Small Home Gazette, Summer 2017
Answers to Your Toughest Bungalow Questions: roller blinds
A: Roller shades are a terrific, classic window treatment, and, in our opinion, they’re too-seldom used these days. Fortunately, they’re still easy to find, even in styles that were popular a century or more ago.
We don’t follow the AMC show “Hell on Wheels,” which takes place in the 1860s, but we did search out a couple of scenes from the show on Nexflix that took place inside a train car. What we saw were simple, cream-colored roller shades with a cord and cloth-covered ring hanging from the bottom edge. We also saw some exterior shots of a car showing roller shades with a decorative “scalloped” bottom edge.
Scalloped edge window shade from Zwick Window Shade Co.
Both styles are still available from just about any company that sells window treatments, including online from companies such as Zwick Window Shade Co. in Chicago (https://windowshades.net). This company has been around since 1930 and has supplied roller shades to many historic homes and buildings across the country. They offer shades in a wide variety of materials and colors including those with decorative fabric trims, which would have been popular during the Victorian era.
These photos, taken in the 1920s or ‘30s, show two Minneapolis bungalows with window roller shades. Both are a darker color. The top bungalow has lace curtains paired with roller shades to block light and control solar heat. The bottom bungalow has shades with a scalloped bottom edge in the windows to the left of the front door. Cords with cloth-covered rings can be seen hanging below them.
Photos courtesy of the Hennepin History Museum, Confer Realty Company collection (www.hennepinhistory.org).
If you’re looking for shades appropriate for early 20th century bungalows, you might consider some with a stenciled design. In the create-your-own-art tradition of the Arts & Crafts movement, you can find beautiful bungalow-era stencil patterns and supplies at Wisconsin-based Trimbelle River Studio & Design (www.trimbelleriver.com).
If you don’t have the time or inclination to do it yourself, you can purchase ready-made roller shades with Arts & Crafts stenciled designs. One option is The Handwerk Shade Shop in Portland, Oregon (www.thehandwerkshop.com).
Examples of roller shade styles, all available from The Handwerk Shade Shop in Portland, Oregon (www.thehandwerkshop.com).
Another option is Melton Workroom (aka Ann Wallace Prairie Textiles) in Los Angeles, California (www.meltonworkroom.com/roller-shades).
For color, we’d recommend a cream or ivory if you’d like some light to show through. Avoid bright white, which will look harsh and too contrasty against the deeper colors of a typical bungalow interior.
Or, if you want something with more drama that is still historically accurate, try dark green roller shades. Yep, that’s right. Dark forest green was popular from the Victorian era right through the bungalow era. They will add a bold touch to your main rooms and are great for blocking early morning light in bedrooms.
