavy.

Older windows also tend to be single-glazed or fitted with storms, and a room can feel the cold on a winter evening. A shade or shutter closed snugly inside the frame traps a pocket of still air against the glass, which helps. If warmth is high on your list, our cellular shades in Cumberland page explains the honeycomb shades built for exactly that.

Older houses often have quirks newer ones do not: a window that was resized during a renovation, a casing painted so many times its edges are soft, a sash lock or a pulley that sits in the reveal. We note each of these when measuring, so the order is made around them rather than discovering them on installation day.

What to Expect, Step by Step

An order with us has a simple shape, and you will not be left wondering where it stands: we keep in touch until the last window is finished.

1. A conversation. Ring the store or send the form. Mention the foyer window if you have one, since it changes how we plan the visit, and ask for your free quote.
2. A look at the range. If you would like, stop by the Swansea showroom and work the Norman shades and blinds yourself, motorised ones included.
3. A measuring visit. A specialist records every opening, high ones too, with frame depth and any obstacle written down.
4. Decisions, window by window. Product, colour and operation, settled together.
5. Your quote. Each opening is its own line, so nothing is lumped together.
6. Making and fitting. The order is built to your measurements, and our installers put it up, ladders and all, then show you the controls.

Diamond Hill colonials and replaced windows

Many older colonials around Diamond Hill have had some or all of their windows replaced over the years, and replacement frames can sit at a different depth from the originals. Two windows side by side may then take different mounts. Measuring each one, rather than assuming the house is uniform, keeps every treatment snug and every headrail lined up.

A whole house in one plan

When a house has a foyer window, a family room, a kitchen, a formal dining room and several bedrooms, it helps to plan them together even if you order in stages. Choosing one colour family across the house, and one product per type of room, makes the house feel finished. We record what was chosen, so any rooms done later will match.

Colour from the street

Seen from Mendon Road’s side streets, a subdivision house shows its foyer window, its front bedrooms and often a bay or a pair of windows in the living room. The foyer window is the largest of these, so its colour sets the tone. A white or soft neutral shade there, matched by the treatments in the front bedrooms and the living room, keeps the front looking tidy and deliberate.

Caring for treatments at height

A treatment at the top of a two-storey window is hard to reach for cleaning as well as for operating. Fabric shades need very little care, and a light dusting with a long-handled duster now and then is usually enough. Blinds lower down can be dusted with a soft cloth, and faux wood can take a slightly damp cloth in kitchens and baths.

Make a Start

Whether it is one stubborn foyer window or a whole house, a free quote is where it starts. The call button reaches the Swansea store directly: ask about Norman blinds in Cumberland, RI, pick a time for measuring, and raise any questions about installation. The form does the same job in writing. Prefer to see the motorised shades working before you decide? Head to the showroom, using the directions on our contact page. Google reviewers rate Window Works 5.0.