Lower row, cordless
Honeycomb or roller shades you touch every day. Same fabric as the row above so the wall reads as one.
Blinds for High Windows
Blinds for high windows: pick the control by how far you can reach.
Clerestory rows, stairwell windows, transoms, and the top of a two-story window wall are covered by the same shades and shutters as the rest of the house. What changes is how you operate them. Within reach, cordless. Up to about six feet above your hand, an AutoWand™. Anything higher, a motor. Measured and installed by PAPABLINDS across the Greater Seattle Area.
Three heights, three controls.
The product is chosen for the room; the control is chosen for the height.
| Where the window is | Control | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within reach from the floor | Cordless lift, wand tilt | Any honeycomb, roller, Roman, blind, or shutter | The default everywhere |
| Above reach, up to about 6 ft higher | AutoWand™ pendant in 5 or 6 ft lengths | Soluna™ roller, Portrait™ honeycomb, Centerpiece™ Roman, PerfectSheer™, SmartFold™ | Three buttons on the wand; rechargeable, no remote |
| Clerestory, stairwell, two-story walls | Norman® Smart Motorization or PerfectTilt™ G4 | Motorized shades; Woodlore® Plus and Normandy® shutters | Remote, app, and schedules; battery recharged from the floor with an 11 ft wand |
| Fixed transoms and half-rounds | None | Honeycomb, shutter, or a fixed arch piece | Covered once and left alone |
Details on the controls are on the motorized shades and motorized shutters pages.
Two-story walls: split at the transom.
The lower row is reachable and the upper row is not, so they get different controls in the same product.
Upper row, motorized
The clerestory shades on a remote channel and a schedule. Recharged from the floor with the charging wand and pole.
Shutters, both rows
Manual tilt below, PerfectTilt™ G4 above, in one line and one louver size. The most common Eastside great-room order.
The high windows we cover most.
The clerestory row
Six or eight small windows above a wall of glass, west-facing. Motorized honeycomb or solar shades on one channel.
The landing window
Reachable from nothing. A motorized shade, or a honeycomb shade set once with an AutoWand™ if the stair is close enough.
Transom over the door
A fixed honeycomb or a shutter piece for privacy and glare. No control needed.
Tall windows over a bed
The headboard is in the way. AutoWand™ on a honeycomb shade, or a motor with a schedule.
What we check on a high window.
- The height of the headrail above the floor, and what is below it: stairs, a bed, a sofa, a fireplace.
- Whether the window ever needs to move, or can be covered once.
- Charging access for a motorized shade: where the wand and pole can reach, or whether an outlet allows an adapter.
- Sun exposure, since most high windows are there for light and the shade is there for the glare.
- A safe ladder position for the installer, and whether a lift is needed for a very tall wall.
High window questions.
Can I just leave a high window uncovered?
Often yes, if it faces north or east. West- and south-facing high windows are the ones that heat the room and put glare on the TV, and those are worth a motorized shade on a schedule.
How do I charge a motorized shade 14 feet up?
With the wireless charging wand on its extension pole, which reaches windows up to 11 feet high, or with an AC adapter if there is an outlet near the window. Higher than that, we plan power at the visit.
Is AutoWand™ enough?
For a headrail up to about six feet above where you can comfortably hold the wand, yes. It is motorized lift with three buttons on the pendant. Above that, use a remote.
Do the upper and lower shades have to match?
They do not have to, but they should. Same fabric and color on both rows, with different controls, is how a window wall keeps looking like one wall.
Blinds and shades for high windows in the Seattle area
PAPABLINDS covers clerestory windows, stairwell windows, transoms, and two-story window walls in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and the surrounding communities. The products are the same Norman® shades and shutters we install everywhere; the control is chosen by height. Cordless lifts within reach, AutoWand™ pendants in 5 and 6 foot lengths for windows a little above it, and Norman® Smart Motorization or PerfectTilt™ G4 shutters for anything a ladder would be needed for.
Motorized where it counts
A motorized honeycomb or solar shade on a clerestory row runs from a remote channel or a schedule in the ShadeAuto™ app, and is recharged from the floor with the wireless charging wand and its 11 foot extension pole. Motorized shutters carry a battery with an integrated solar panel. On a two-story window wall the reachable row stays cordless in the same fabric, so nothing about the look changes.
What to have ready for the visit
- A rough height of the window above the floor and what sits below it.
- Which way the window faces and whether the problem is heat, glare, or privacy.
- Whether the window needs to move at all, or can be covered once and left.
Request a free in-home visit and we will measure the height, plan the control, and quote cordless, AutoWand™, and motorized side by side.