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
Tips for Styling Bay Windows
Bay windows are easily identified by their telltale curve outwards from the home, creating space and style inside. What's more challenging is knowing how to style them to get the most out of the additional space and showcase the architectural beauty of this type of window feature. And that's exactly what our Benchmark Shutters & Shades team is here to help North Carolina homeowners do this month with bay window ideas to help you make the most of your bay window.
Maximize Natural Light
The first thing we want to do when styling a bay window is to capitalize on one of its best features: the abundant natural light. Natural sunlight has incredible power as a design element in the home so long as you control it. Natural light can make interior spaces more open, spacious, and welcoming. However, too much sunlight can be overwhelming, adding blinding glare and unwanted heat to a room, rendering it uncomfortable and uninhabitable. We love the slatted design of bay window blinds and shutters for their ability to control light balanced with their ability to bestow privacy, provide natural airflow, and maintain the view.
Enliven with Greenery
With the extra light, a bay window is an excellent space to bring more plants into the home. The live plants revive the space and help keep it fresh and vibrant, and they also add a tactile link to the visual connection with the great outdoors enjoyed via the view through your bay window.
Create Additional Seating
While you can use a bay window's extra space in several ways, we love adding seating to the area to invite residents to come, stay, and enjoy the space. What kind of seating depends on where the bay window is in your house and what your family needs from the household space. Bay window in the kitchen? Create a cozy breakfast nook. Bay window in the family room? How about a relaxing reading corner or workspace? No matter what seating area you create, ensure the lighting is spot on with sheer shades that can diffuse harsh natural light into soft, interior illumination that's friendly to the eye and perfect for activities of all kinds.
Showcase Personal Style
As a natural eye-draw in the space, bay windows offer the chance to showcase personal style. For example, one bay window idea for nature lovers is to install woven wood shades crafted from wood, reeds, or bamboo and harness the rich character of organic components. Or, on the other hand, for a touch of sophisticated drama, Roman shades can offer customized style in fabric form with whole-home solutions to ingratiate the style throughout interior spaces.
Bay Windows Blinds near Apex, North Carolina
Explore your options for dressing bay windows in your home at Benchmark Shutters & Shades. Whether you like bay window blinds, shutters, sheer shades, woven wood shades, or Roman shades, we can help you find your next set of bay window treatments. Request a consultation to start the journey today. At Benchmark Shutters & Shades, we're proud to serve our neighbors in Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, and Apex, North Carolina.