Cordless pleated shades offer a number of benefits, primarily in terms of styling and safety.

Cordless pleated shade - subtle style application

In regard to styling, the simple look of a uniform texture, like cellular shades, allows you to have attractive and functional window treatments that don’t pull attention away from other styling elements. If you are highlighting a piece of art or furniture, for example, cordless pleated shades do their job and can contribute to a look of a room while keeping distraction to a minimum. They become a positive contributor to the room, without stealing the show.

Remember that the styling effects change during the day and night; shades with relatively high opacity (lots of light allowed to pass through) still offer a lot of privacy, though the ’silhouette effect’ may still occur, revealing a profile of items near the window in a well-lit room.

Cordless pleated shade - high-contrast application

On the other end of the subtle-bold spectrum, the same shade in a different room can be striking based solely on color selection and contrast to other room elements while the simplicity of a cordless shade still keeps the look clean (no wands or cords). When desired, cordless pleated shades shades can be made striking by selecting a shade that emphasizes the horizontal nature of the pleats, allows the window’s framework to show through or has a contracting headrail or bottom edge. (pic) One way to dial in this feature is to order a shade in different opacity, or the amount of light that can come through.

In regard to safety, cordless pleated shades have the obvious advantage of being… cordless. The hanging cords, firmly affixed to the window frame, offer a strangulation risk for children and pets. Cordless shades of any kind do not share this problem. (Note, if you have existing corded blinds and want information or a retrofit kit to make them cordless, visit our cordless window blind safety article.)

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In addition, for kitchens or other areas where fire safety is a particular concern,fire-retardant window shades are a no-compromise way to have the style and function…and safety that you demand.

Top down bottom up pleated shades

Another form of cordless is the top down, bottom up pleated shades. These also have no messy and dangerous cords, and offer the additional benefit of opening from the top. Great for letting light in with a more opaque shade while retaining privacy. Because the opening is at the top of the window, any passersby would only see your ceiling.

For media rooms, a room darkening pleated shade is a great choice. Whether you want the room darker or truly blackout, the varying surface texture and fabric materials have the additional benefits of not bouncing sound like a metal, wood or plastic shade and dark colors prevent glare and reflection from other light sources.