Curtains, Cellular Shades or New Windows: Warming Up a Cold Room in Durham Region

Before pricing out new windows for a cold room, try changing what covers them. Lined curtains hung wide, or a cellular shade that properly fits the frame, can make a chilly bedroom or living room comfortable again for a weekend’s work, provided the window itself is in decent shape. If the seal or the frame has failed, that’s when replacement is worth a quote.

At Durham Trade Shows we share home décor ideas and renovation tips for homeowners across Durham Region, and window coverings sit right where those two topics meet. The fabric and hardware you pick help decide how warm a room feels in January. And you’ll be looking at them every day until spring.

When are thermal curtains the right choice?

Curtains make sense on big windows and patio doors, especially in rooms where you’d like the whole wall to look softer. You do have to be willing to open them all the way in the daytime. Lined or thermal-backed panels are the ones to look for. They keep a pocket of still air against the glass, and that only works when the fabric covers the window with some to spare.

Placement matters a lot here. We’d put the rod a few inches above the frame and let it run well past the window on each side, which means the panels can be pulled completely off the glass in the morning. Go for floor length if you can (a curtain that stops at the sill lets cold air spill out underneath). Rods with curved ends, often sold as wraparound rods, bring the fabric back to the wall at the sides.

Heavy lined panels give up a fair bit of daylight when they’re closed, so they suit rooms used mostly in the evening, like a living room or a bedroom where darkness is welcome. For a lighter look through the afternoon, hang a sheer on an inner rod with the lined curtain in front, and draw the heavier layer at dusk.

Are cellular shades worth it for a cold window?

Cellular shades are often worth it on bedroom windows and other smaller openings. Look at one from the side and the fabric is a row of hollow cells, a bit like a honeycomb, and the air sitting in those cells is what does the insulating. Double-cell versions have two rows, which helps a little more, though you’ll pay extra for them. Street-facing rooms are where the top-down, bottom-up kind comes in handy, with the top lowered for light and the bottom left shut.

Should the shade go inside or outside the frame?

An inside mount tucks the shade into the window opening itself. It’s the tidier look and your trim stays on show, but air gets past through a thin gap on either side. Mount it outside, over the frame, and those gaps close up (a small window can even look a bit bigger that way), though the trim gets covered. Shallow frames settle it anyway, as an inside mount needs a certain depth to sit flush.

How can you tell the window itself needs replacing?

If you can see haze or little droplets between the two panes, the seal has gone, and there’s no way to get in there and wipe it. That’s the most obvious sign. You can check for a few others yourself without any tools.

• Wood in the frame or sill that’s gone soft or started to rot
• Locks and hardware that no longer pull the sash tight against the frame
• A sash that won’t stay open, or one that sticks hard every time you move it

Drafts are less clear-cut. Close the window on a sheet of paper and try to pull it out. Paper that slides out with no drag at all points to tired weatherstripping, which is a far smaller fix than a new window.

When it does come to new windows, ask about casements. Cranking a casement shut draws the sash hard into its weatherstripping, and they generally seal tighter than a slider. Sliders have their place too, beside a deck or walkway for instance, where a sash swinging outward would be in the way.

Our Durham business directory has categories for window coverings and for windows and doors. You can also filter the Durham business listings by city.

Which option suits which room?

There’s no rule that says every window in the house gets the same treatment.

• Blackout lining in the bedroom, or a double-cell shade if you’d rather skip curtains
• Curtains on a wide rod in a living room with a nice view, pulled fully clear of the glass during the day
• Nothing long near the stove in the kitchen. A short shade that stays up off the counter is easier to live with.
• Patio doors are trickier. Panels on a long rod that slide right off the door will work, and so will a vertical cellular shade.

It’s worth matching the rod or headrail finish to hardware already in the room, a cabinet pull or a light fixture, say. We’d also lean toward warm, mid-tone fabrics for winter. Stark white can look a little grey when the light is low.

Comparing Windows and Doors at Trade Shows in Durham

If new windows are on next year’s list, Durham Trade Shows runs two spring home shows in the region. The vendor previews for each home and garden show include window and door companies, along with renovators and painters.

The Oshawa Home Show comes first, on March 6 and 7, 2027, running 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Clarington Home Show has the same hours on April 10 and 11 at the Garnet B Rickard Sports Complex in Bowmanville. At either Durham home show, the window companies in the vendor previews are the people to ask about casements and sliders.

You don’t need to wait for spring to deal with the curtains and shades, though. Get the rod up wide and let the panels reach the floor, and that chair by the living room window might actually get used in January.