Hear from Our Customers
Your bedroom stays dark past sunrise. Your living room doesn’t turn into a sauna by 2 PM. And you’re not squinting at your TV during the day or worrying about who can see in at night.
That’s what happens when roller shades are measured right, installed correctly, and built for the way Fort Worth sun hits your windows. You get blackout options that actually block light. Solar fabrics that cut glare without making your house feel like a cave. And motorized controls if you want to manage everything from your phone.
The difference isn’t just how they look. It’s how much cooler your house stays in July. How much lower your energy bill runs when you’re not fighting the AC all day. And how much better you sleep when streetlights and early sun aren’t bleeding through cheap blinds that never really worked in the first place.
A Plus Shutters & Shades grew out of A Plus Home Remodel, a company that’s been working on North Texas homes for over a decade. We’re based in Arlington and we’ve watched Fort Worth explode—new builds in every direction, older homes getting upgraded, and a whole lot of people figuring out that Texas sun is no joke.
We specialize in custom window treatments: plantation shutters, roller shades, and barn doors. We’re not a franchise. We source Texas-made products when we can, and we measure and install everything ourselves. That matters more than it sounds like it should—because when the installer is also the one who quoted you, there’s no gap between what you were promised and what shows up.
Fort Worth’s growth means you’ve got options. What we bring is consistency. Same team. Same standards. And a process that starts with a free consultation at your place, not a pressure pitch over the phone.
It starts with a free consultation at your home. We measure your windows, talk through what you’re trying to solve—heat, privacy, light control, all of the above—and show you fabric samples so you can see the difference between light-filtering and blackout options. You’re not picking from a catalog. You’re looking at the actual materials.
Once you decide, we order your custom roller shades. Everything’s made to your exact window dimensions, which is why we measure at the top, middle, and bottom of each opening. Windows aren’t always perfectly square, especially in older Fort Worth homes.
Installation happens on a scheduled day. We mount the shades—inside or outside the frame, depending on what we discussed—test the operation, and walk you through how to use them. If you went with motorized roller shades, we sync everything and make sure the controls work before we leave. The whole process from consultation to installation usually takes two to three weeks, depending on the size of the order.
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You’re getting custom-measured roller blinds for windows built to fit your home. That includes the fabric, the hardware, and the installation. We handle inside or outside mounts depending on your window type and what look you want. If you’ve got deep sills, we’ll usually recommend inside mount. If your windows are shallow or you want full coverage, outside mount gives you more flexibility.
Fabric options range from sheer and light-filtering to full blackout. Blackout roller shades are the most popular for bedrooms—they block light completely, which matters in Fort Worth where the sun comes up early and streetlights stay bright. Solar shades are better for living rooms and offices. They cut glare and UV rays but still let you see outside during the day.
Motorization is optional but worth considering if you’ve got tall windows or if you want to control multiple shades at once. You can add remote controls, wall switches, or smart home integration. And if you’re worried about energy costs—which you should be in Texas—the right roller shade fabric can reduce heat gain by up to 25%, which means your AC isn’t working as hard all summer.
Custom roller shades in Tarrant County typically run $150 to $500 per window depending on size, fabric, and features. We’ll give you an exact price during the consultation. No surprises later.
Blackout roller shades block 99% of light. You use them in bedrooms, nurseries, or home theaters—anywhere you need complete darkness. The fabric is thicker, usually layered, and designed to stop light from coming through or around the edges when installed correctly.
Light-filtering shades let some light through but diffuse it so you don’t get harsh glare. You can still see shadows and shapes outside, but people can’t see in clearly during the day. These work well in living rooms, kitchens, or offices where you want natural light without the heat or the squint.
If you’re trying to sleep past sunrise or you’ve got a room that faces west and gets hammered by afternoon sun, blackout is the move. If you just want to tone down the brightness and keep some privacy, light-filtering does the job without making the room feel closed off.
Yes, but it depends on the fabric. Solar roller shades are specifically designed to block heat while still letting light in. They reflect UV rays and reduce heat gain, which means your AC doesn’t have to work as hard during summer. That can cut cooling costs by 15% to 25% depending on how many windows you cover and which direction they face.
Blackout blinds for windows also insulate, but their bigger benefit is blocking heat at the source. If you’ve got south or west-facing windows, the sun turns those rooms into ovens by mid-afternoon. Blackout shades stop the heat before it gets in, which makes a noticeable difference in how much your system runs.
The ROI isn’t instant, but if you’re in a house with a lot of windows and you’re running the AC from May to October, the energy savings add up. And you’re more comfortable in the meantime, which is worth something on its own.
You can install them yourself if you’re handy and your windows are standard sizes. But most people run into issues with measuring or mounting, and that’s where things go sideways. If your measurements are off by even half an inch, the shade won’t fit right. If the brackets aren’t level, the shade will hang crooked or bind when you try to raise it.
Inside mount vs outside mount also matters more than people think. Inside mount requires enough depth in the window frame, and not all Fort Worth homes—especially older ones—have that. Outside mount covers more area but needs to be positioned right so the shade actually blocks light instead of leaving gaps on the sides.
We include professional installation because we’ve seen what happens when it’s done wrong. The shades don’t operate smoothly. They don’t block light the way they should. And fixing it costs more than just having it done right the first time. If you’re spending money on custom roller shades, it makes sense to have someone install them who does this every day.
Motorized roller shades have a small motor inside the tube that rolls the fabric up and down. You control them with a remote, a wall switch, or a smartphone app if they’re connected to your smart home system. Some systems let you set schedules so your shades open in the morning and close in the afternoon automatically.
They’re worth it if you’ve got high windows, a lot of windows in one room, or if you just don’t want to deal with cords and chains. They’re also useful for exterior roller shades or solar shades on large glass doors where manual operation gets old fast. And if you’ve got mobility issues or you’re planning to age in place, motorized controls make life easier.
The upfront cost is higher—usually a few hundred dollars more per window depending on the system. But the convenience is real, especially in Fort Worth where you’re adjusting shades constantly to manage heat and light. You’re not getting up to close blinds every afternoon when the sun swings around. You just tap a button.
Solar shades, hands down. You need to cut glare on your computer screen without making the room dark, and solar fabric does exactly that. It blocks UV rays and reduces heat but still lets you see outside, which keeps the space from feeling like a cave during the day.
The openness factor matters—that’s the percentage of light the fabric lets through. A 5% openness is darker and blocks more heat. A 10% openness is lighter and gives you a clearer view outside. For a home office in Fort Worth, especially if your windows face south or west, 5% is usually the better call. You get more heat protection and less glare, which makes a bigger difference during summer afternoons.
If privacy is a concern and people can see into your office from the street or a neighbor’s yard, keep in mind that solar shades work better during the day than at night. Once it’s dark outside and your lights are on, visibility reverses. If that’s an issue, you can pair solar shades with a blackout shade on a dual system, or just go with a light-filtering fabric that offers more privacy overall.
Good quality roller blinds for windows should last 10 to 15 years, even with Fort Worth sun beating on them daily. The fabric is usually the first thing to show wear—fading, stiffness, or deterioration from UV exposure—but that’s mostly an issue with cheaper materials or shades that aren’t designed for high heat climates.
We use fabrics that are UV-resistant and built to handle Texas conditions. The hardware—brackets, tubes, and mechanisms—typically outlasts the fabric if it’s installed correctly and not abused. Motorized systems have a shorter lifespan on the motor itself, usually 7 to 10 years depending on how often you use them, but the motor can be replaced without replacing the entire shade.
Maintenance is minimal. You’re wiping them down with a damp cloth every few months to keep dust off. No washing, no dry cleaning, no complicated upkeep. The simplicity is part of why people choose roller shades over curtains or other treatments that require more care. You install them once, use them daily, and they hold up as long as you’re not yanking on them or letting them slam up and down.
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