Premium shades.
Real prices.
Direct from the factory.

Motorized smart shades start around $155 per window and manual shades around $105 per window, all-in. A typical whole-home order of 13–25 windows runs roughly $1,300 to $3,600 total. Per-window pricing improves at 13, 18 and 25 shades, because shipping and hardware spread across more windows. Retail showrooms typically quote about three times these figures for comparable products.

No. The fabrics carry NFPA 701 fire certification, the same test used for commercial drapery nationwide, and run 155–430 g/m², squarely in the commercial-grade range. Shades are available up to about 118 inches wide, the same maximum as the major retailers, and every order carries a two-year parts warranty. The price difference comes from skipping the showroom, the sales rep and the brand markup, not from the materials.

Measure inside the window jamb, not the drywall around it. Take three width measurements (top, middle, bottom) and use the narrowest. Take three height measurements (left, middle, right) and use the longest. Record to the nearest 1/8 inch and don't subtract anything; the factory applies the fitting deductions. Most homeowners measure a whole house in under an hour.

Roughly 10–15 days from order. Shades are made to order and shipped express, considerably faster than most custom window covering suppliers, who typically quote three to five weeks.

Yes, about ten minutes per shade with a drill. Brackets mount inside the jamb and the shade clips in. No electrician is needed for motorized shades, since the motors are rechargeable and self-contained.

No wiring at all. The motors are rechargeable lithium units built into the shade tube, recharging over USB-C and holding a charge for roughly 9–12 months of normal use. Optional solar charging panels ($25 each) keep them topped up from daylight. They work with the major smart-home systems by app, voice or schedule.

Blackout blocks essentially all light through the fabric. Best for bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms.

Semi-blackout (room darkening) cuts most light but leaves a soft glow, good for bedrooms where you don't want pitch black.

Light filtering softens daylight and keeps the room bright. Best for living areas, kitchens and offices.

Most whole-home orders mix blackout in bedrooms with light filtering everywhere else.

Most of the retail price isn't the product. A custom roller shade leaves the factory for roughly $30–$110 depending on size, fabric and motor. What triples it at retail is the showroom lease, the commissioned sales rep, the in-home consultation, the installer, the brand markup and the distributor margin stacked in between. Going factory-direct removes those layers. Same fabric, same hardware, same warranty.

Typical figures for a motorized roller shade:

At Cost Shades figures come from real completed orders. Competitor ranges are typical market figures and vary by product and region.

For a 13–25 window home, factory-direct runs $1,300–$3,600 total. Real completed orders: 13 cordless light-filtering shades at $1,325, 15 motorized at $2,650, 25 motorized with remotes and a hub at $3,625. Comparable showroom quotes for those same homes generally land between $6,000 and $15,000.

Motorized adds roughly $50 per window. It earns its keep on hard-to-reach windows, on large or heavy shades where a manual chain is awkward, and anywhere you want scheduling or voice control. For small, easily reached windows, manual cordless is usually the better value. Most whole-home orders mix both.

Measure after drywall, paint and window trim are finished, since final jamb dimensions shift during construction. With delivery at about 10–15 days from order, you can order close to move-in and still have shades up quickly.

Price it against an independent quote first. Builder packages are convenient but usually carry a heavy markup and specify entry-level vinyl or faux-wood products. Declining the package and sourcing separately commonly saves 50–70% for equal or better fabric and hardware. The trade-off is bare windows for a few weeks after move-in.

Light filtering is the usual pick. It knocks down glare and heat while keeping the room bright and the view usable. If the afternoon sun is genuinely punishing, semi-blackout cuts noticeably more.

Blackout stops it completely, though you lose the window during the day, so most people save that for bedrooms. Utah's high-altitude sun also fades floors and furniture faster than most places, which is worth factoring in on south and west exposures.

Roller shades are a single fabric panel on a tube, giving the cleanest look and the widest fabric selection. Cellular uses honeycomb pockets that insulate better, at higher cost and with a more textured look. Blinds use tilting slats, allowing light-angle control but collecting dust and offering less complete blackout. At Cost Shades supplies roller shades.

Yes, up to about 118 inches wide in a single unit, which covers most sliding doors and picture windows. Wider openings split into two shades side by side. Very large shades are best motorized, since a manual chain on a heavy panel is hard to operate.

A blackout fabric with a fabric-wrapped bottom rail and a wrapped or aluminum top cover gives the darkest result, since the cover closes the light gap above the roll.

Inside-mount shades always leave a small light gap along the jamb. For a genuinely dark room, U-channel light blocker pieces mount along the sides of the opening and seal that gap. Available as an add-on. Ask for details and pricing with your quote.

I can't ship individual fabric samples, but if you're in the Utah County service area I'll bring the physical fabric book by so you can compare colors and opacity in your own light. Worth doing, since fabrics read very differently on a screen than in a north-facing bedroom.

Measurements get reviewed before the order goes in, and anything unusual for the window type is flagged and double-checked. Because shades are custom-made they can't be returned, which is why that review step exists. Following the guided process to the nearest 1/8 inch avoids nearly all problems.

Parts are covered two years against defects, with replacements shipped from the factory. Report shipping damage as soon as the package arrives so a carrier claim can be filed. Inspect boxes on delivery rather than weeks later.

There's no showroom, which is a large part of why the pricing works. Fabric samples are available to handle at home, and four real itemized invoices from completed local orders are published above so you can review actual pricing and configurations before committing.

Full payment before production, since each shade is custom-made to your measurements and can't be resold.

Cash, check and Venmo at no extra cost. Credit card accepted with a 3% processing fee, standard practice for contractors and service businesses.

Based in Saratoga Springs and serving Utah County and nearby: Lehi, Eagle Mountain, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Highland, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Lindon, Orem, Provo, Vineyard, Springville and Spanish Fork.

Outside the area? Not a problem. Shades ship direct from the factory, so I can deliver anywhere. The only thing that's local-only is the in-person fabric book.