Sheer shades, light filtering roller shades, and open horizontal blinds let in the most natural light of any window treatment. The product you choose depends on how much privacy you still need alongside the light.
If you want a light-filled room with no privacy concern, a fully open horizontal blind or a fully transparent sheer is the most light you'll get. If you need some privacy alongside the light, a sheer shade or light filtering roller shade gives you the best of both.
The Products That Let in the Most Natural Light
Sheer shades pass the most light of any product while keeping the window covered. Light filtering roller shades let in slightly less because the fabric is denser, but the diffusion is better, which suits living areas and offices where glare from direct sun is a problem.
Fully open horizontal blinds pass slightly less total light than sheers because the slats themselves block some light even when fully rotated open. Angled upward, they redirect light toward the ceiling and into the room, which can feel like more light overall because the distribution is better.
Fully open drapery panels and sheers hung at the outer edge of the window frame pass light freely through the uncovered glass when pulled to the sides.
Sheer Shades: Maximum Light, Maintained Coverage
Sheer shades let in more light than any other product that keeps the window covered. The semi-transparent fabric diffuses direct sunlight across the room rather than blocking it, which fills the space with soft, even natural light.
They don't give you full privacy, particularly at night when your interior lighting reverses the visibility equation. During the day, they're the best single product for a light-filled room that also needs some daytime privacy from the street.
Our sheer shades are available in a range of fabric weights for different light levels and daytime privacy needs.
Light Filtering Roller Shades: Diffused Natural Light Without Glare
Light filtering roller shades let in a significant amount of natural light while softening direct sun into diffused, even illumination. They're a step denser than sheer shades, which means slightly less total light but better glare control.
For home offices, living rooms, and spaces where you're working on a screen, the diffused light of a light filtering roller shade is often more usable than the raw brightness of an uncovered or sheer-covered window. You get more functional light, even if the raw lumen count is slightly lower.
Our roller shades in light filtering fabric are the most popular single choice for homeowners who want natural light without direct sun glare.
Horizontal Blinds Angled Open: Redirecting Light Into the Room
Horizontal blinds with slats angled upward redirect light toward the ceiling and across the upper part of the room rather than blocking it. The total light entering the room is slightly less than with a sheer, but the distribution is different and often more useful for occupied spaces.
The angled-upward position also maintains horizontal privacy while letting in light: passersby can't see into the room at their eye level because the slat faces upward, but light from above comes in over the slat edge. For ground-floor rooms facing a street or sidewalk, this is a useful combination.
Our horizontal blinds in faux wood and aluminum give you the slat angle control that makes this work across different room types.
What to Avoid When You Want a Light-Filled Room
Room darkening and blackout shades block most or all natural light when closed. If you install them in a room where you want natural light, you'll need to keep them open most of the time, which defeats the point of having window treatments.
Heavy, lined draperies in dark colors make rooms feel darker and smaller. If natural light matters to how a room feels, dark or heavily lined panels on the main windows work against that.
Standard aluminum or vinyl blinds at a neutral angle block more light than many people expect. Half-closed slats on any horizontal blind can reduce incoming light by more than 50%.
Getting Maximum Light in Your Aurora, IL Home
Creative Blinds and Drapes installs sheer shades, light filtering roller shades, and horizontal blinds across Aurora, IL and surrounding communities. During a free in-home consultation, we discuss your rooms, window orientations, and how much light and privacy you actually need in each space.
For a guide on how light levels interact with your home's climate and energy performance in Illinois, our climate and light control guide covers the main considerations.
Our inside vs. outside mounts guide covers how mount placement affects how much of the glass area is covered, which directly affects how much light gets into the room.
See our service coverage on the service areas page or contact us to book a free in-home visit.