The Short Answer
The best shades for a west facing window in Toronto are a zebra shade for a living room, where the filtered position cuts glare and heat while keeping the view, or a solar screen roller in a 3% to 5% openness for an office or a room you want to keep visually bare. Both should be motorized on a sunset schedule if the wall is wide, so the room manages itself.
Key Takeaways
- West light is low, direct and late. It comes in under any blind that only covers the top of the glass.
- A zebra in the filtered position or a screen roller both cut glare and solar heat while keeping the skyline.
- Dark screen fabrics give the clearest view out. Light ones reflect more heat. We show you both at your window.
- A motor on a sunset schedule is the single best upgrade for a west facing wall.
The west facing suite gets the sunset, the lake and the reason you paid the premium. It also gets four hours of direct low sun that heats the room, bleaches the sofa and makes the television invisible. Every summer we are called to condos from Harbourfront to Etobicoke by someone who has stopped using their own living room. Here is how we give it back.
Why west light is the hardest to manage
Morning sun is high and brief. West sun is low and long: it comes straight through the glass at eye level from mid afternoon until it drops behind the next tower, and it carries heat with it. A curtain that covers the top of the window does nothing. Tinting the glass is often not permitted in a condo and dims the view all day, including the hours you wanted it. The answer is a shade that can sit in a middle state for four hours and then get out of the way.
The two shades that solve it
Zebra shades, in the filtered position
Offset the bands on a zebra shade and the opaque stripes take the direct sun while the sheers keep the skyline. The room drops from glare to glow. After sunset, one pull closes it for privacy, and in the morning it rolls fully up. This is the shade we install most on west facing living rooms, and the one clients tell their neighbours about.
Solar screen roller shades
A screen roller in a 3% or 5% openness fabric is a fine mesh you can see through. It cuts glare and a large share of the solar heat while the view stays. Choose a darker mesh for the clearest view out, a lighter one to reflect more heat. Best for home offices and rooms where you want the window to disappear.
What not to do on a west wall
- Blackout in the living room. You will have a dark cave at four in the afternoon and no view. Blackout belongs in the bedroom.
- Stock size shades. A quarter inch gap on a west window is a blade of light across the floor, moving, for four hours.
- Sheer curtains alone. They soften the light and do nothing about the heat.
- Window film. Often against condo rules, dims the view at every hour, and cannot be undone.
Motorize it and stop thinking about it
A west wall is the best case for a motor we know. Set a schedule tied to sunset and the shades drop to the filtered position as the sun swings around, close after dark and open at breakfast. You never touch them, and the room is always the right brightness. Read our piece on whether motorized blinds are worth it for the details.
Fabric, fading and the furniture
Four hours of direct sun a day fades a sofa, a rug and a floor in two or three summers. A screen or zebra shade in the filtered position cuts most of the UV that does it. If you have just furnished the room, that alone pays for the shades.
“Old warehouse building, not one window the same width. Prince measured every opening separately instead of assuming, and the finished shades line up dead straight across the whole wall.”
Questions People Ask
Frequently Asked
What is the best blind for a west facing window?
A zebra shade for a living room, where the filtered position cuts glare and keeps the view, or a solar screen roller for an office. Both should be motorized on a sunset schedule if the wall is wide.
Do solar shades block heat?
Yes. A screen fabric reflects and absorbs a large share of the solar heat before it enters the room while you keep the view. Lighter fabrics reflect more heat; darker ones give a clearer view.
Can I keep my view and still block the sun?
That is exactly what a zebra shade in the filtered position or a screen roller is for. Neither is blackout; both keep the skyline while cutting glare and heat.
Will shades stop my furniture fading?
A screen or zebra shade in the filtered position blocks most of the UV that fades fabric and flooring. It is the least expensive way to protect a newly furnished room.
