Gable windows look beautiful and add so much to the architecture of your home. Making the most of the space to provide as much light as possible, gable windows flood the room with warmth throughout the day. And that’s great… until you don’t want that light.
Whether it’s when night has fallen and you’re looking to close up and have some privacy or because you’re trying to watch something engrossing on TV and the glare is making it impossible, there will be many times when you just want these bright expanses of glass covered up – and that’s when the biggest problems with gable window become clear: shape, and position.
With their sharp angles and pointy tops, plus that stretch to the highest heights of the ceiling, gable windows are very far from being friendly to coverings – just try to attach a curtain and you’ll know what we mean! Thankfully, at the Scottish Shutter Company, we have experience dealing with awkward window designs. With the right know-how and some quality materials, you can solve the challenges of gable windows. Join us as we take a look at the top three challenges with gable windows, and how the right blinds can solve them.
1 – The Shape Challenge
Ah, it’s all tricky angles and slopes! Most gable windows end up with a triangle at the top, culminating in a single point. It’s hardly the most friendly of shapes when it comes to fitting window coverings. Curtains are right out, because they succumb to gravity, and if there’s one thing gravity loves, it’s a slope to pull things down, but do blinds suffer in a similar way?
The answer is yes! And no.
It is true that the triangular nature of a gable window presents a problem for blinds, but it’s not insurmountable. Gable blinds can fan out, allowing each side to drop at a different rate and level, giving perfect control to cover an angular shape. By making a custom gable blind configuration that enjoys fanning top level blinds combined with more traditional horizontal blinds, the whole window is covered stylishly and effectively.
There’s no unsightly bunching or gaps when it’s made to measure, just an easy-to-use gable blind system that folds neatly out of the way when not wanted and light control and privacy when needed. A perfect answer to a rather complicated problem.
Custom-fit gable blinds are built into your gable window area, with frames that match your home aesthetic to make them non-invasive and seamless – especially when they’re done professionally by the Scottish Shutter Company.
2 – The Position Challenge
The second major issue is getting to your gable window to use the covering – especially if the controls are positioned towards the top of the window. Gable windows can be high – really high! – and you don’t want to have to climb up a ladder every evening just to set the mood. In too many cases, DIY enthusiasts or those looking to cut corners (pun intended!) on their window coverings will end up with a ‘solution’ that becomes an even greater problem. When you can’t easily use your blinds, you’ll just end up leaving them open all the time (so they may as well not exist) or closed out of laziness and inaccessibility, making your home perpetually dark.
The solution comes with smart blind controls and motorised blinds. In our technological age, there really is no need to balance on the back of a chair to reach a blind cord – simply press a button and watch as the blind effortlessly moves into (or out of) position. A few seconds of whirring and you go from blinding sunlight to a calm room of diffused light, or from near-total, light-obscured darkness to a warm summer morning. For those embracing the whole smart home revolution, even the button is unnecessary; simply speak out loud to the room and watch as an invisible assistant does the hard work for you – all without leaving a shoe print on the upholstery.
With bespoke and automated systems from the Scottish Shutter Company, the position of your gable windows is no longer a problem. We offer a range of control options, right down to scheduled or triggered activation – you’ve not known luxury until your blinds sense the setting sun behind your back and effortlessly cover the windows for you, without you even needing to shift in your seat.
3 – The Effectiveness Challenge
We saved the best for last – doing the job well. It’s all very well installing some clever blinds that fit the space and open and close with ease, but if they don’t do the job they’re intended for, what’s the point?
Sadly, we often see blinds in our customers’ houses that are the wrong fabric, the wrong style, or the wrong fit. When that happens, your blinds are failing on multiple levels:
- They don’t provide the cover you’re after – This will leave you with a room that’s still filled with leaky light despite the blinds being fully closed.
- They don’t allow for finer light control during the day – Often blinds have a binary setting of ‘completely light’ or ‘completely dark’ (or worse; ‘sort of dark but not quite what I wanted’).
- They don’t properly insulate your home – Good blinds are there to do more than just block the light; they also keep the heat in during the cold months, and maintain coolness in the hot summer. When your blinds are poorly fitted or of substandard materials, they fail to insulate well, leading to higher energy bills and uncomfortable rooms.
- They don’t offer true privacy – If your gable window faces a road or a neighbouring house, then privacy is a significant consideration. Poorly fitted blinds will have gaps that leave openings for nosy neighbours or passers-by to glance in, turning your sanctuary into a zoo cage! It’s also not all about what people can see with a good blind dampening sounds in both directions. This keeps your conversations private and makes sure you’re never bothered with what’s going on outside the window.
In contrast, well-fitted blinds designed for gable windows give you room-darkening performance, adjustable daylight control, and protection from both the cold and prying eyes.
At the Scottish Shutter Company, we work with top quality materials that mean there’s never a problem when it comes to effectiveness or quality. Consider honeycomb blinds for additional thermal and audio insulation, or solar-reflective materials for temperature and light control. With premium gable blinds, you will enjoy top-quality coverings that bring additional beauty into your home.
Gable Blinds with the Scottish Shutter Company
At the Scottish Shutter Company, we think differently. To us, a gable window isn’t a challenge or problem to worry about – it’s a fantastic architectural feature that deserves to be enhanced with a quality window covering. We love what we do, and it’s that passion combined with decades of expertise that means we’re the perfect choice when it comes to your gable windows.
For a professionally installed, custom-fit solution, contact us at the Scottish Shutter Company today, or download a brochure to see what’s on offer.
