The Ultimate Guide to Honeycomb Shades

When it comes to window coverings, you want to make sure that you pick the best ones for your home. While there are many different options available, honeycomb shades can offer many benefits to any room in the house.

Compared to other window coverings, honeycomb shades can be an ideal choice for your needs. Let’s break down the various aspects of these shades so that you know what to expect when installing them.

What are Honeycomb Shades?

Unlike Venetian blinds, these shades are composed of single pieces of pleated fabric. The shade folds along the creases to allow you to raise and lower the section easily. Honeycomb shades can come with multiple layers, which provide extra privacy and insulation. Air is trapped within each layer, making the shades even better at trapping heat before it escapes outside.

The name honeycomb comes from the style of fabric used to make the shades. Each piece has thousands of honeycomb-shaped cells that make the shade stronger and more resilient.

Because the fabric is adjustable, these shades can be cut to fit almost any window, even those with irregular shapes. Also, honeycomb shades can be installed either vertically or horizontally, depending on your needs.

When choosing a window covering, you must consider various factors to ensure that you make the right decision. Fortunately, honeycomb shades come with some incredible advantages that might make them an ideal choice for you. Here are the top benefits you can expect.

Since the layers of fabric have air trapped inside, these shades are perfect at absorbing both heat and sound waves. Thicker models can help muffle outside noise, which can make the shades ideal for front-facing windows.

During the colder months, honeycomb shades will also trap more heat in the house, helping you save money on your utility bills. Unfortunately, they aren’t exactly ideal for hot and humid climates, so keep that in mind.

In some cases, having big, thick drapes over your windows can add a unique aesthetic. In other instances, you might want something far more practical instead. Fortunately, honeycomb shades are thin, meaning that they don’t create too much bulk when attached to your windows. Even better, they stay compact even when folded so that they stay out of the way no matter what.

Although all window coverings can provide privacy, many do so at the expense of allowing light to pass through. Even Venetian blinds can have small gaps where anyone can peek in, especially if some of the blinds are broken.

Honeycomb shades, however, don’t have that problem. Even those that permit a lot of light to come in are almost impossible to see through. Also, since they are made of single pieces of fabric, there are no spaces available for anyone to see inside.

While these shades can provide multiple benefits, they may not work in all situations and environments. Here are some potential downsides to consider when choosing your next window covering.

One of the primary benefits of Venetian blinds is that you can adjust how much light passes through them. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with honeycomb shades. If you want more light, you will have to raise them slightly, which can negate any benefits of privacy. Also, if you choose a darker variety, it will be even harder to allow light inside.

Overall, before installing these shades, you’ll need to understand how they can impact the use of the room. Ideally, you won’t have to adjust the brightness too often.

While the honeycomb cell design helps trap air and noise, they can also trap dirt and dust. Unfortunately, trying to clean these shades can be challenging since the cells are so small. In many cases, you can’t just wipe them down as you would with blinds. Even worse, they can’t be washed like drapes, as that will damage the structure.

Instead, you have to use specialized materials and methods to ensure that your shades get thoroughly clean. The upside, however, is that you shouldn’t have to do this very often. Typically, once or twice a year should suffice.

Because of their materials and simplicity, honeycomb shades are often compared to Venetian blinds. However, when you look at the price, these models can be much more costly than blinds. While honeycomb shades aren’t the most expensive option, they can be significant investments, depending on the model you choose.

To help you make the best choice for your home, we’ve compiled a list of the best rooms where honeycomb shades can work. Here are our top recommendations.

Compared to other areas in the house, the bathroom is one of the trickiest to install window coverings. This is because of the heat and humidity that accumulate whenever you take a bath or shower.

Fortunately, most honeycomb shades can handle moisture well, as you can easily wipe it off once you’re finished. Also, since these shades offer excellent privacy, you don’t have to worry about neighbors peeking in accidentally.

When it comes to sleep, many people struggle to get a good night’s rest because of too much light seeping into the room. Fortunately, since honeycomb shades can filter out light better than other coverings, you can eliminate the problem and wake up feeling refreshed. We recommend getting a darker color shade for your bedroom so that you can enhance this effect.

One area of the home that requires flexibility with lighting options is the living room. In many cases, you’ll want to adjust the brightness depending on the time of day.

Although honeycomb shades are not as versatile as Venetian blinds, they offer better protection from direct sunlight. Since the air pockets can trap heat, you can often lower the interior temperature by using these shades. Then, once the sun moves, you can adjust them however you see fit.

If you’re interested in installing honeycomb shades, let us take care of the work for you. We have a wide variety of colors and sizes for your home. We’ll come out to inspect the windows and provide a free on-site estimate. Call us today to find out more.