4 Best Window Treatments for Mid-Century Modern Homes

Starting in the mid-20th century, this modern style has been defined by limited, functional design that’s simple, comfortable, and practical. Some of the defining characteristics of mid-century modern design include open spaces, natural tones or colors, and minimal décor.

One of the unique problems with finding the best window treatments for mid-century modern homes is that these homes often feature large or customized windows. This can make it challenging to know where you should start. When it’s time to put the finishing touches on your home, you might be looking for the best window treatments for mid-century modern homes. How can you accent the design you’ve already created and tie each room together? 

In this article, we’ll look at 4 of the best window treatments for mid-century modern homes. We’ll cover (pun intended) the advantages of each option and other features to consider when choosing your next window treatments.

1 | Roller Shades

Roller shades offer tons of benefits both stylistically and functionally, making them one of the best window treatments for mid-century modern homes. Aside from their sleek and minimalistic aesthetic, they can be tightly closed against the window frame to maximize the available natural light for a room and allow you to keep an open, airy feeling.

By finding the exact shade to match your interior color scheme, you can ensure that the roller shades are a design feature and not a distraction. Roller shades are a great choice for waist-height windows where the top can be easily reached. If you want even more control over shade positioning from the comfort of the couch or dining table, a motorized option can be added. As a final touch, consider choosing a unique pattern or texture for your roller shades to make them more of a design statement when fully closed.  

2 | Honeycomb and Cellular Shades

Cellular shades are an often overlooked option for window treatments for mid-century modern homes. However, cellular shades can offer several big benefits when you’re picking window treatments. First, cellular shades are one of the most energy-efficient window coverings. The unique honeycomb design has excellent insulating qualities, allowing homeowners to reduce heat loss by up to 40% when they are properly fitted and installed.

Second, honeycomb and cellular shades can be installed in many different styles, and they can include a combination of horizontal and vertical sliding features. Their light color and numerous fabric options allow them to blend into almost any room well.

Lastly, cellular shades can be customized to fit some of the trickiest window designs, giving you the ability to maintain privacy where it’s needed most. For example, because they can be fixed at multiple points of the window frame, cellular shades can also be installed to help filter light from skylights, which are commonly used to increase natural light in a living space.

3 | Panel Track Shades

When you’re trying to cover a large opening – especially if it’s wide – panel track shades are an ideal option. Custom Panel track shades for Mid-Century Modern Homes are one of the best choices for large windows or glass doors because their panels are available in a wide variety of widths (including custom measurements), and they can open from either direction (left to right, right to left) or split from the middle. These options allow you to precisely fit many kinds of openings without interfering with foot traffic or visibility. 

As an added bonus, panel track shades also have the option of fabric-wrapped bottom-ails, which give a sleek, seamless design to the whole window treatment system.

4 | Sheer Shadings

Sheer shadings are an innovative alternative to traditional blinds. Made with sheer layers that are connected by light dimming or darkening fabric vanes, sheer shadings mimic the effects of traditional blind designs and give phenomenal flexibility over the amount of light in a room. This design gives you maximum privacy when desired, or full sunlight when the fabric vanes are opened. 

Plus, numerous color choices and customizable features (including sizing) make sheer shadings an ideal choice for mid-century modern window treatments.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that mid-century modern design is all about creating bright, open spaces that fill with natural light. This natural light often helps support the health of indoor plants, another common theme in mid-century homes. In general, you’ll want to avoid picking fabric-heavy treatments that might be better suited to older, more classical home styles. 

Whichever style you choose, it should provide you with the look and function needed to enjoy a holistic design and enjoyable living space. Not sure where to begin? We offer an expansive collection of customizable window treatments for your whole house, including endless options for colors, fabrics and control options. Start your search today with Alta.