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5 Best Privacy Blinds & Shades

5 Best Privacy Blinds & Shades
BY BLINDSTER | 

Some blinds work well for energy efficiency. Others are meant more for decoration. Still others are best for safety and convenience. So, which of them works best for protecting your privacy?

Nearly every window treatment provides some degree of privacy (unless it's an extremely sheer fabric). Most blinds and shades are inherently "privacy" blinds and shades, since they block the view from the outside in.  But if privacy is the top feature on your checklist for new blinds or shades, here are some tips to find the window treatments that will maximize your privacy options:

1. 2" Deluxe Cordless Faux Wood Blinds

2” Deluxe Faux Wood Blinds

With a 4.7 (out of 5) star rating, and more than 3,500 reviews, our Deluxe Cordless Faux Woods are our most popular privacy blinds of all. Like all horizontal blinds, you can rotate the slats open and closed to either let in light or to block the light and have full privacy. You can also rotate the slats partially open to let some light into the room while still preventing anyone from seeing inside.

What sets these blinds apart is that the route holes (the spaces in the slats where the lift cord passes through) are positioned at the very back edge of the slat. When you close the blind, these route holes essentially "disappear", covered up by the slat above, to further enhance light blocking and privacy for this blind. So there are no holes outsiders can peek through, which guarantees you maximum privacy.

They look like real wood, but one of their huge additional benefits is they’re more durable, resistant to moisture, and easier to clean than wood blinds. They’re also fade and warp resistant, and the standard cordless lift feature makes them easy to operate.

2. 2" Deluxe Wood Blinds

2” Deluxe Wood Blinds

These are one of our best sellers. Although they don't have the special offset route holes like our Deluxe Faux Woods, our 2" Deluxe Wood Blinds are excellent for privacy and light control and are a customer favorite for their high-end construction and features (without having the high end price!).

There is a special UV inhibitor that protects against fading and warping. For all horizontal blinds, wood is also the best natural insulator, giving you a little bonus when you have these blinds closed in the window.

3. Cordless Blackout Top-Down/Bottom Up Single Cellular Shades

3. Cordless Blackout Top-Down/Bottom Up Single Cellular Shades

These shades provide two great features to maximize your privacy while still giving you options for light control. The fabric on this cellular shade is completely opaque, blocking all light and prying eyes. This is also a great feature wherever you really want to darken the room, including bedrooms and nurseries, media rooms and more.

However, there may be times where you still want some natural light to come into the room – that's where the top-down/bottom-up feature comes in.  You can also lower this shade from the top to allow some light to pass through while still maintaining privacy; just keep the top of the shade high enough so no one can see in from outside.

Cellular shades are excellent insulators as well, so you can get year-round energy savings by reducing your heat transfer through your window.

4. Super Value Cordless Light Filtering Top Down Bottom Up Single Cellular Shades

Light Filtering with Top-Down Bottom-Up

If blackout fabric is too much, you can opt for this light filtering shade so that even when the shade is lowered, you still get diffused light through the shade to softly illuminate the room. Even though light can get through the shade, no one can see through it. At night, with the interior lights on, only vague shadows would be visible from outside of anything right against the window – but more than a few inches away and even the shadows are gone.

This shade also features the top-down/bottom-up feature, so you can still optimize your light and privacy needs together without sacrificing one or the other. Plus, even light filtering shades are insulating, so you still get the energy efficiency benefits as well!

5. Deluxe Bamboo Woven Wood Shades

Bamboo shade with liner

If you like the style of bamboo shades but are concerned about privacy (especially at night when an open weave would allow a pretty clear view inside), then our Deluxe Bamboo Woven Wood Shades are still a great option for you – just customize your shade with either a light filtering or blackout liner!  These fabric liners are added to the back of the bamboo shade to provide greater light and privacy while still giving you the unique and organic look of a woven wood shade.

This shade collection is also available with top-down/bottom-up if you would like to further enhance your privacy options. Enjoy the beauty of natural bamboo shades while still maintaining complete privacy!

Have questions about the privacy levels of any of our other blinds and shades? Don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions and we'll be happy to help!