Short answer: kitchens need something that tolerates heat, steam and grease, wipes clean, and clears window cranks and sills you actually use. Faux wood, composite and easy-clean roller shades do the job. Real wood and heavy fabric do not.
The rest of this covers the options that actually work in that situation, what to decide before you order, the mistakes we get called out to fix, and how the Texas sun should change your choice.
What works, and why
Faux wood blinds
The default for good reason. They handle steam without warping and wipe down with a cloth, which matters over a sink or near a hob.
Composite shutters
The most finished look that still survives a kitchen. More expensive, but they do not mind moisture and they clean easily.
Roller and solar shades
Flat, minimal, and they roll out of the way over a sink. Choose a fabric rated for easy cleaning rather than a textured weave that traps grease.
What to avoid
Real wood warps over a sink. Woven wood and heavy fabric absorb cooking smells and are difficult to clean. Neither belongs over a hob.
What to decide before you order
- Whether there is a window crank, which usually forces an outside mount
- Whether you use the sill as a shelf
- How close the window is to the hob, which decides how much grease it will take
- Whether the window is over a sink, and how far you have to reach
Material, and why it matters more than style
The format of a treatment is a look. The material is what decides whether it still works in three years. Getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake available, because a custom treatment is not returnable and a warped one gets replaced.
Real wood
Lightest, takes stain beautifully, and belongs in dry living areas. It moves with humidity, so it is the wrong answer near a shower or a sink.
Faux wood and composite
Handle moisture and hard sun without warping. Heavier, which matters on a wide span, but they are why most Texas kitchens and bathrooms end up with them.
Fabric shades
Softer and warmer in a room, and the only option where openness factor lets you tune view against shade. Choose a weave rated for sun on a hot wall.
Vinyl and aluminium
Cheapest, and they behave like it on a west facing window. Fine on a shaded north opening in a room nobody uses.
Light control, privacy and the night time problem
Daytime privacy and night time privacy are different problems, and a lot of disappointment comes from assuming one treatment solves both. A weave that gives perfect privacy at noon can go transparent once the lights are on inside.
- Decide per window whether you need light filtering, room darkening or blackout
- Check whether the window needs to work after dark, not just during the day
- Remember that any inside mount leaks light at the edges, by design
- Layering a shade under a drape solves most cases that one product cannot
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- Real wood over a sink, which warps within a couple of seasons
- An inside mount that fouls a window crank
- Textured fabric near a hob that cannot be cleaned
- A treatment you cannot reach across a deep counter
The Texas factor
West and south facing glass takes the worst of the afternoon here, and it is the single thing that should drive the specification. A treatment that is perfect on a north window can fade, warp or simply fail to do its job on a west wall.
- Check which way each window faces before choosing material
- Moisture rules bathrooms and kitchens: faux wood or composite, not real wood
- Anything on the hot side should be specified for sun, not chosen on looks
- Shading the outside of the glass beats shading the inside, every time
How we would approach it
At the consultation we look at which way the window faces, what the room is used for, how the opening is built and whether it is square and deep enough for the mount you want. Then we measure every opening ourselves and quote from those measurements.
- Samples brought to your home so you see them in your own light
- Every opening measured on site rather than estimated
- A written quote based on those measurements
- Installation by the same team that measured
- Remade at no cost if it does not match the approved measurements
Let us measure it
The consultation is free, we bring samples you can hold against your own light, and we measure every opening on site. You get a written quote from those measurements.
