You've decided on roller shades. Good call: one flat panel of fabric, nothing to tilt, and it disappears almost completely when you raise it. Then you open a configurator and the simple choice turns into a wall of words. Blackout, privacy, translucent, sunscreen, transparent, 1%, 3%, cassette, open roll, reverse roll.
This roller shades buying guide gets you through that wall in order. First, what each opacity really does, including at night, which is the part most guides skip. Then fabric, hardware, a verdict for every room, real prices, and a checklist. Every product detail comes from our own roller shades page and live configurator as of November 2026, and every price is dated.
The Opacity Ladder
Opacity is how much light the fabric lets through when the shade is down. It's the most important choice you'll make, and the names are where most of the confusion comes from, because the industry doesn't agree on them.
Here are the five fabric groups our configurator offers for rollers, from most see-through to least, with the everyday names you'll see elsewhere.
1. Transparent (often sold as "sheer"). See-through fabric. With the shade down you still see out clearly, and the room stays bright. It softens and diffuses light rather than blocking it. Think of it as a tidier alternative to sheer curtains. Our range includes Essential Sheer, Sunlit Sheer, Serene Sheer, Soft Sheer, Softline and Wicker.
2. Sunscreen (also called solar screen). A woven fabric with a stated "openness": the percentage of the weave that's open. We make rollers in 1%, 2%, 3%, 5% and 10% openness. A lower number blocks more sun and glare and gives you less view. A higher number keeps more view. Sunscreens cut glare and UV while letting you see outside, which is why offices love them.
3. Translucent (the industry's "light filtering"). The fabric glows. Daylight comes through soft and even, but you can't see through it. Our range includes Luma, Linear, Riviera, Sierra and Shoreline Light Filtering.
4. Privacy (roughly what others call "room darkening"). A denser fabric that takes a real bite out of the sunlight and gives you privacy from the street. The room gets noticeably dimmer, but it's not dark. Our range runs from Everyday Privacy up to options like Somerset Privacy and Magnolia Privacy.
5. Blackout. Opaque fabric that stops light passing through. Our blackouts are built from multiple layers, and the dense layers also help insulate against heat transfer and block UV. Our range starts at Palace and Everyday Blackout and runs up to options like Aegean Blackout and Rush Blackout.
Blackout doesn't mean pitch black
A blackout fabric blocks light. A blackout window also depends on the edges. Any roller has small gaps at the sides, and an open roll leaves the top of the fabric exposed. You can see both in the photo at the top of this page. If you need real darkness, pair a blackout fabric with a cassette (it covers the roll at the top) and read our guide to inside vs outside mount. An outside mount overlaps the frame and cuts the side gaps.
Privacy Truth Table
This is the section we wish every shade company published. How private a fabric is depends on which side is brighter. During the day, the outside is brighter, so people outside see a bright fabric, not your room. At night with your lights on, that flips.
Transparent (sheer)
Day: some privacy from the glow of the fabric, but people close to the window can see in.
Night with lights on: no privacy. People outside can see into the room.
Sunscreen (1% to 10%)
Day: good privacy. You see out; it's hard for anyone to see in.
Night with lights on: no privacy. The see-through effect reverses and people outside can see in. A lower openness helps a little. It doesn't fix it.
Translucent (light filtering)
Day: private.
Night with lights on: silhouettes only. People outside can't see detail, but they can see shapes moving against the light.
Privacy
Day: private.
Night with lights on: private. You'll see a glow from outside, not the room.
Blackout
Day and night: fully private.
The rule to take away: light filtering does not give you night privacy, and neither do sunscreens. If a street-facing room needs to be private in the evening, choose privacy or blackout fabric, or add a second layer. Or look at a zebra blind, which switches from view-through to private in one shade.
Fabric & Colour Logic
Once you know your opacity, you're choosing within it. As of 1 November 2026, our roller configurator lists 262 fabric-and-colour combinations across the five groups, from white, linen and beige through grey, charcoal, taupe and brown to black, with blues and a green in the mix.
Solids vs textures. A smooth solid reads clean and modern and shows the most consistent colour. A textured weave adds depth, and it looks different up close than it does in a photo, which is one more reason for samples.
Light or dark sunscreen. On a sunscreen, colour changes how the fabric behaves. A darker screen is generally easier to see through from inside. A lighter one looks brighter from inside and reflects more of the sun. For view, go dark. For a bright, airy room, go light.
The street side matters in condos. From outside, people see the back of your shade. Some buildings have rules about what colour faces the street, and white is common. A few of our fabrics are built for this: two of our premium sunscreens are sold as white-backed, and the configurator names them that way. Our condo guide covers how to check your building's rules before you order.
Wet rooms need the right fabric. For a bathroom or a spot near the kitchen sink, choose a fabric that shrugs off moisture. Our Vinyl Blackout is a 3-ply PVC and fiberglass fabric, and many of our sunscreens are PVC blends. Be aware of one limit: our 5-year warranty doesn't cover damage from excessive humidity. A window right next to a shower that fogs up daily is a tough spot for any fabric shade.
Certifications, if they matter to you. Many of our roller fabrics carry Greenguard or Oeko-Tex Standard 100, and some add fire ratings such as NFPA 701. The configurator shows which ones.
Colour on a screen is never quite right. The only reliable test is holding the fabric against your own window. Order free samples: up to five, with free standard shipping in Canada, as of November 2026. Check them at noon and again at night with the lights on. That second check is where the privacy truth table stops being theory.
Hardware Choices
The fabric sets the light. The hardware sets the look and how you use it every day.
Open roll or cassette
Open roll. The fabric rolls around a visible tube with no cover. It's minimalist, it costs nothing extra, and it's the only option that offers a reverse roll. A reverse roll conceals the tube and keeps the fabric from touching window cranks and other obstacles.
Cassette. An aluminum box that encloses the roll. We make rollers with compact and full-size cassettes, in a curved or square profile, in a matte metal finish or with the front wrapped in the same fabric as the shade. A cassette gives a finished look and covers the light gap at the top, which matters in a bedroom. Cassette prices are in the cost section below.
If your window has cranks, choose open roll with a reverse roll. If it's a bedroom with blackout fabric, a cassette earns its money.
Chain, chainless or motorized
Chain. Included in the price. A clutch and chain system, with a stainless steel or coloured plastic chain. Every chain-operated roller shade we make includes the Safety Shield child safety device.
Glide chainless. No chain at all. You raise and lower the shade by hand at the bottom bar, and a ZeroGravity™ spring balances the weight so it stays where you leave it.
Motorized. A rechargeable motor you control with a remote, an app, or your smart home through the Connector+ Hub. See motorized solutions for how it works.
Our advice: go cordless where there are kids or pets. Chain is the budget choice, and it comes with a safety device. But if young children or pets share the room, choose glide chainless or motorized and remove the chain completely. Motorized is also the answer for tall windows, hard-to-reach windows and rows of shades you want to move together.
Room-by-Room Picks
Here's a verdict for each room, including the honest ones where a roller isn't the best pick.
Bedroom: blackout, with a cassette
Sleep is the job. The Sleep Foundation's guidance (updated June 2026) is that darkness is best for sleep, because light slows or stops the brain's melatonin production (Sleep Foundation, "Light and Sleep"). So choose blackout fabric, add a cassette to close the top gap, and consider an outside mount if you want the sides as dark as possible. If you want a warmer, insulating look, a blackout cellular shade is worth comparing.
Living room: translucent or sunscreen, or a zebra
Daytime is about light and view, so a translucent fabric or a 5% sunscreen suits most living rooms. Evenings are where you need to be honest with yourself. Neither gives you night privacy. If the room faces the street and you sit in it at night with the lights on, you have two choices. You can choose a privacy fabric, or you can choose a zebra shade, which gives you the view by day and closes to private at night in one shade. That's a case where we'd point you away from a roller.
Kitchen and bathroom: moisture-friendly fabric
Vinyl Blackout where you need full privacy, or a PVC-blend sunscreen where you want light and a view. Keep the warranty's humidity limit in mind for a window right beside the shower.
Home office: sunscreen
Screen glare is the enemy. A 3% sunscreen is a strong all-rounder. Go to 1% for a west-facing room with harsh afternoon sun, or 5% if you'd rather keep more of the view. Pick a darker colour for a clearer view out.
What Rollers Cost
These are our roller prices as of 1 November 2026, pulled from our live configurator that day. Every price below is our sale price: 50% off our retail price. Watch for promotions, which can take it lower still at checkout.
Each price is for one shade, in CAD, with chain control and an open roll. The low number is our entry fabric tier; the high number is our top tier.
- 24" wide × 36" tall (a small bathroom or basement window): $88 to $146
- 36" × 60" (a typical bedroom window): $186 to $361
- 48" × 60" (a wider bedroom or den window): $236 to $472
- 60" × 72" (a typical living room window): $291 to $630
- 72" × 84" (a large living room or condo pane): $422 to $901
What changes the price
Fabric tier, not opacity. Price follows the fabric's tier, and every opacity comes in several tiers. On a 36" × 60" window on the same date, the cheapest privacy, sunscreen and blackout fabrics all started at $186. The cheapest translucent and transparent fabrics started at $230, as did Everyday Blackout.
Size. Price climbs in steps with width and height, so a shade a couple of inches bigger can land in the next step.
Control, per shade, same date, at the same 50% off:
- Chain: included
- Glide chainless: +$140
- Motorized (rechargeable): +$495
- Motor add-ons if you don't already have them: remote +$95, charger +$30, smart-home Connector +$225
Cassette, on a 36" wide shade, same date and pricing: compact cassette +$104, full-size cassette +$133, fabric-wrapped compact +$153, fabric-wrapped full-size +$182. Curved and square profiles cost the same. Cassette prices change with width.
Shipping is free Canada-wide. Every roller is custom made in our facility in Toronto, Ontario, with about 2 business days of processing, then typically 3 to 9 business days of standard delivery in Canada, as of November 2026 (details in our shipping policy).
Your window won't be one of these five sizes, and that's fine. Get your price in 60 seconds, or shop roller shades and type your real measurements into the configurator. The price updates as you choose.
The Roller Shades Buying Guide Checklist
- Measure. Width at the top, middle and bottom; height at the left, middle and right. Our foolproof measuring guide walks through it. Choose Inside Mount and we deduct 1/8" from the width for clearance, so don't subtract anything yourself.
- Pick inside or outside mount. Inside looks tidy in the frame; outside cuts light gaps. Inside vs outside mount helps you decide.
- Choose opacity by room, then check the night. Use the privacy truth table. Street-facing rooms used at night need privacy or blackout.
- Get samples. Up to five free samples. Look at them in daylight and at night with the lights on.
- Choose the hardware. Open roll (reverse roll if you have cranks) or a cassette. Chain, glide chainless or motorized, and go cordless around kids and pets.
- Pick the control side. You choose it when you order, so pick the side you'll actually reach.
- Plan the install. Most rollers go up in about 15 minutes. Our roller shade install guide shows every step.
- Know your safety net. Our 5-year warranty covers manufacturing defects, and ordering custom blinds online explains what happens if a measurement goes wrong.
Roller Shades FAQ
What is the difference between blackout and room darkening?
Blackout fabric is opaque: it stops light passing through the fabric. "Room darkening" is a looser industry term for fabric that blocks most light but not all. In our range, the closest match is our privacy fabrics. Either way, remember the edges: side and top gaps let light in unless you use a cassette or an outside mount.
Can you see through light filtering shades at night?
Not clearly, but they aren't private either. With your lights on, people outside can see silhouettes and movement through a translucent (light filtering) fabric. Sunscreen and sheer fabrics are worse: people can see into the room. For night privacy, choose privacy or blackout fabric.
What roller shade is best for bedrooms?
Blackout fabric with a cassette, and an outside mount if you want the sides as dark as possible. It's the closest a roller gets to a dark room.
Are cassette roller shades worth it?
In bedrooms, yes: a cassette covers the light gap at the top and hides the roll. Elsewhere it's mainly about looks. As of 1 November 2026, a compact cassette adds $104 to a 36" wide shade at our sale price.
How much do custom roller shades cost in Canada?
From us, as of 1 November 2026, at our sale price of 50% off retail: $186 to $361 for a 36" × 60" window with chain control and an open roll. Get your exact price for your own window.
Ready When You Are
Five opacities, one honest ladder, and a factory that cuts them to your window. Shop roller shades or get your price in 60 seconds. Not sure yet? Order free samples and hold them up to your own window, or see a roller on a photo of it with our free blinds visualizer.