Introduction to High Windows in a Great Room
There is a specific architectural “wow factor” that defines many of the beautiful homes across Oswego, Plainfield, and Naperville. It’s the two-story Great Room. These soaring ceilings and massive walls of glass are designed to flood your home with natural light and provide a sense of grandeur. However, once the moving trucks leave and you’ve spent your first full summer or winter in the house, the reality of those windows sets in.
High windows are a blessing for your home’s curb appeal, but they present a unique set of interior design challenges. Homeowners often find themselves caught between wanting to showcase the architecture and needing to solve practical issues like intense afternoon glare on the TV or the “fishbowl” feeling once the sun goes down. In the Chicago Suburbs, where we experience the full gamut of Illinois weather—from humid 90-degree July afternoons to sub-zero January nights—those large panes of glass act as massive heat exchangers.
Choosing the right window treatments for these heights isn’t just about picking a color; it’s about engineering a solution that scales with the room. Whether you are in a classic custom build in Churchill Club or a modern open-concept home in Southbury, your high windows require a strategy that balances aesthetics with functional control. At Ogden Blinds, we specialize in helping you navigate these “tall orders” by bringing the showroom to your living room, ensuring the fabrics and hardware you choose look just as stunning at 18 feet as they do at eye level.
Challenges of Window Treatments for High Windows
The most obvious challenge with high windows is accessibility. If a blind or shade isn’t easily operable, it usually ends up staying in one position forever. Manual cords are not only unsightly when they stretch 15 feet down a wall, but they also pose safety risks and are physically taxing to operate on heavy, large-scale treatments.
Beyond operation, there is the issue of light and thermal control. Large windows are beautiful, but they can act like a magnifying glass for UV rays, fading your hardwood floors, area rugs, and expensive furniture over time. In an Illinois winter, those same windows can become “cold zones,” where the lack of insulation allows heat to escape, making your Great Room feel drafty despite what the thermostat says.
Finally, there is the aesthetic scale. Standard-sized window treatments often look “scanty” or swallowed up when placed in a two-story room. Finding hardware that is sturdy enough to support the weight of heavy fabrics at that height—without bowing or breaking—requires professional-grade materials. You need treatments that complement the vertical lines of the room rather than cutting them off awkwardly, which is a common mistake with DIY or big-box store solutions.
Effective Solutions for Window Treatments
Custom Draperies and Curtains
For many Oswego homeowners, custom draperies are the gold standard for Great Rooms. They add a layer of softness and luxury that “frames” the architectural height of the room. By hanging drapes from the very top of the upper windows down to the floor, you emphasize the verticality of the space, making the room feel even more expansive.
In 2026, we are seeing a trend toward performance fabrics that offer the look of linen or silk but are treated to resist UV fading. Thermal-lined drapes are particularly effective in the Midwest, providing a heavy barrier against window drafts. When paired with a motorized track, you can open and close these massive fabric panels with a single tap on your smartphone.
Blinds and Shades Options
In the fast-evolving landscape of 2026 home technology, PowerView® Automation has transitioned from a high-end luxury to a practical necessity for the modern home. This award-winning system allows you to manage your blinds and shades with a simple tap on your smartphone, or through the sleek Pebble® Remote. For Great Rooms with windows reaching eighteen feet or higher, PowerView® eliminates the physical struggle of manual operation, allowing you to schedule your shades to move in sync with the Illinois sun. Whether you want your shades to close automatically during a scorching July afternoon to protect your cooling bill, or open at sunrise to gently wake you up, this system integrates seamlessly with major smart home hubs like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. It’s the ultimate “set it and forget it” solution that ensures your high windows are always working for you, not against you.
If you prefer a cleaner, more minimalist look, high-performance shades are the way to go. Automated Honeycomb (Cellular) Shades are a top choice for Chicagoland Great Rooms because of their superior insulation properties. Their “cell” structure traps air, creating a thermal buffer that keeps the room cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
Another popular option is Solar Shades, which allow you to maintain your view of the outdoors while significantly cutting down on glare and UV rays—perfect for rooms with large TV setups. For a more classic look, PowerView® Motorized Shutters or wood blinds allow you to tilt the slats to direct light upward toward the ceiling, illuminating the room without the sun hitting your eyes directly.
Conclusion: Enhancing Your Two-Story Great Room
Your Great Room is the heart of your home—it’s where you host holiday gatherings, enjoy family movie nights, and relax after a long day. Don’t let the “problem” of high windows diminish the enjoyment of your space. By investing in custom, high-reaching window treatments, you aren’t just “covering a hole in the wall”; you are finishing the architectural vision of your home.
The right treatment will provide the privacy you need, the energy efficiency your utility bill requires, and the sophisticated style that matches the rest of your decor. Ogden Blinds takes the guesswork out of the process by measuring, climbing the ladders, and installing the heavy-duty hardware required for these massive installations.
Whether you want the soft elegance of motorized drapes or the crisp, energy-saving lines of automated cellular shades, we can help you turn those “difficult” windows into your favorite feature of the house.
Tired of battling the glare in your Great Room?
Don’t let those high windows dictate your comfort. At Ogden Blinds, we specialize in the “tall orders” that big-box stores won’t touch. We bring the showroom—and the ladders—to your front door in Oswego and the surrounding Chicago Suburbs.
