Client Reviews: Artisan Drapery Superior CO

Sometimes the right window treatment solution isn’t about replacing what’s already there — it’s about building on it. This project in a Superior, Colorado townhome near the Coalton and McCaslin corridor is a good example of exactly that.

The homeowners had existing blackout roller shades in their basement guest bedroom. On paper, blackout roller shades should be sufficient for any sleep environment. In practice, for this particular guest room and these particular guests, they weren’t quite enough.

The Situation: Frequent Guests Who Needed True Darkness

The homeowners regularly host their daughter and son-in-law, who travel internationally and often arrive jetlagged. For someone adjusting to a significant time zone shift, the quality of sleep in the first few nights can make or break the recovery process — and light sensitivity is one of the primary obstacles to resetting a disrupted sleep cycle.

Blackout roller shades block light through the fabric itself, but they leave gaps. Light bleeds in around the edges of the shade — along the sides, at the top where the shade meets the headrail, and sometimes at the bottom. In a bright daytime environment, even small amounts of light intrusion can be enough to prevent a jetlagged person from sleeping when they need to.

The guest room in question also faces in a direction that brings in meaningful daylight during the hours their guests were trying to sleep. The existing shades were doing their job, but the job wasn’t enough.

The Solution: Artisan Blackout Drapery Layered Over the Existing Shades

Rather than replacing the roller shades — which were in good condition and still functional — we recommended layering custom artisan blackout drapery over them. Floor-to-ceiling drapery panels in a blackout fabric, hung wide enough to fully overlap the window frame on both sides and extend to the floor, seal off the light paths that a roller shade alone cannot address.

The combination of the existing blackout roller shade and the new blackout drapery creates a genuinely dark room — the kind of darkness that gives a jetlagged guest the best possible chance of sleeping on a schedule that doesn’t match what their body is telling them.

Beyond the functional benefit, the layered treatment also significantly elevated the room aesthetically. Artisan drapery in a basement guest bedroom transforms the space from a utilitarian room with a shade to a finished, intentional guest suite. The drapery panels add height, softness, and a sense of design that a roller shade alone doesn’t provide — which matters for guests who are spending real time in the space.

Why Layered Window Treatments Work in Guest Rooms

The layered approach — a shade for privacy and daily light control, drapery for complete blackout and design — is one of the most versatile window treatment strategies for bedrooms, and particularly guest rooms where the occupants and their needs may vary from visit to visit. When the drapery is open and the shade is up, the room is fully open to daylight. When the shade is down, there’s privacy and light filtering. When both are closed, the room is as dark as it gets.

For a guest room that serves family members who travel internationally, this flexibility is genuinely valuable. The room can function normally for any guest, and the blackout capability is always there when it’s needed.

What This Means for Superior Townhome Owners

Townhomes in the Superior area near Coalton and McCaslin — particularly in the Rock Creek corridor and the communities that have grown up around it — tend to have basement bedrooms or lower-level guest rooms that face specific light control challenges. These spaces often get less priority in initial window treatment budgets because they’re not primary living areas, but they’re frequently the rooms where guests spend the most time.

If you have a guest room, home office, or lower-level bedroom in your Superior or Boulder County home where existing window treatments aren’t delivering the light control you need, layered treatments are worth discussing. Bumble Bee Blinds of Boulder serves homeowners throughout Superior, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, and surrounding communities. Call (303) 416-5997 to schedule a free in-home consultation.