Warm and dark
Room-darkening cells with side channels for sleep, insulation for the window over the bed.
Cellular Shades
Cellular shades: the insulating layer your windows are missing.
Honeycomb cells trap air against the glass, which is why cellular shades are the shade we recommend first for cold bedrooms and drafty older windows. Portrait™ honeycomb shades in six cell sizes and over 150 fabrics, measured and installed by PAPABLINDS across the Greater Seattle Area.
How a honeycomb cell works.
Seen from the side, the fabric is a row of hexagonal cells. Each cell holds a pocket of still air between the room and the glass, and still air is a poor conductor of heat. That is the whole trick: in January the room side of the shade stays closer to room temperature, and in July less of the afternoon sun gets through as heat.
Norman’s Portrait™ shades use a D-cell construction that keeps the pleats crisp instead of sagging over the years, and a double-cell option adds a second row of air pockets for the coldest windows. Single-pane windows in older Seattle homes are the textbook case.
- Insulating air pockets for year-round comfort.
- D-cell construction that keeps pleats crisp over time.
- Single and double cell, six sizes from 3/8 to 1 1/4 inch.
- Sheer, light-filtering, and room-darkening fabrics, over 150 colors.
© 2021 Norman®. All Rights Reserved.Cell sizes and where they fit.
Smaller cells suit small windows and a finer pleat; larger cells suit tall windows and stack more compactly.
- 3/8 inch single
- The smallest pleat. Small windows, French door panes, and anywhere the shade should read as a fine texture.
- 9/16 and 3/4 inch single
- The everyday sizes for standard bedroom and living room windows.
- 1 1/4 inch single
- A bold pleat for tall windows and large openings.
- 1/2 and 3/4 inch double
- Two rows of cells for the coldest windows: north walls, single-pane glass, rooms that never warm up.
- Side channels
- Optional channels along the window edges that minimize light leakage on room-darkening shades.
Rooms that get the most from cellular shades.
Walls of glass
A wide window loses heat all winter. Cellular fabric cuts the draft you feel from the sofa.
Glare without gloom
A light-filtering cell softens the window behind the screen and keeps the room bright.
Cordless by default
SmartRise™ cordless lift, certified Best for Kids, with nothing to pull or loop.
Which opacity for which room?
Fabric opacity decides how the shade behaves with the sun up and the lights on.
| Opacity | Daytime | At night with the lights on | Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheer | Softens the view, most light | Silhouettes visible | Living rooms, dining rooms |
| Light filtering | Glow, no view in | Privacy | Most rooms, offices, kitchens |
| Room darkening | Dark, light at the edges | Privacy | Bedrooms, nurseries, media rooms |
| Room darkening with side channels | Dark | Privacy | Bedrooms that must be dark |
For the full blackout options across shade types, see blackout shades.
Lift and control options.
- SmartRise™ cordless, bottom up
- Cordless top-down bottom-up
- Cordless Day and Night (two fabrics)
- Continuous cord loop with SmartRelease™
- Motorized, including top-down bottom-up and skylights
- SmartFit® framed shades for doors and sloped windows
Top-down bottom-up gets its own page: top-down bottom-up shades.
Cellular shade questions.
Do cellular shades really lower heating bills?
They reduce heat loss through the glass, and on single-pane or older double-pane windows the difference is noticeable from the sofa. We do not quote a percentage: it depends on the window, the fabric, and how often the shade is down. Double cells and side channels get the most out of it.
Single or double cell?
Double for the coldest windows and for bedrooms; single for everything else. Double cells stack a little thicker when raised, so on a small window the single cell often looks better.
Can I get them motorized?
Yes: motorized bottom up, top-down bottom-up, Day and Night, and skylight versions. Power and charging access are confirmed at the visit.
How do I clean them?
Dust with a soft brush or a vacuum on low with the brush attachment. Spot-clean with a damp cloth. The cells are not meant to be soaked.
Cellular shades in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond
Cellular shades, also called honeycomb shades, are the shade we recommend most often for Seattle-area bedrooms and for the older windows in Ballard, Wallingford, and Queen Anne craftsman homes. The cells hold still air against the glass, which keeps a room warmer in a wet January and cooler in a July heat wave. Norman’s Portrait™ line comes in six cell sizes, single and double cell, and over 150 fabric colors. PAPABLINDS measures and installs them in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and nearby communities.
Choosing the cell size
The 9/16 and 3/4 inch single cells are the everyday choice and fit most windows. The 3/8 inch cell suits small windows and door panes, and the 1 1/4 inch cell suits tall windows where a bigger pleat looks right. Double cells in 1/2 or 3/4 inch add a second layer of air for north-facing rooms, single-pane glass, and bedrooms.
Cordless, top-down bottom-up, or motorized
SmartRise™ cordless lift is the standard: no cords, certified Best for Kids. Top-down bottom-up lowers the top of the shade for daylight while the bottom stays up for privacy, the setting most of our bathroom and street-level customers use. Motorized versions run from a remote or an app and are worth it for tall windows and for rooms with more than three shades.
Cellular shades or blinds
Blinds tilt; shades lift. If you adjust the window through the day for glare, a blind gives finer control. If you want insulation, a soft look, and one motion to open or close, a cellular shade wins. Many homes use both: cellular shades in the bedrooms, faux wood blinds in the kitchen and bathroom.
Request a free in-home visit and we bring cell samples and fabric swatches to hold against your own windows.