All of our products are designed for either inside or outside mount use. While some prefer the recessed look of an inside mount cellular shade, others like the look of a faux wood blind that covers the entire window easily.

But which one is right?

There is no right answer for how your blinds should look. It's a total preference by you, the customer. But here are some things to consider.

Decorative Framing

If you have decorative framing around your window, you'll want to show that off. An outside mount blind will not highlight the features of your design, but will rather hide it from view.

Inside mount wood blinds allow the beveled nature of the window frame to still be showcased

On the opposite side of the coin, if you have older frame work that is unsightly and you want to hide it from view, an outside mount blind or shade can go over the edges of the frame and cover up outdated trim.

This outside mount roman shade covers the entire window frame

Window Hardware

Some window frames aren't conducive to inside mount shades due to hardware inside the frame itself that keeps the shade from operating smoothly. Cranks and locks on casement windows can get in the way of proper raising and lowering of your blind.

A casement window with side locks

With the side lock pieces, getting a cellular shade to move up and down smoothly becomes tricky, as the small gap from the inside mount deduction doesn't always have enough clearance to get past the locks.

Window Depth

Some windows are more shallow than others. Make sure that your window has enough depth to accommodate your chosen blind or shade. Some products, like Roman shades and Bamboo shades, don't require as much window depth, while cellular shades and faux wood blinds do require a bit more. You can always check the necessary window depth for a specific product in the "Product Specs" portion of the listing.

Measuring for Inside or Outside Mount

We have a handy measuring guide on our website, and it's also available on every product page, so you can make sure you're getting the exact measurement you need.

The Window Blind Outlet Measuring Guide

For inside mount blinds, measure the inside opening in 3 locations- top, middle, and bottom. Record the smallest of the 3 measurements. That will be your ordering width. We do make a slight deduction for a proper fit with inside mount blinds. This deduction is made on our end, so you don't have to worry about that. For the height, repeat the process of measuring in three different places- left, middle, and right. The largest of the three measurements will be your ordering length.

For outside mount blinds, measure the width of the area you want to cover. This will be the overall width of your blind, and we will not make any deductions. Repeat the process for measuring height to determine the length of your blind.

As always, we are here to help. You can email or call us with any measurement questions.