Room

Window treatments for arched windows

The arch is a separate window from the rectangle underneath it. Treat it as one.

By Janet H. · Last updated October 8, 2026 · How we choose

A tall arch-top window in a white bedroom with daylight coming through

An arched window is two windows that happen to be touching. There is a rectangle at the bottom that behaves like any other window, and a half-round, eyebrow or quarter arch on top that behaves like nothing else in the house. Almost every good outcome starts with accepting that and buying for each separately.

The reason is mechanical. A shade rolls, folds or stacks in a straight line, so there is no way for a single moving covering to follow a curve. Anything that covers an arch is either fixed in place permanently, or it is a curtain hung above the whole shape so the curve is never involved. Those really are the options, and the sooner you know it the less money you waste.

Drape & Dawn earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend. Full disclosure.

The decision

Three honest strategies

Everything that works at an arched window is a version of one of these.

Three approaches. Which is right depends almost entirely on the room.
Strategy	What you get	What it costs you
Cover the rectangle, leave the arch bare	Privacy, glare control and insulation across the glass people can actually see through	The arch stays bright — a problem in a bedroom, rarely a problem anywhere else
Cover the rectangle, add a fixed arch shade	The whole opening covered, including the arch	The arch piece normally does not open; you are giving that daylight up permanently
Hang one curtain above the entire arch	Full coverage and full operation, with the arch simply hidden	The arch shape disappears, and you need wall height above it

A quick rule that holds up well: in a living room, hallway or stairwell, cover the rectangle and leave the arch. The arch is why the window exists, it is usually too high to see through from outside, and the light it throws is the good kind. In a bedroom, the arch is a direct light source over the bed at sunrise and you will want it covered — which generally means the third strategy, because a fixed arch piece still leaks around its edges.

The thing to know first

Why arch shades do not go up and down

A cellular or pleated shade works by collapsing into a stack at the top of its own travel. For that to happen the top of the shade has to be a straight line. On an arch it is a curve, so the fabric is shaped to the curve and fixed there; it covers the opening and stays covering it.

Manufacturers describe this as a stationary or fixed arch shade and it is not a defect, but it does mean the purchase is one-way: once it is in, that part of the window is permanently dimmed. Check each listing before you buy, because a few arch products are sold as removable rather than fixed, and the difference matters more than the price does.

There is one honest exception. An arch sitting over a window you genuinely want dark anyway — a bedroom — loses nothing by being permanently covered. That is the case where a fixed arch shade is simply the right product.

Three numbers

Measuring an arch

1
Identify the shape
A true half-round is exactly half a circle: its height equals half its width. An eyebrow arch is shallower than that. A quarter arch rises to one side. These are not interchangeable, and a shade cut for one will not fit another.
2
Measure the width at the spring line
The spring line is where the curve begins — usually the top of the rectangle below. Measure the full width there, inside the frame, and take it in three places as you would for any shade.
3
Measure the rise
From the spring line straight up to the highest point of the curve. On a true half-round this will come out at half the width. If it does not, you have an eyebrow and you should say so when you order.
4
Measure the rectangle separately
Treat the lower section as its own window — width in three places, height in three places, and the recess depth if you want an inside mount. It is the part that does the real work.
5
Check the depth at the top of the curve
A fixed arch shade needs mounting depth all the way around the curve, and on some windows the frame narrows toward the crown. Measure there, not just at the spring line.

For the rectangle below, the normal sequence applies unchanged: how to measure for curtains for fabric, and inside mount vs outside mount for the decision that comes before it.

What to buy

What to fit

Arch-shaped stock products are a narrow market, so the honest framing is that you are choosing between a small number of made-to-size shapes and one very good workaround. Everything below is currently sold and sized for an arch, or is the product we would put on the rectangle underneath it. Prices move, so each card carries the live figure rather than a number typed into this page; our methodology covers how these are chosen and the fact that we do not lab-test them.

#	Best for	Product	Shape	Mount	Operates	Price
1	Best overall	Arch Window Blackout Pleated Shades, half moon Bedroom arches over a window you already want dark, where giving up that daylight permanently costs you nothing.	Half-round, sized by radius	Inside, no drilling	No — stationary	$36.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded
2	Best light filtering	Arch Window Light Filtering Pleated Shade Blinds Living rooms, dining rooms and landings where the arch is causing glare or overlooking rather than waking anyone up.	Arch	Inside	No — stationary	$25.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded
3	Best cellular arch	Arch Half Circle Blackout Cellular Shades, cordless Arches in rooms that are hard to heat, and anywhere the arch is single glazed or old.	Half circle, sized by radius	Inside, no drilling	No — stationary	$35.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded
4	Best for the rectangle below	Single Cell Room Darkening Cordless Cellular Shades Every arched window, whatever you decide about the arch itself. Buy this one first.	Rectangle, made to size	Inside the lower section	Yes — cordless lift	$50.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded
5	Best way to cover the whole thing	Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains Bedrooms with an arched window, and anyone unwilling to trade the operation for the shape.	Covers arch and rectangle together	Outside, above the crown	Yes — draws normally	$19.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

01 — Best overall

Arch Window Blackout Pleated Shades, half moon

Changshade

A blackout pleated shade cut to a half-round and mounted without drilling, sold by the radius of your arch. It is the most direct answer when the arch is the thing waking you up.

Who it’s for: Bedroom arches over a window you already want dark, where giving up that daylight permanently costs you nothing.

The catch: Fixed in place: it covers the arch and stays covering it. And like any shade inside a recess it leaves a thin outline of light around the curve.

Changshade Arch Window Blackout Pleated Shades, half moon

At a glance

Shape: Half-round, sized by radius
Mount: Inside, no drilling
Operates: No — stationary
Opacity: Blackout

$36.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

02 — Best light filtering

Arch Window Light Filtering Pleated Shade Blinds

Touri

The same idea in a light-filtering fabric, so the arch is softened and made private rather than blanked out. Sold in a pair, which suits the common case of two matching arches in one room.

Who it’s for: Living rooms, dining rooms and landings where the arch is causing glare or overlooking rather than waking anyone up.

The catch: Light filtering, so it will not darken anything. Also fixed — you are choosing a permanent soft-focus on that part of the window.

Touri Arch Window Light Filtering Pleated Shade Blinds

At a glance

Shape: Arch
Mount: Inside
Operates: No — stationary
Opacity: Light filtering

$25.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

03 — Best cellular arch

Arch Half Circle Blackout Cellular Shades, cordless

Myshade

A honeycomb version of the half-round, so as well as blocking light it holds a layer of still air against the glass. An arch is usually the highest glass in the room, which is where warm air collects and leaves.

Who it’s for: Arches in rooms that are hard to heat, and anywhere the arch is single glazed or old.

The catch: Cellular fabric is bulkier than a pleat and shows the frame line more at the crown. Fixed in place like every arch shade here.

Myshade Arch Half Circle Blackout Cellular Shades, cordless

At a glance

Shape: Half circle, sized by radius
Mount: Inside, no drilling
Operates: No — stationary
Opacity: Blackout

$35.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

04 — Best for the rectangle below

Single Cell Room Darkening Cordless Cellular Shades

Arlo Blinds

An ordinary made-to-size honeycomb shade for the rectangular section, which is the part that handles privacy, glare and heat loss. This is the purchase that actually changes how the room feels.

Who it’s for: Every arched window, whatever you decide about the arch itself. Buy this one first.

The catch: Room darkening rather than blackout, and it stops at the spring line. The arch above it stays exactly as bright as it was.

Arlo Blinds Single Cell Room Darkening Cordless Cellular Shades

At a glance

Shape: Rectangle, made to size
Mount: Inside the lower section
Operates: Yes — cordless lift
Opacity: Room darkening

$50.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

05 — Best way to cover the whole thing

Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains

NICETOWN

Triple-weave blackout panels on a rod mounted above the crown of the arch. The curve never has to be matched, nothing is fixed permanently, and the window opens and closes like a normal one.

Who it’s for: Bedrooms with an arched window, and anyone unwilling to trade the operation for the shape.

The catch: You lose sight of the arch, and you need enough wall above the crown to take a rod. In a room where the arch nearly meets the ceiling there is nowhere to mount it.

NICETOWN Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains

At a glance

Shape: Covers arch and rectangle together
Mount: Outside, above the crown
Operates: Yes — draws normally
Opacity: Blackout

$19.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Price as of November 3, 2026, and it can change. How we’re funded

The one that keeps operating

The curtain workaround, in detail

If the arch has to be covered and you are not willing to give up the operation, hang a single curtain on a rod mounted above the crown of the arch, wide enough that the panels stack on solid wall at each side. The whole shape — arch and rectangle — sits behind one piece of fabric that opens and closes normally.

What it costs you is the arch itself: with the curtains open, the shape is framed by fabric rather than visible against the wall, and you need enough wall above the crown to take a rod and bracket. In a room with a low ceiling above the window there may not be any. What it buys you is a window that is genuinely dark when you want it, which no fixed arch shade will deliver because the curve leaks at its edges exactly like any inside-mounted shade does. That failure is described in full in how to fix curtain light gaps.

Where this overlaps

Arches in a bay, and other combinations

Arch tops turn up on top of other awkward openings, and the order of operations matters. On a bay, solve the bay first: the corners are a bigger problem than the curve, and a curtain on a bay rod mounted above the arches covers both at once. Start at window treatments for a bay window.

Over a French door, the arch is almost always a fixed transom, so it is a straightforward candidate for a stationary shade or for film — the door below is the part with all the constraints, and that is covered in window treatments for French doors.

If the window is in a bedroom and the real complaint is sunrise, read how to block light from windows before you buy anything shaped. Most of what makes a room dark has nothing to do with the arch.

Go deeper

Other awkward window shapes

A casement is the other window whose hardware dictates the covering rather than its shape doing it. Best window treatments for casement windows covers the crank clearance and the mount that avoids it.

FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Do you have to cover an arched window?

Usually not. In a living room, hallway or stairwell the arch is normally too high to see through from outside and causes no glare at eye level, so covering the rectangle below it is enough. In a bedroom it is a direct light source at sunrise and worth covering.

Do arch window shades open and close?

Most do not. A pleated or cellular shade stacks in a straight line, which a curve cannot do, so arch shades are shaped to the opening and fixed there. A few are sold as removable rather than permanent — check the listing, because that distinction matters more than the price.

How do I measure an arched window?

Measure the width at the spring line, where the curve begins, then the rise from that line to the top of the curve. If the rise equals half the width you have a true half-round; if it is less you have an eyebrow arch and need to say so. Measure the rectangle below as a separate window.

Can you put curtains on an arched window?

Yes, and it is the only option that keeps the window fully operable. Mount the rod above the crown of the arch and wide enough for the panels to stack on solid wall. You lose the arch as a visible feature and you need wall height above it, but you get a window that can genuinely be made dark.

What is the cheapest way to cover an arched window?

Covering only the rectangle below and leaving the arch bare, which is also the right answer in most rooms. If the arch itself must be dealt with and it is out of reach, a one-time application of window film is cheaper and more practical than a shaped shade you can never adjust.

What about an arched window in a stairwell or two stories up?

Ask first whether it needs covering at all — nobody can see in and there is no glare at eye level. If the argument is heat rather than light, a heat-blocking film applied once beats a shade you will never be able to reach.

Keep going