Dining Room Window Treatment Ideas

The dining room is where the table gets set for holidays, birthday dinners and everyday meals, and the windows set the mood. Here are the ideas we come back to most when helping clients dress a dining room.

Start with how you use the room

Ask a few quick questions first:

When do you eat there? A room used mostly in the evening needs privacy after dark. A room used for weekend breakfasts needs glare control in the morning.
Which way do the windows face? West-facing dining rooms can get hot, bright sun right at dinnertime.
Is it open to other rooms? In an open floor plan, the dining windows should feel connected to the kitchen and living room.

Dining room with woven shades on three tall windows

Idea 1: Woven wood shades for warmth

Natural woven shades bring texture and warmth, and they pair beautifully with wood tables and chairs. Add a liner if you want more privacy at night. Provenance® Woven Wood Shades are a favorite, and our guide to woven wood shades covers the styles.

Idea 2: Sheer shadings for soft daylight

Sheer shadings soften sunlight so you can enjoy daylight at the table without squinting. Tilt the vanes closed for privacy in the evening. See Silhouette® Window Shadings and Pirouette® Window Shadings.

Sheer shades on a dining room window with a gold lantern

Idea 3: Drapery for height and polish

Drapery panels hung high and wide make windows feel taller and the room more formal. They can stay open as a frame, with a shade doing the daily work underneath. Our guide to layering drapery and shades shows how.

Idea 4: Shutters for a classic look

Shutters are timeless in traditional dining rooms. Tilt the louvers to direct light up toward the ceiling or close them for privacy. Learn more on our shutters page.

Idea 5: Top-down/bottom-up for low sun

If evening sun shines straight across the table, a top-down/bottom-up shade blocks the lower part of the window while letting light in up high. More in our top-down/bottom-up guide.

Idea 6: Motorization for wide windows

A wall of dining room windows means a lot of shades to adjust. With PowerView® Automation, one button or a schedule sets them all. The PowerView® App is required for programmed operation. See our motorization guide.

Dining room with sheer shades under a lantern light

Designer tip: Pick your window treatment color while looking at the table and the wall color together. In a dining room, the shades are often right behind the people you’re looking at, so a soft, neutral tone usually flatters more than a bold one.

Bring it together

You can see more finished dining rooms in Our Work. When you’re ready, book a free in-home consultation and your designer will bring samples so you can see them in your own dining room light.

Common questions

What are the best window treatments for a dining room?

It depends on the look you want and how much sun the room gets. Woven wood shades add warmth, sheer shadings soften daylight, shutters feel classic, and drapery adds height and a finished look. Many dining rooms layer a shade with drapery.

Should dining room window treatments match the living room?

They don't need to match, but in open floor plans they should feel related. Using the same color family or the same shade style with different drapery keeps the spaces connected.

How do I cut glare at the dining table?

Light-filtering or sheer shades soften direct sun without making the room dark. Top-down/bottom-up shades let you block low sun while keeping light up high.