Aging in place: window coverings that are easy to use and cut glare

Updated October 22, 2026

The short version: if you plan to stay in your home, choose window coverings you can work from where you actually sit, with nothing to untangle and a way to keep daylight without the glare. Plantation shutters do that well: no cords, a tilt you choose the side of, and louvers you can angle to bounce light off the ceiling. They cost more than blinds, and opening the panels fully takes more effort than raising a shade. This guide sets out both sides.

Why this is a 2027 question

Most people over 50 want to stay where they are. In AARP’s December 2024 report, 75% of adults 50 and older said they wish to remain in their current homes as they age, and 73% hope to stay in their communities^[1]. “Over half (51%) of adults 50-plus say they need a home that supports independent aging,” and the changes they expect to need are practical ones: grab bars (72%), entryway enhancements (71%) and kitchen upgrades (39%)^[1].

The longer trend points the same way. In a December 2016 projection, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies estimated that by 2035 “one in three households will be headed by someone” aged 65 or older^[2]. It expected demand for “universal design elements such as zero-step entrances, single-floor living, and wide halls and doorways”, and found only 3.5% of homes had all three^[2]. That projection is now ten years old; we cite it for its direction, not as a current count.

Windows don’t appear on those lists, and they don’t need to: nobody remodels for window coverings. But coverings are one of the few things in a house you use several times a day, so when you replace them, it’s worth choosing ones that will still be easy in twenty years.

What “easy to use” means at a window

This section is our own reasoning, from how the different products work. We don’t publish operating-force figures, ours or anyone else’s, because we haven’t measured them under a standard test. What we can describe is the movement each one asks of you.

• Nothing to find. A cord or chain has to be located, gripped and pulled, often to one side and at full reach. Shutters have no cords at all.
• One movement, not two. To change the light you tilt the louvers: one push up or down. Raising a blind is usually a pull and then a lock.
• A choice of side. We place the tilt rod on the left, middle or right of a panel. Put it on the side nearest your chair, so you don’t have to lean across the window.
• Panels for the occasional job. Shutter panels swing open on hinges, like small cabinet doors. You open them to clean the glass or open the window, not to adjust the light. If a window is opened every day for air, think about whether a hinged panel suits that window, or whether another covering would be simpler there.

Front rod, back rod or hidden tilt

We make three tilt options. Each suits different hands:

For most people planning ahead, we’d suggest the front rod, placed on the side nearest where they sit: it’s the easiest to see and the easiest to hold. Hidden tilt looks tidier and leaves nothing to catch a sleeve on, but you work it by pressing on a louver, which some hands find less comfortable than a rod. Where shutters lose: a cordless shade is cheaper, and raising it clears the whole window in one movement, which a shutter can only do by opening its panels.

Glare, and keeping the daylight

Light matters more as eyes age. APH ConnectCenter, the American Printing House for the Blind’s guidance for people with low vision, notes that you need more light as you age and with vision loss, “up to six times the light of a sighted young adult”^[3]. It calls natural light “your most effective tool”, with a catch: “natural light requires control,” because a passing cloud or a low sun can bring “harsh glare and shadows”^[3].

Its practical advice is about adjustable coverings: “Minimize glare by using window tinting, blinds, or curtains,” and “install lattices, adjustable blinds, or sheer panel curtains to reduce intense sunlight”^[3]. It also suggests adjusting blinds daily to block direct sun angles, and working with your back to the window so light doesn’t reflect off what you’re reading^[3].

Here is how louvers fit that advice, again in our own words:

• Angle to soften. Set the louvers so daylight lands on the ceiling, which spreads it around the room instead of sending it straight into your eyes.
• Part-open for privacy and light. A partial tilt keeps passers-by from seeing in and still lets light through.
• Close against low sun. In the late afternoon, close the louvers on the sunny window and leave the others open, so the room stays bright without the glare.

Louvers are not darkness: light gets in at their edges and around the panels. For a bedroom you want very dim in the morning, see our bedroom shutters page.

Room by room

The chair by the window

The window you use most is usually the one beside a favourite chair. Put the tilt rod on that side, and consider a wider louver for a clearer view out when they’re open. Our louver sizes guide compares 2½, 3½ and 4½ in louvers.

The bedroom

Morning light is the usual complaint. Closed louvers dim the room, and a lined curtain on a rod above the frame takes it further. Put the rod on the side of the window nearest the bed if you like to tilt the louvers before getting up.

Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms

Our current shutters are poplar, and wood isn’t the best choice where it’s wet often. We’re adding aluminum interior shutters, coming in 2027. An aluminum frame and louvers in place of solid wood. Made for bathrooms, laundry rooms and other rooms where wood has a hard time with moisture. Aluminum doesn’t rust the way steel does. A thin oxide film forms on its surface and reseals itself if it’s scratched. There’s no price yet; the aluminum shutters page has the waitlist.

Older houses

If you’ve lived in the house a long time, the openings may be out of square or the trim may have been painted many times. Our older homes guide covers measuring and fitting in those openings.

Keeping them clean

Cleaning is part of “easy to use”, and it’s where shutters ask for a little more than a shade. Louvers collect dust on their top faces, so they want a regular wipe with a dry microfibre cloth or a soft brush on the vacuum. With the louvers closed, you can dust a whole panel in a few passes. Marks on a painted finish come off with a barely damp cloth, dried straight away; our care guide has the details.

The top louvers of a tall window are the part you’ll reach least. A long-handled duster reaches them from the floor, and they need it far less often than the louvers at hand height. This is where a cordless shade is simpler: it has one fabric face to clean, not a row of louvers. We think the trade is worth it for the light control, but it is a trade.

Planning it with family

Many orders like this are made by a son or daughter for a parent, or by a couple thinking about the next twenty years. If that’s you, sit in the chair the person actually uses and decide from there which side the rod goes on and how far they can comfortably reach. Then measure, price each window in the designer, and go through the quote together before anything is ordered.

What it costs

From our live price list, one window in the simplest build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers):

• A typical window, 36 × 48 in: $320 – $400 in the US, $460 – $570 CAD in Canada.
• A wide living-room window, 60 × 48 in: $540 – $660 in the US, $770 – $950 CAD in Canada.

A deeper moulding, a higher paint stage or a colour match change the price, and the designer shows each choice as you make it. Blinds and shades cost less for the same window. The case for shutters is that you buy them once: the finish can be repainted, and there’s no cord or fabric to wear out.

You don’t have to fit them yourself

We sell shutters made to your measurements and shipped to your door. Plenty of people measure and fit them themselves, and our installation guide shows how. If climbing a step stool or using a drill isn’t how you want to spend an afternoon, ask on your quote and we’ll tell you which independent installers work in your area. You arrange and pay the installer directly. A family member can measure from our measuring guide, or an installer can measure and fit.

What we don’t claim

We don’t describe our shutters as an accessibility product, as meeting any accessibility standard, or as preventing falls or helping with any condition. They are a window covering with no cords, a simple tilt and good light control. If you’re adapting a home for a particular need, an occupational therapist can look at the whole house, windows included, and that advice should come first.