Cedar Rapids winters settle in early and stay late, with long stretches of sub-freezing nights that test every wall, door and window in the house. Windows give up heat faster than any other part of a home, which makes the right window coverings for winter one of the simplest ways to keep a room comfortable. A good covering holds warmth inside and slows the chill that creeps off the glass.
This guide covers which coverings hold heat best, how to fit and use them, and where to start. We will go through cellular shades, thermal drapes, shutters and the shade styles that need a little help, then finish with the daily routine that gets the most from all of them. Pick the room that feels coldest and read on with that window in mind.
Why Windows Are the Weak Spot in a Cedar Rapids Winter
Windows make up about 10% of a typical home's surface area yet account for 30% to 40% of its heat loss in winter. In Cedar Rapids that loss adds up fast. The average January low is 11.3°F, and the year brings 144.2 nights at or below 32°F and 16.1 nights at or below 0°F. Your heating system works hardest at the very hours when the glass is coldest.
Heat leaves through a window in three ways. The pane conducts cold straight through, so the inside surface turns icy. Room air that touches that surface cools, grows heavy and slides down the glass to the floor, which is the draft you feel at your ankles on a January evening. Air also leaks around the sash and frame wherever the seal has aged.
A covering helps because it traps a layer of still air between the room and the window. Still air resists the flow of heat, so that layer slows all three paths at once.
To compare insulated window coverings across shades, drapes and shutters, look for the AERC label. Its Cool Climate rating fits our region, and any product rated above 0.00 saves energy compared with no covering. A higher number means more savings. The label also lists U-factor, where a lower figure means less heat escapes, and air leakage, where a lower figure means fewer drafts.
Cellular Shades: The Warmest Choice for Most Windows
Cellular shades are the warmest choice for most windows. Their honeycomb cells trap air inside the shade and in the gap between the shade and the glass, which cuts nighttime heat loss and the cold drafts near the window. In testing, cellular shades saved up to 20% of heating energy compared with no shades, and in simulations they saved more than any other shading device.
Single cell shades use one layer of honeycomb. Double cell shades stack two layers, which adds a second pocket of air and more insulating power for the windows that take the brunt of the north wind. Both lie flat and tidy against the glass when raised, so the choice often comes down to how cold the room runs.
Fabric then shapes the light. Light filtering fabrics let soft daylight into the room and keep privacy intact. Room darkening fabrics hold the light back, which suits a bedroom where a dark, quiet room helps you sleep through a frigid night. Lift style adds comfort too. Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids offers manual cordless lift, which keeps cords away from children and pets, and motorized lift for shades that move at the press of a button.
Bedrooms gain the most from the cold-night insulation and the darkening fabrics. Living rooms and large picture windows lose heat across the widest span of glass, so a honeycomb layer pays back there every evening. Home offices and nurseries benefit as well, since the air pockets in the cells also soften sound.
Homeowners can see the full range, including cellular shades for energy efficiency and cellular blinds for added insulation, among the custom window treatments from Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids. Among thermal window coverings for winter, cellular shades are the ones to look at first.
Thermal Lined Drapes and Curtains
A drape insulates when it is built to hold air in place. Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids describes its curtains as excellent for light blocking and thermal insulation, and it offers custom drapes, curtains and hardware made for each window.
Start with the fabric. Heavy, tightly woven cloth stops more cold than a thin weave, and a thermal lining adds a dense backing that slows the chill coming off the glass. Lined panels also hold back daylight, so a bedroom stays dark and calm in the morning.
Then look at how the panel hangs. A drape that reaches the floor stops cold air from spilling into the room below the hem. A rod that extends past the frame lets the panels cover the wall around the window, so the edges of the glass sit behind fabric. Returns, the sides of the panel that curve back to meet the wall, close the gap at each edge. Without them, cold air slips around the sides and flows into the room.
Drapes work well on their own in a living room or dining room, where soft style and warmth share the job. Layered over a shade, they give the coldest windows two pockets of still air. Many households close the shade at dusk, pull the drapes across for the extra layer, and open both on a sunny morning. A custom order also lets you choose the hardware that makes extended rods and returns possible. Among window treatments for winter, drapes bring the most warmth in the softest style.
Shutters for a Tight, Year-Round Seal
Shutters made to the measurements of your window sit close to the frame. With the louvers closed, they leave little room for cold air to slide through, which gives a tight seal that works in every season. Because they are custom, each set is made for your windows, and a Design Consultant takes the measurements.
Shutters also work with the sun. On a clear winter day, tilt the louvers open and the low sun reaches into the room while the frame stays covered. At dusk, close the louvers and the panel becomes a solid layer on the window.
Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids offers plantation shutters, which have wide louvers, and composite shutters, a durable and cost-effective option. Both suit living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and home offices, the rooms where families spend the long evenings of a Cedar Rapids winter.
A shutter also stays put. There is no fabric to pull across at night and no panel to straighten, so the seal is in place whenever you close the louvers. Many homeowners like that simple routine on the busiest days.
Roman, Roller and Woven Shades in Cold Weather
These three styles bring different levels of warmth, and the fabric decides most of it. A roller shade in a thin, bare fabric adds little insulation on its own. A natural woven shade lets air drift through the weave and adds little as well. Roman shades fold fabric into soft pleats, and a lined or room darkening fabric gives them real insulating value.
Side gaps matter on all three. A shade hung inside the frame leaves a thin channel at each edge, and cold air moves through that channel all night long.
Each style earns its place for what it does well. Roman shades bring soft style to a dining room or bedroom. Roller shades bring clean lines and simple light control to a kitchen or home office. Natural woven shades bring texture and warmth of color to a family room. Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids also lists banded, sheer and solar roller shades, which suit sun and glare control and make a light layer under drapes.
A liner changes the picture. Adding a lining or choosing a room darkening fabric gives any of these styles a stronger layer of insulation, and pairing the shade with thermal drapes closes most of what remains.
Fit and Layering: Getting the Most Warmth From Any Covering
Mounting changes the result. An inside mount sits within the window frame and looks tidy, though it leaves a small gap along each side. An outside mount sits on the wall or trim and overlaps the opening, which covers more of those gaps. In a cold room, the overlap is worth a look.
Gaps cost warmth, and a covering measured and made for the window leaves the smallest ones. An off-the-shelf size leaves extra space at the top, sides and bottom, and every space lets warm air out and cold air in. Custom treatments, the kind Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids makes, are built to your window's measurements.
For the coldest rooms, layer a cellular shade under thermal drapes. The shade handles the air next to the glass, and the drapes handle the air on the room side. Each layer holds its own pocket of still air, so the pair outperforms either piece alone.
A covering has limits. A frame that leaks air needs caulk or weatherstripping first, since a steady stream of cold air from a gap in the frame will move around any shade or drape. Seal the frame, then add the covering, and the covering gets to do its full job.
Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids handles fit from the start. A Design Consultant takes measurements at the free in-home design consultation, the order is made to those numbers, and a professional installation team puts the coverings in place.
Using Your Coverings Through the Season: Sun by Day, Closed by Night
On sunny winter days, open the coverings on south-facing windows. The low winter sun pours through the glass and warms floors and furniture for free, and that warmth lingers in the room through the afternoon.
At dusk, close every covering. Closing them traps the heat the sun delivered and puts a layer of still air in place for the longest, coldest hours. Make it a habit as the light fades, room by room, and include the windows that never see direct sun.
A routine works best when it happens without effort. Motorized window treatments let shades and blinds move by remote, voice command or smartphone app, and schedules can open them at sunrise and close them at dusk. On the coldest nights, the coverings close on time even when no one is home. Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids offers motorized blinds and shades alongside manual and cordless lift, so each room can have the style of control that suits it.
Families with a busy morning often find the schedule is the part they appreciate most. The shades rise when the sun does, and the house starts warming before anyone has found their slippers.
Start with the room that feels coldest. Bedrooms and living rooms do well with cellular shades. A large picture window earns cellular shades under thermal drapes. A room where you want a sturdy, tidy look may suit shutters, with the louvers tilted toward the sun by day. Roman, roller and woven shades step in where style leads, and a liner brings them the warmth they need.
To see samples and get a quote, book a free in-home design consultation with Bumble Bee Blinds of Cedar Rapids through the Schedule Design Consultation button. Your Design Consultant brings swatches and sample books to your home, measures your windows and provides a quote, so you can compare real fabrics at your own windows before the next hard freeze.
