Two years ago we moved into our new house with no window coverings (which you’d expect with new construction). Just my luck, our new ceilings were a foot taller than in our last house so none of our old curtains would work in our new home.

After too many sets of temporary paper shades falling down, we finally sprang for some inexpensive actual shades. I stuck to IKEA Hoppvals cellular shades or curtains to get us through until we were ready to invest in window treatments.

When it came time to pick out some window treatments, the main bedroom and kitchen were first on my list. Curtains don’t easily work with our main bedroom setup, and I personally don’t prefer curtains in a kitchen window, so I opted for woven shades in those rooms. By choosing different liners I could get good blackout coverage in the bedroom, and shade from the sun in the kitchen while adding some nice texture and visual interest.

I ordered free samples from three different places, and Select Blinds easily had the best color options. I went with the whitewashed, gray-and-white-striped Ouahu Shell from the Designer Ultimate series for the bedroom, and the whitewashed, gray Luna from the Premium Costal series in the kitchen. They’re almost the same - except Ouhu Shell has a white stripe detail and a tan weave, whereas Luna is solid and has a white weave.

Woven shades from Select Blinds are custom, so I took careful measurements of each window before ordering, using their guide. I measured width and height in 3 different places, as well as depth to be sure they would be the correct size (I also recommend reading the product information for your item, it will give more detailed information on how to measure for that particular shade). Their customer service was fantastic and I was surprised how fast they were delivered, especially given that they’re made to order. I went with a blackout liner for the bedroom (which is so nice!) and a privacy liner for the kitchen. I always go cordless when possible because of kids and pets, but I also think it looks nicer. I also chose not to have any edge binding.

Installing them was surprisingly easy. The headrail comes with a slot on either end. You mount the brackets to the underside of the top of the window casing (this is for an inside mount, which is standard for woven shades) and slide the headrail slots on to the brackets, securing with a wingnut. You don’t have to worry about it being perfectly centered horizontally because the slots allow you to move it left or right once the brackets are installed.

I couldn’t be happier with the end result. The woven wood shades give just the right amount of texture I was looking for, and the privacy and blackout liners give us the sun protection we needed.