In-Home Consultations Only
PowerView® Automation
Program your window treatments so that they adjust themselves automatically, creating the perfect room ambiance morning, noon and night.
Sheer Shades
Learn more about Hunter Douglas custom window sheers, including our shadings and privacy sheers. Innovative, light-diffusing sheers. Your trusted source for window treatments.
Cellular Shades
Cellular honeycomb shades from Hunter Douglas. An energy-efficient design that traps air in distinct pockets to help keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Roman Shades
Custom-made fabric Roman Shades by Hunter Douglas, combining the look of soft folds with the ease and convenience of a shade. Custom-crafted.
Roller Shades
The Hunter Douglas roller shades & solar screen shades collections offer excellent light control and a clean, stylish look in a range of fabrics and materials.
Woven Shades
For a warm, natural look our Hunter Douglas Woven Wood Shades collection of window treatments transforms sunlight into captivating design statements. Choose yours today.
Vertical Shades
Find the right custom vertical shades for any room in your home. Search our most popular window shades.
Wood Blinds
From controlling light to their stylish, sleek look, wood blinds have been a favorite among homeowners for decades.
Metal Blinds
Find the perfect metal blinds for any room in your home. From controlling light to their stylish, sleek look, metal blinds have been a favorite among homeowners.
Vertical Blinds
Discover Hunter Douglas customized vertical blinds featuring elegant styling and translucency in a large selection of colors, treatments, and textures. Lifetime guarantee.
Shutters
Hunter Douglas custom window shutters provide superior light control and privacy with classic styles, long-lasting finishes, and exceptional craftsmanship.
Drapery
Choose from timeless and on-trend fabrics, including lofty textures and alluring jacquards, artisanal embroideries and luminous sheers.
Light Enhancing
Enjoy the beauty of natural light and make any space more captivating, with the following light-enhancing shades.
Room Darkening
Want a darker room for better sleep or optimal movie binging? These shades and drapes help block light at the window.
Energy Efficient
Live comfortably and save energy with these shades. Designer to keep a room warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Door Coverings
Manage natural light and add privacy with these window treatments that work well for sliding-glass and patio doors.
Sound Absorption
Create a quieter, more relaxing room with these window treatments, which help absorb sound, reducing exterior noise.
Top-Down Bottom-Up
For privacy and natural light, position shades from the top, bottom or both. These shades have this feature available.
Products
Motorized Window CoveringsMotorized Window Coverings
Enjoy the convenience of motorized window coverings.
Window Covering Measuring & Installations
Our measuring and installation service will ensure an exact fit for your window coverings.
About Us
Benchmark Shutters & Shades is a family owned, locally operated business specializing in interior window coverings for your home or business.
Raleigh, NC
For almost two decades, Benchmark Shutters & Shades has brought exceptional window treatments to homes across Raleigh, NC, and the surrounding communities.
Durham, NC
We all come to a point with our homes when we decide that the window treatments need to be updated.
Chapel Hill, NC
At Benchmark Shutters & Shades, we can’t wait to help you transform your home by upgrading your window treatments.
Apex, NC
Since 2005, Benchmark Shutters & Shades has brought superior window treatments to homes and businesses throughout central North Carolina.
Blinds & Shades by Room
Bathroom Bedroom Home Office Kitchen Living Room Media Room Nursery & Kids RoomBlinds & Shades by Window Shape
Angled Windows Arched Windows Bay, Bow, Corner Windows French Doors Sidelights Sliding Glass Doors Skylights Large Windows Panel-Track Blinds Picture WindowsBlinds & Shades by Function
Automated Blackout Energy Efficient Light Filtering Child and Pet-Friendly Cordless Energy-Efficient ShadesAll Design Ideas
See current and past decorating ideas from our 'Fresh Ideas' Newsletter.
Bathroom
See window covering solutions for privacy and moisture-resistance.
Bedroom
See window covering solutions for privacy and room darkening.
Home Office
See window covering solutions for light filtering and glare control.
Kitchen
See window covering solutions for a variety of needs and kitchen styles.
Living Room
See window covering solutions for light filtering and UV protection.
Media Room
See room darkening window treatments for your media room.
Nursery & Kids Room
See child-safe window coverings for baby nurseries and kids rooms
Angled Windows
See blinds and shades for angled, sloped, and triangle-shaped windows.
Arched Windows
See blinds and shades for arched, half-circle or half-moon windows.
Bay, Bow, Corner Windows
See blinds and shades for bay, bow and corner windows.
French Doors
See shutters, blinds and shades for French Doors.
Sidelights
See blinds and shades for sidelight windows.
Sliding Glass Doors
See blinds and shades for patio and sliding-glass doors.
Skylights
See blinds and shades specifically suited for skylights.
Automated
See all options for automated blinds and shades.
Blackout
See our options for blinds and shades that best control light.
Energy Efficient
See blinds and shades that help save energy at the window.
Light Filtering
See blinds and shades for light filtering and UV protection.
Child and Pet-Friendly
See blinds and shades that are safer for children and pets.
Hunter Douglas Products
More Products & Services
Products
Inspiration & Solutions
Interior Design Ideas
Blinds & Shades by Room
Blinds & Shades by Window Shape
Blinds & Shades by Function
Window Shades with UV Protection
While sunlight can be a real asset for homes, providing beautiful natural light helping to illuminate and open up interiors, it can also be a hazard. Unregulated sunlight brings with it UV, and those UV rays can cause irreparable damage. We all know that UV can cause skin cancer in humans, but its effects on our household objects can be just as carcinogenic.
Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can cause UV degradation in wood, fabric, paint, photos and wall art, leather, flooring, and plastics. And that UV damage may look like discoloration, warping, peeling, cracking, or brittleness depending on what material is being affected. Shield your home with window shades with UV protection that can prevent costly damage caused by UV exposure.
5 Styles of Window Shades with UV Protection
1. Solar Shades
Designed for sun-soaked rooms, Designer Solar Shades excel at filtering out UV and yet don't block all incoming sunlight. Their screen materials come in 5 opacities for levels of view. As window shades with UV protection, solar shades allow in what we love about natural sunlight (i.e., their ability to make interior spaces feel open and spacious) while keeping those damage-causing elements like UV out.
2. Sheer Shades
Hunter Douglas® has several styles of window coverings that use sheer materials, including Pirouette® Sheer Shades, Silhouette® Sheer Shades, and Luminette® Sheer Panels (a vertical option for sheer shadings). Sheer fabrics are great for window shades with UV protection because they filter natural sunlight to remove harmful UV rays and produce soft, filtered illumination inside your home.
3. Shutters
Unlike other window shades with UV protection that filter sunlight, shutters deflect it using their unique system of tilting louvers. The slatted design of plantation-style shutters allows light to pass through but deflects direct penetration while protecting the homeowner's privacy with a blocked view. In the Hunter Douglas collection of interior shutters, Palm Beach™ Polysatin™ Vinyl Shutters stand out in this category as their advanced man-made materials are UV resistant.
4. Drapery
Drapes like Design Studio™ Custom Drapes are some of the best light-blocking window treatments for homes because of their customizable size and fabric selection. Drapes can smother incoming sunlight and protect home interiors with a fashionable flare by fully blocking it. Drapery can also be combined with other window shades with UV protection, like sheer shades, shutters, or solar shades, to create layered window treatments with elevated light-blocking abilities.
5. Automated Shades
No matter how good your window shades with UV protection are at filtering or blocking UV, they're a moot element if they're not properly used. Motorized systems with automated scheduling, like PowerView®, ensure that windows shades are consistently optimized to protect your home.
Where to Buy Window Shades with UV Protection
Safeguard your home with the latest window shades with UV protection by Hunter Douglas. Explore the wide variety of style options, from solar shades to sheers to shutters, with the helpful team at Benchmark Shutters & Shades. Benchmark Shutters & Shades serves homeowners in Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, and Apex, North Carolina; request a consultation today.