Dealer Guide
Shade Fabric & Openness Planning Guide
Fabric selection drives the real-world performance of a shade system. Use this guide to qualify privacy, glare control, view preservation, room darkening, openness factor, and room-by-room expectations before finalizing the shade design.
Start Here
Choose fabric based on what each room needs to accomplish.
The same home may need solar fabric in living areas, blackout fabric in bedrooms, and different openness factors based on sun exposure, glare, privacy, and view expectations.
Openness is a performance decision.
Lower openness usually provides more glare reduction and privacy. Higher openness usually preserves more view and daylight.
Privacy
Clarify whether the customer needs daytime privacy, nighttime privacy, bedroom privacy, street-facing privacy, or privacy from nearby neighbors.
Glare Control
Identify rooms where sunlight affects TVs, projectors, workstations, seating positions, kitchens, and daily comfort.
View Preservation
Some customers want glare reduction without losing the outdoor view. Fabric openness helps balance visibility, comfort, and light control.
Room Darkening
Bedrooms, media rooms, nurseries, and theaters may need blackout or room-darkening strategies instead of standard solar fabric.
Openness Factor
Explain the tradeoff between view, privacy, and glare control.
Lower openness usually provides more glare reduction and privacy with less view-through. Higher openness usually preserves more view and daylight but allows more visibility and light through the fabric.
1% Openness
More privacy and glare reduction with less view-through. Useful where sunlight and privacy are major priorities.
3% Openness
A balanced option for many living spaces, offices, and rooms where glare control and some view preservation both matter.
5% Openness
More view-through and daylight with less privacy and glare control. Best where maintaining the view is a high priority.
Blackout Fabric
Used where room darkening is the primary goal. Side gaps, mounting details, and channels affect the final blackout result.
Room-by-Room Guidance
Different spaces need different fabric strategies.
Bedrooms
Prioritize nighttime privacy, blackout needs, morning light control, and simple control from bed or scenes.
Media Rooms
Focus on light control, screen glare, projector performance, and darker viewing conditions.
Living Rooms
Balance glare reduction, natural light, view preservation, privacy, and overall design feel.
Home Offices
Control screen glare while keeping the room comfortable for video calls, focused work, and changing sun angles.
Large Glass Areas
Plan fabric, openness, motor strength, mounting, seam visibility, and control zones carefully.
Street-Facing Rooms
Discuss daytime and nighttime privacy separately, because fabric performance changes when interior lights are on.
Fabric Discovery Questions
Ask these before selecting fabric.
These questions help clarify privacy, glare, view-through, room darkening, side-gap expectations, fabric consistency, and scene integration.
Fabric Checklist
Confirm these before selecting fabric.
Use this checklist to keep fabric selection tied to room performance instead of appearance alone.
Common Mistakes
Avoid fabric selections that disappoint later.
Fabric selection issues usually come from treating the shade as a finish product instead of a room-performance product.
Related Resources
Continue planning the shade system.
Use these related guides to continue planning motorized shade discovery, pockets and wiring, lighting scenes, and lighting specification basics.
When to Call DSG Metro
Bring us in before fabric is selected room by room.
DSG Metro can help think through shade fabric goals, openness factor, privacy, glare control, blackout expectations, lighting scene integration, and the room performance tradeoffs that affect the final shade system.