Curtains on basement windows: what to hang, room by room

Yes, you can hang curtains on basement windows. On most small, high windows, though, a shade mounted above the frame works better, because there's no wall space for panels to stack open.¹ Pick the treatment by window type and by room: blackout for a bedroom, a removable plug for a theater, light-filtering shades or film for an office. If the window is an egress window, the treatment has to clear the full opening without tools.²

TL;DR

• Shades usually beat curtains on small windows up near the joists. A shade sized larger than the window with a top-down option gives privacy and still lets light in over the top.¹
• Bedrooms need blackout that lifts fully clear of the escape opening. Mount it on the wall above the frame so the raised stack never hangs into the glass.
• Theaters do best with a window plug you can pull out by hand, or blackout cloth held on hook-and-loop dots.³
• Offices need glare control more than darkness. Blinds run $30 to $200 per window installed, and window tinting runs $6 to $15 per square foot.⁴
• Don't drywall over or screw shut a window the room relies on for escape. Settle treatments before framing, while wood blocking for brackets is easy to add.

When do curtains work on a basement window?

Curtains work when there's wall space beside the window for the panels to stack open. That usually means a walkout, a garden-level window or a window you can see at eye level. On a small window tucked under the joists, panels have nowhere to go, so a shade is the better fit.¹

One Houzz thread shows the problem well. A homeowner turning a basement into a guest studio had two small windows, 24 to 30 inches square, at the top of walls about 12 feet tall.¹ One designer suggested curtains with a liner, hung from just below a ceiling pipe, down both sides of each window and between them.¹ Another commenter saw the photo and said to skip curtains and use a roman shade larger than the window with a top-down option, because there was no room for curtains to stack back.¹

Both answers can be right, depending on the wall. Before you buy anything, check three things:

• The wall beside the window. If an open panel can sit fully off the glass, curtains are an option.
• The space above. Ducts, pipes and beams close to the window top leave little room for a rod or a shade headrail.
• The window's operation. An egress window is the window that counts as a room's emergency escape and rescue opening under the building code.² A treatment that blocks its sash is a safety problem, however good it looks.

What are your options for covering basement windows?

You have eight practical choices: shades, blinds, curtains, blackout cloth, a removable plug, window tinting, solar screens and smart glass. Shades and blinds suit most rooms. Blackout cloth and plugs are for theaters and bedrooms. Tinting and smart glass fit offices where you want daylight without glare or a view in.

The blind, tinting, solar screen and smart glass prices are HomeGuide's national ranges.⁴ HomeGuide says tinting reduces up to 85% of the heat from sunlight and blocks up to 99% of UV rays.⁴ The shade, curtain, cloth and plug rows have no sourced price, so check current retail prices for your window size. The rule for screens over escape openings comes from the 2021 International Residential Code, section R310.4.4.²

Which treatment fits your basement window type?

Match the treatment to how the window opens. Sliding and hung windows take inside or outside mounts. Awning windows open outward, so an inside-mount shade can work if the handle stays reachable. Casements need an outside mount so the crank has clear space. Inward-swing windows need everything mounted above the frame, clear of the sash. Fixed windows can take film or any mount.

HomeGuide lists sliding, casement, inward-swing, single-hung and double-hung designs as common egress window types.⁵ It notes that sliders work well where vertical clearance is limited and inward-swing windows suit small window wells.⁵ Awning windows are hinged on top and open outward from the bottom. Casements typically use a crank handle, and picture windows have no moving parts.⁴

Frame depth decides a lot. A deep window return lets a shade sit inside the frame and look built in. A shallow vinyl frame usually means an outside mount on the wall above.

What works best in a bedroom, theater or office?

Bedrooms need blackout that still opens fully. Theaters need total light control, which usually means a plug or blackout cloth. Offices need glare control and daylight, so light-filtering shades, blinds or tinting fit best. In every basement room, its use decides how dark you need it and how often the window opens.

Bedroom: blackout that lifts clear

Under the 2021 IRC, section R310.1, each basement sleeping room needs its own operable emergency escape and rescue opening, with limited exceptions for sprinklered homes.² So the bedroom window is the one you most want dark and the one you most need to open fast.

Good fits:

• A blackout roller shade mounted on the wall above the frame, a little wider than the opening. When it's up, the roll sits above the glass.
• A shade sized larger than the window with a top-down option. You can drop it from the top for daylight and keep the lower part covered.¹ For sleep, close it fully.
• Lined blackout panels, but only where the wall has room for them to stack off the glass.

Skip anything fixed to the sash, and skip tension rods inside an inward-swing frame.

If the bedroom window is too small to be an escape opening, fix that before you shop for shades. A commenter on the same Houzz thread told the studio owner exactly that.¹ HomeGuide puts an installed egress window at $6,000 to $8,000 on average, and complex jobs can exceed $10,000.⁵ The basement bedroom egress window guide explains how to size that opening. If you're planning a full suite or a rental unit downstairs, the basement apartments and in-law suites page covers that kind of project.

Home theater: plug it or peel it

A theater needs the room dark whenever the screen is on. An AVS Forum thread on a small basement window in a theater gave several workable answers.³

• Build a window plug. One poster suggested it for anyone who only needs physical access to the window.³ A plug is a fitted panel that pushes into the window opening and pulls out when you need the window.
• Use blackout cloth on hook-and-loop dots. Buy a yard or two of blackout cloth, cut it larger than the window, and stick it up with self-stick dots when you want dark. Pull it off and roll it up when you want light.³ Another poster advised the weakest dots you can find, because heavy-duty hook-and-loop grips harder than its glue and pulls the adhesive off.³
• Try magnetic tape and a metal panel. It's the same idea with a quicker grip.³
• Paint an outside window well cover. The window looks normal from inside, but light can't reach the screen.³
• Add a blackout valance if the window is only about a foot tall.³

If the theater window is the basement's escape opening, the plug must come out by hand. Any cover over the window well must also release from inside without a key, a tool or more force than opening the window takes.² If you're building the room from scratch, see what goes into planning a basement home theater, including light control.

Home office: glare without the cave

An office needs daylight and a screen you can read. Total blackout is usually overkill.

• Light-filtering shades or blinds cut glare and give privacy from the yard. Blinds run $30 to $200 per window installed.⁴
• Window tinting keeps daylight while cutting heat and UV. It costs $6 to $15 per square foot.⁴
• Smart glass switches between clear and opaque for privacy and light control. At $70 to $150 per square foot installed, it's a big-budget choice.⁴
• Frosted privacy film is a stick-on option if the window faces a neighbor's path or driveway.

How do you mount a treatment without blocking an egress window?

Mount the treatment so the window still opens to its full size by hand. Under the 2021 IRC, section R310, an egress window must work from inside without keys, tools or special knowledge. Its net clear opening must be at least 5.7 square feet, 24 inches high and 20 inches wide.²

The bottom of the clear opening can be no more than 44 inches above the floor.² The code also says the clear dimensions must come from normal operation of the window.² A raised roman shade that hangs a few inches below the frame top eats into the clear height, which can matter on a window that just meets the 24-inch minimum.

The code's rule for bars, grilles, covers and screens is a good test for anything you hang. Those devices must be releasable or removable from inside without a key, a tool or more force than the window itself needs.² Whether an inspector applies that rule to a shade is up to your local building department. Local adoption and amendments of the IRC vary, so ask.

Mounting checklist:

1. Mount above the frame and wider than the opening, so a raised shade or open panels sit on the wall.
2. Keep tension rods and inside brackets out of the sash's path on inward-swing windows and clear of the crank on casements.
3. Use hook-and-loop, magnets or a hand-pulled plug for anything that covers the glass.³
4. Skip screws, clips or locks that fix a treatment to the sash.
5. Test it. Raise the shade, open the window fully and check that nothing hangs into the opening.

For window sizes, wells and ladders, see the basement egress windows guide.

When is it okay to cover a basement window permanently?

You should rarely cover a basement window permanently, and never a required escape opening. The 2021 IRC requires at least one operable escape opening in every basement and in each sleeping room. Habitable rooms also need glass equal to at least 8 percent of the floor area, with exceptions. Check with your building department before you seal any window.²

The AVS Forum poster's first plan was to cover the window during drywall, and his wife vetoed it.³

Section R303.1 also requires openable area of at least 4 percent of the floor area for natural ventilation, and those openings must be readily controllable by the people in the room.² There are exceptions. The glass isn't required where the room has mechanical ventilation of 0.35 air changes per hour and artificial light of 6 footcandles, and the window isn't needed for escape.² Settle those calls with your contractor and inspector before any drywall goes up.

Sources also differ on which rooms need an egress window. HomeGuide says each basement bedroom, office, TV room or other living space needs one.⁵ The IRC text requires one per basement plus one per sleeping room.² Plan from your local building department's answer, since local codes can require more than the model code.

How do you make a small basement window look nice?

Make a small basement window read bigger than it is. Size the shade or panels wider than the glass, hang them as high as the ceiling allows, and fill the wall below with furniture. Paint nearby pipes the wall color so the eye lands on the window.¹

A Houzz thread about a basement guest studio offers several tricks for small windows.¹

• Hang panels and put a chest and a lamp beneath the window. The furniture gives the window a base, so it stops floating on a blank wall.¹
• Use larger shutters, or panels paired with a larger blind or shade that has a top-down option.¹
• Treat two windows as one. One designer suggested curtains on the outside of both windows and between them, hung up to the bottom of a ceiling pipe.¹
• Paint the pipe the same color as the wall so it visually disappears.¹
• Fill awkward space with a tall piece, such as a bureau placed under a pipe elbow, to balance the wall.¹

A shade that matches the wall color keeps a small window quiet. A contrasting fabric turns it into a feature. Either works if you choose it on purpose.

What are some DIY ideas for covering a basement window or window well?

The easiest DIY fixes for basement windows are blackout cloth on hook-and-loop dots, a tension-rod café panel, stick-on film and a clear or painted window well cover. Each one comes off or opens without tools. Anything on an egress window or its well must still open or release from inside by hand.²

Inside the window

• Blackout cloth and hook-and-loop dots. Cut the cloth larger than the window and pull it down when you want light.³ On a smooth plastic frame, the dots should hold well.³
• A tension-rod café panel inside the frame of a slider or awning window. You avoid drilling into concrete or block. Don't use one inside an inward-swing frame.
• Store-bought panels, cut down. Small basement windows often need custom panels or altered store-bought ones.³
• Frosted or privacy film on the glass for a bathroom, laundry or office.

Outside, in the window well

• A clear polycarbonate cover keeps out debris, rain and snow and still lets light filter through. A metal grate cover adds security but blocks more light.⁵
• A painted cover blocks light for a theater.³
• Any cover over an egress window's well must be removable from inside without a key, a tool or extra force.² For cover types and fit, see the window well covers guide.

What should you ask your contractor about basement windows?

Ask your contractor about basement windows before framing. Blocking, trim depth and egress window size are easy to settle then and harder to change later. At the free on-site estimate, your contractor measures and talks through layout. Use that visit to confirm which windows are escape openings and where shade brackets will go.

Questions worth asking:

• Which window is the escape opening for each bedroom, and does it meet the 5.7-square-foot minimum?²
• Will you add wood blocking above each window so shade brackets have solid backing?
• How deep will the window returns be, and will an inside-mount shade fit?
• Will the window well covers release from inside without tools?
• Does the permit include any egress window work? HomeGuide says most municipalities require a permit for egress window installation, typically $200 to $500 or more.⁵
• Does the written, itemized quote list window trim, wells and egress work as separate lines?

If you're finishing a bare basement, you can get a written quote for finishing your basement. Basement Remodeling Co. sends your request to one vetted, licensed basement contractor for your metro. That contractor gives you a free on-site estimate and a written, itemized quote. Reworking a basement that's already finished? See basement remodeling. You can also find a basement contractor by ZIP code, or go straight to basement finishing in Denver or basement finishing in Atlanta.