Sheer and dual shades for light that changes all day

One window, two jobs

Many rooms need different things at different times. A living room wants soft daylight in the morning, glare control in the afternoon and privacy after dark. A guest suite wants a view by day and sleep-level dark at night. Sheer and dual shades handle that without stacking drapes, blinds and shades on top of each other.

The options

• Sheer shades: a light, translucent fabric that glows when the sun hits it and softens the view without hiding it. Lovely in living and dining rooms. Not a privacy shade at night.
• Layered sheer shades: two sheer layers with soft fabric vanes between them. Tilt the vanes open for light and view, closed for privacy.
• Banded or "zebra" shades: alternating sheer and solid stripes on a continuous loop. Line the stripes up for privacy, offset them for light.
• Double roller: two separate roller shades on one bracket, usually a solar or sheer fabric in front and a blackout fabric behind.

Which works best in a mountain home

For big view windows, a double roller with a solar front and blackout back is often the most practical choice. You get glare control, view and darkness, and each fabric is easy to replace later. Layered sheers and banded shades shine in living rooms, offices and dens where you want the room to feel soft and finished. Sheers alone are best where privacy isn't a concern, such as a great room that faces open land or a ski run with no neighbors in sight.

Motorizing dual shades

Double rollers can put a battery motor on each shade, so you can lower the solar fabric every afternoon and the blackout fabric at bedtime on separate schedules. Some layered and banded styles can also be motorized. We check what each product supports and how you'll recharge or change batteries before we recommend it. See motorized roller shades and smart shade control.

Seeing fabrics in your light

Sheer fabrics change a lot between a showroom and a sunny Park City window. We bring samples and hold them up to your glass so you can see how each one looks with your view, your walls and your afternoon light.