Office Window Shades
Solar screens that stop glare on the monitors without closing the view, motorized rows that follow the sun, dual shades for the conference room: office window shades for South Florida, specified from the mills' published figures, made in our workroom and installed after hours by our own team.
Glare costs more than shades
A screen you cannot read at three in the afternoon, a conference room where the presentation washes out, a corner office nobody wants in summer: the cost of an unshaded facade shows up as moved desks, closed blinds that never reopen and a cooling bill that rises with the sun. The fix is a shade that cuts glare without closing the view, moves on a schedule so it is actually used, and reads as one clean plane from the desk and from the street.
We specify the fabric from the mills' published figures, motorize the row so one button moves it, program the schedule to the facade and install after hours with our own crew. A facilities manager gets one company for the shades, the motors and the service calls.
The office shade system
Solar screens for open-plan floors
3% to 5% screens in dark colors where glare is the enemy, light colors where heat is, from Mermet, Phifer and Lutron lines with published view, light and heat values, coupled across wide glass.
Dual shades for conference and board rooms
Screen plus blackout on two tubes in one bracket, presets on the room keypad, a trigger from the AV system.
Motorized rows on a schedule
Lutron, Crestron or Somfy SDN motors with a sun-position or time-of-day schedule per facade, a local override at the desk, and a facilities override on a phone. Battery motors where power cannot be run.
Reception and brand spaces
Sheers, decorative drapery or room-darkening shades on recessed tracks and pockets where the architecture asks for a clean ceiling. See recessed treatments.
Private offices and wellness rooms
Privacy and room-darkening layers on quiet motors, cordless where a hand can reach, in fabrics that wipe down.
Fabrics that pass review
NFPA 701 listed lines, PVC-free screens where the brief asks for them, and the Lutron commercial fabrics for specified projects.
What you get beyond the shade
A schedule per facade
East glass closes in the morning and opens at noon; west glass does the reverse. The shades are used because nobody has to remember them.
Shop drawings and submittals
Fabric cuttings, motor and power schedules, mounting details and street-face samples for the landlord and the architect.
Pockets and pre-wire for fit-outs
Pocket dimensions and power locations at the framing stage, from our pre-wire guide, so the ceiling closes once.
After-hours installation
Evenings and weekends, by floor or zone, with COIs and freight-elevator bookings arranged with building management.
Service for any system
Re-programming, motor and fabric replacement and recommissioning of systems we did not install, by the people who know the controls.
One price list across locations
The same fabric and motor standard and the same written numbers for every office in the portfolio.
From floor plan to programmed facade
Five steps. One company measures, makes, installs and programs.
1. Floor plan and photos
Send the plan with the facade orientations and a photo of the worst hour. We return a budgetary number per opening within days.
2. Site measure and samples
We measure every opening, hold screen samples to the glass at the problem hour and confirm the street-face rule with the building.
3. Motor, power and control plan
Per-opening motor and power schedule, control platform agreed with your IT or AV team, schedule logic written down.
4. Fabrication
Shades assembled in our Fort Lauderdale workroom on a three-to-four-week lead time from the approved fabric schedule.
5. After-hours installation and programming
Installed by floor or zone, schedules and keypads programmed, staff shown the overrides, documentation left with facilities.
Frequently asked
Which solar shade fabric stops screen glare?
A dark 3% screen on the sun-facing walls: it cuts the brightness behind and beside the monitors, keeps the outside view legible and reads as a clean dark plane from the desk. Light colors reflect more heat but show more glare; the published view, light and heat figures for each fabric are on our dark-or-light guide and the openness guide.
Do we need motors on every window?
On a glass facade, yes: a row of twelve windows will only ever be aligned if one button moves them together, and nobody walks a floor adjusting chains at 4 pm. Single offices and small windows can stay manual with a cordless or chain-driven clutch where a hand can reach.
Can the shades follow the sun automatically?
Yes. On Lutron, Crestron or Somfy the shades take a time-of-day or sun-position schedule per facade, with a local override at the desk or the conference-room keypad, and a facilities override from a phone. Our planning section lists the five decisions that come first.
What goes in a conference room?
A dual shade: a solar screen for the meeting and a blackout for the presentation, each on a preset, often tied to the room's AV system so the blackout drops when the display wakes. Boardrooms that face the street add a privacy layer.
Does the landlord have a say?
Usually: a street-face color rule, a facade uniformity rule, or a building standard shade. We read the lease and the building's criteria first, submit samples and shop drawings, and specify a white or neutral street face that keeps the facade uniform from outside.
Can you work after hours?
Yes. Measuring happens around your staff; installation and programming happen evenings or weekends, by floor or by zone, with COIs and freight-elevator bookings handled with building management.
What do office shades cost?
Order of magnitude from our published list: a 72 by 84 in motorized roller shade is about $733 on our Essential tier, $793 on Somfy WireFree, $1,910 on a wired Somfy system and $3,141 on Lutron, measured, installed and programmed, before tax. Floors are quoted per opening in writing from the drawings. See pricing.
Do you service shades another company installed?
Yes, including motorized systems from manufacturers we did not install: we re-program, replace motors and fabrics and bring an abandoned system back into service, which is a common first call from a facilities manager. See Lutron service and repair.
Hospitality window treatments in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton & Palm Beach
Hotel-grade blackout, sheers that survive daily use and motorization on the same keypad as the lighting - with named work under St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton and Fasano flags. Our workroom and showroom are at 4539 Powerline Rd in Fort Lauderdale, our second showroom is South of Fifth in Miami Beach, and the same in-house team measures and installs from Miami to Palm Beach.
Put a number on the floor
Send the floor plan and a photo of the glare. You get a budgetary quote per opening and a schedule that makes the shades disappear into the workday.