Bungalow Windows That Come in Groups
Walk down almost any street in Riverside or Rumford and you will see the same pattern on the front of the houses: two, three or four windows set side by side, framed together so they read as one wide opening. The bungalows built here between the wars and just after were designed that way, and it shapes how woven wood shades in East Providence, RI are planned. The group is usually treated as a single window, and the shades have to make it look like one.
A woven shade suits these houses well. Bungalows were built around natural materials, wood trim and simple lines, and a weave of bamboo, reed or wood belongs with that. The question is how to cover a group: one wide shade across the lot, or a shade for each window, made so the set looks continuous.
The town has more than bungalows, too. The colonials of Rumford, the older houses around Watchemoket and the newer construction at Kettle Point each bring their own windows to the job.
- Woven wood and bamboo, unlined or with a fabric liner
- Measured in your home, fitted by our own installers
- Weaves and liners to compare at the Swansea showroom
Ways to Cover a Window Group
One shade across the group
Where the windows sit close and the posts between them are slim, a single wide shade turns the group into one calm surface of weave.
A shade per window, one line
Separate shades on each window let you raise one and leave the others down, while matched heights keep the group looking whole.
Fine bamboo for small rooms
A close, even weave for a bungalow bedroom or a dormer room, where the light is precious and the window is small.
Grouped Windows and Woven Wood Shades in East Providence, RI
Grouped windows are the heart of the bungalow, and getting them right is most of the work for woven wood shades in East Providence, RI. A group might be a pair of double-hung windows in a dining room, a run of three across the front of the living room, or four or five small windows wrapped around a sun porch. Each group has posts or mullions between the windows, and how wide those posts are tells us a lot about the best way to cover them.
One wide shade or several
Where the posts are slim and the windows sit tight together, a single woven shade across the group can look striking. The weave runs uninterrupted from one side to the other, and the group reads exactly as the builder meant it to, as one opening. It is mounted on the trim or just above it, so it spans the posts.
There are trade-offs. One wide shade lifts as a single piece, so you cannot raise just the middle window for the view and leave the sides down. A very wide woven shade is also a fair amount of material to lift. Where the group is wide or you want to raise windows one at a time, separate shades are usually better.
With separate shades, the skill is in making them look like a set. Each one is measured on its own, because bungalow windows in one group are not always exactly the same size, and each is made so that the tops sit on one line and the hems match when they are all lowered. From across the room, the group still reads as a single band of natural texture.
Built-ins under the windows
Many of the bungalows have built-in benches, bookcases or window seats under the main windows, or a radiator tucked beneath the sill. A woven shade has to clear these. On an inside mount, the shade hangs within the frame and drops to the sill, well clear of anything below. On an outside mount, the length is set so the hem stops at the right point and does not rest on the cushions or the top of the bookcase.
We note what sits under every window when we measure, so the length is right first time and the controls end up on the side you can reach.
Rumford colonials and their matched pairs
The colonials in Rumford from the same era are a more formal brief. Their windows tend to be single double-hung sash, arranged symmetrically on each side of the front door, with matching pairs in the bedrooms upstairs. From the street, the front of the house reads as an even grid.
Woven shades on a colonial are usually all made to the same height and set so they lower to the same line. Inside, the living and dining rooms often pair the shade with drapery panels, while the bedrooms upstairs take lined shades on their own. The trim on these houses is usually painted and in good order, so an inside mount that keeps it on show is often the first choice, provided the frames are deep enough, which we check at every window.
The stair landing is the window people forget. In a colonial it is often a different size from every other window in the house and is seen from both floors, so its shade should match the weave of the rooms around it and hang at a height that looks right from the hall below as well as from the landing.
Watchemoket’s older houses
The older housing around Watchemoket, close to the river, has taller, narrower windows and higher ceilings than the bungalows that followed. Many of these houses sit nearer the street and nearer each other, so privacy at the front and the sides is part of the brief.
A tall woven shade has a long drop and, raised, a deeper stack. On a tall window with room above the frame, mounting the shade above the trim lets the stack clear the glass. On the side windows that look at the house next door, a liner keeps the room private through the day without making it dim, especially if both the weave and the liner are on the pale side.
Sun porches wrapped in windows
A good number of the bungalows in Riverside have a front or side porch that was closed in at some point, with small windows running round three sides. These rooms are bright, warm in summer and lovely to sit in, and they are where woven wood shades for East Providence porches really earn their place. Lowered on a hot afternoon, an open weave takes the heat and glare out of the room while the garden stays in view through the strands.
Porch windows are often small, numerous and not quite identical, because the framing went in by hand. We measure every one, and each shade is made so that the whole run lowers to a single line. Where the porch is used mostly by day, unlined shades keep the texture and the light. Where it doubles as a room for the evening, a privacy liner on the street side keeps it comfortable after dark.
Ready to Get Started? Book Your Free Quote
Call the Swansea store for a free quote, or come and see the samples in person.
What Sets Window Works Apart
Window Works is a family store in Swansea, open since 1988 and now in the hands of the second generation. In over 37 years our team has worked in houses from the SouthCoast of Massachusetts through the Rhode Island East Bay, and East Providence’s bungalows and colonials are familiar territory.
- An experienced team that only does window treatments
- Measuring in your home, window by window and group by group
- Installation handled by our own people
- Regular contact from the first call to the finished job
- Warranties offered on the products we sell
Light Through a Woven Shade
What makes a woven shade different from a fabric shade is what it does with the light. The weave is not solid, so light passes through the gaps between the strands, and the room takes on a warm, filtered glow with a fine pattern of shadow on the floor and walls. The tighter the weave, the softer and more private the light. The looser the weave, the brighter the room and the more of the outside you can see.
Choosing the weave
For a bungalow living room with a big front group of windows, a medium weave often strikes the balance: enough texture and privacy by day, enough light to keep the room bright. A sun porch wrapped in windows can take an open weave, where the whole point is to enjoy the garden. A small bedroom or a dormer room usually suits a closer weave, which gives an even light without too much glare.
Colour changes the light as well. Pale bamboo and grasses let the room stay bright and give a light, golden glow. Darker woods give a deeper, warmer cast that suits a den or a study with lots of wood trim, as many bungalows have.
Choosing the liner
The liner is a layer of fabric on the back of the shade, and it decides what happens at night. Unlined, a woven shade lets light and shapes show through in both directions, so with the lights on inside, the street can see movement in the room. A privacy liner stops that and still passes soft daylight. A room-darkening liner holds back much more light, which suits a bedroom.
On a front group facing the street, a privacy liner is usually the sensible choice. On a sun porch at the back, unlined often works. Upstairs, room-darkening liners are popular in bedrooms facing east. Because the front of every shade can be the same weave, a house can mix liners room by room and still look consistent.
How an East Providence Order Goes
From the first call to the final fitting, we keep you informed. The steps are these.
- Reach the store with the call button or the form, say which rooms and window groups you have in mind and book your free quote.
- One of our specialists comes to measure. For each group we look at the posts, the trim and what sits underneath, and we talk through one shade or several.
- Visit the Swansea showroom to see the weaves and liners side by side, and pick for each room.
- Your quote sets out every shade, window by window and group by group.
- The shades are made to the measurements taken at the house.
- Our installers put them up, line up the tops and hems across each group, and show you how each one works.
Folding or rolling
Woven shades come in styles that either fold up in soft, even pleats as they rise or roll up around a tube. A folding shade has a fuller look and suits the craftsman feel of a bungalow. A rolling shade keeps the raised shade slim, which can help on a group of windows set close to the ceiling, where a deep stack would cover the top of the glass. A matching valance in the same weave can hide the headrail on a group with no drapery over it.
Dormer rooms upstairs
Upstairs in a bungalow, the bedrooms often sit under the roof, lit by a dormer with a single window or a short group of two. The walls slope in close around them, and there is little space above the frame. Woven wood shades in East Providence dormers usually work best inside the frame where the depth allows it, in a rolling style or with a compact headrail so the raised shade leaves as much glass clear as possible.
These rooms heat up under the roof in summer and can be bright early in the morning, so a room-darkening liner is a common choice. A pale weave on the front keeps the room from feeling closed in during the day.
Kettle Point and newer construction
The newer houses at Kettle Point bring a different set of windows: larger panes, open-plan rooms, more glass facing the river and often a sliding door to a deck or patio. Woven shades suit the big windows here well, adding natural warmth to rooms that can otherwise feel hard and bright. An open or medium weave keeps the view, and the irregular texture breaks up glare off the water in the afternoon.
The sliders are another matter. A woven shade on a sliding door has to be raised every time someone goes out, and a long one is heavy to lift often. For a busy slider, we would usually suggest vertical blinds or a panel track, which draw sideways. Our vertical blinds in East Providence page has more on those, and woven shades can then go on the windows on either side so the room still feels of a piece.
Where woven shades are not the answer
Natural materials do not like water. A bathroom with a shower or a kitchen window right over the sink is better with something that copes with steam and splashes. A nursery that must be fully dark may suit a cellular shade with a blackout fabric better than any lined weave. If another treatment suits a window better, we will say so. The cellular shades in East Providence page covers one alternative, and the East Providence window treatments page lists the rest.
Shades with drapes
In a bungalow dining room or a Rumford colonial living room, a woven shade with drapery panels at the sides gives a finished, layered look. The shade does the daily work with the light, and the panels add colour and can be drawn in the evening. We make drapes as well, so both can be chosen together and measured in one visit. The main woven wood shades page shows how woven shades fit into the rest of what we make.
Keeping woven shades clean
A soft duster or the brush tool on a vacuum, drawn gently down the shade every so often, keeps the weave free of dust. Treat spills by blotting, not scrubbing, and keep the shade dry. If a woven shade you already own has a frayed cord or a lift that has started to stick, we can usually repair it.
Hold the Samples Yourself
Our showroom in Swansea is a short drive from East Providence. Come in to compare a fine bamboo with a looser wood weave, hold the liners up to the light and see how each colour looks in daylight. If you have a photo of your window group or the room, bring it along. Norman products are on display there as well.
Questions from East Providence
Should my bungalow’s group of windows get one shade or several?
One wide shade suits a tight group with slim posts. Separate shades suit a wider group or one where you want to raise windows individually. Either way, we make the set look like one opening.
Will the shade clear the built-in bench under my front windows?
Yes. We note what sits beneath each window when we measure and set the length so the hem stops in the right place.
Can I have a woven shade on my sliding door?
You can, but on a door used often, vertical blinds or a panel track are usually easier. Woven shades can go on the windows beside it.
Do I need a liner on a street-facing window?
For evening privacy, yes. An unlined weave shows shapes when the lights are on. A privacy liner stops that and still lets daylight through.
What does a quote cost?
Nothing. Quotes are free. Use the call button or the form and tell us about the windows you want to cover.
Book Your Free Quote
When you are ready, book a free quote. The call button connects you with our Swansea store, where you can set up measuring in your home or ask about installation, and the form is there if you would rather write. Directions to the showroom are on the contact page. Window Works carries a 5.0 rating on Google.