Do certain rooms in your home have a strong glare depending on the time of day? Maybe afternoon sunlight makes it difficult to see your television or computer screen, or you find yourself closing the blinds just to comfortably use the room.
You don’t have to choose between harsh glare and a dark room. The right window treatments can reduce window glare while still allowing natural light into your home. The key is understanding where the sunlight is coming from, when it’s causing problems and how much light you want to keep.
Why Does Window Glare Get So Bad at Certain Times of Day?
It’s 2:00 in the afternoon, and you’re trying to enjoy a pick-me-up coffee, but you feel like you need to wear your sunglasses just sitting at your table. Oh…you thought you’d be able to sit down and get some work done on the computer? Forget that! With the glare, it can be nearly impossible to see your screens.
The direction your windows face plays an important role. West-facing windows can be particularly challenging because the lower afternoon sun shines more directly into the room at eye and screen level. East-facing windows can create similar problems in the morning.
If sunlight seems to change dramatically from room to room throughout the day, learn more about how window direction affects natural light.
Glare, Heat and Fading Are Different Sunlight Problems
Bright sunlight can create more than one problem at your windows. Glare is the uncomfortable brightness that makes it difficult to see a television, computer screen or even comfortably sit in a room. Heat is caused by solar energy entering through the glass and warming the interior. Sun exposure can also contribute to fading of flooring, rugs, furniture and artwork over time.
A window treatment can help with more than one of these concerns, but the best choice depends on which problem matters most in the room.
For glare control, the goal isn’t always to block every bit of sunlight. Often, it’s to soften and diffuse incoming light while maintaining comfortable daylight and your preferred level of privacy.
Best Window Treatments for Reducing Glare
Different window treatments manage bright sunlight in different ways. The right choice depends on your view, privacy needs, window orientation and how much natural light you want to keep.
Solar Shades for Glare and View-Through
Solar shades are particularly useful when glare is the problem but you still want to maintain some connection to the outdoors. The fabric’s openness factor affects how much light and view come through.
A lower openness factor provides greater glare control and privacy during the day, while a more open fabric preserves more of the view and natural light. Fabric color can also affect glare, view-through and how the shade responds to sunlight.
This makes solar shades especially worth considering for living rooms, offices and other spaces where bright sunlight hits television or computer screens.
Light-Filtering Shades for Softer Daylight
Light-filtering fabrics can diffuse harsh sunlight instead of completely blocking it. Rather than leaving the window uncovered until the sun becomes unbearable—or closing a room-darkening shade and losing the daylight altogether—you can create a softer, more comfortable glow.
That’s an important distinction. Silhouette® Sheer Shades and other light-filtering window treatments can soften uncomfortable brightness while still welcoming daylight into your home.
Use Top Down Bottom Up Shades for Light and Privacy
Sometimes the problem isn’t simply how much light enters the room—it’s where that light is coming from. Top down bottom up shades give you another way to manage glare, daylight and privacy. In this space, lowering the Vignette Modern Roman Shades from the top allows natural light into the room above eye level while keeping more of the window covered where direct sunlight or privacy is a concern.
Control Afternoon Glare Automatically
Does the glare show up at almost the same time every day? That’s where motorization becomes particularly useful. Motorized shades make it easy to adjust your window treatments when the sunlight changes. They’re especially helpful on tall or hard-to-reach windows, but convenience isn’t the only advantage.
With PowerView® Automation, shades can be scheduled to adjust around the times when direct sunlight becomes a problem. Instead of realizing at 3:30 that the west-facing windows are already flooding the room with glare, your shades can be positioned ahead of time. You can still adjust them from your phone, remote or compatible smart-home system whenever your plans change.
What About Glare on Computer and TV Screens?
Screen glare is often one of the first signs that a room needs better light control. Home offices, living rooms and media spaces can become uncomfortable when direct sunlight reaches a computer monitor or television. Start by paying attention to which window is causing the glare and what time it happens. You may not need to darken every window in the room.
For a home office where maintaining daylight matters, a light-filtering or solar shade may soften the brightness enough to comfortably use your screen. In a living room or media space, you may want greater light control during certain hours while keeping the shades open the rest of the day.
Do You Have to Block the View to Reduce Glare?
Not necessarily. That’s one of the reasons fabric selection matters so much. Some shade fabrics are designed to diffuse light, while solar fabrics can reduce glare while maintaining varying degrees of view-through. Other rooms may benefit from adjustable shades that let you change the amount or location of incoming light throughout the day.
The best solution isn’t automatically the darkest shade. It’s the window treatment that gives you enough glare control for the way you actually use the room.
For additional technical information about window attachments and solar control, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Solution Center explains how interior window attachments can help manage glare and solar heat gain.
Find the Right Glare-Control Solution for Your Houston Home
At Creative Blinds, we don’t want you avoiding a favorite room every afternoon because the sunlight becomes uncomfortable. The solution might be a solar shade that preserves your view, a light-filtering fabric that softens the daylight, top down bottom up operation that gives you more control over where light enters, or motorized shades that adjust before the glare begins.
Our designers can look at the direction of your windows, the time of day you’re experiencing glare, how you use the room and how much natural light you want to preserve. From there, we can help you find the right window treatment for the space. Contact us for your free in-home consultation.
