The fastest way to make your home feel warm for the holidays is to dress your windows. In Gettysburg, the season arrives with frosty mornings over the battlefield, early sunsets on Lincoln Square, and evenings when the whole family gathers indoors. Bare glass makes a room feel chilly, both to the eye and to the touch. The right window treatments soften the light, hold in the heat, and give every room a finished, inviting look you want when guests come through the door. Learn how drapery, soft shades, and insulating cellular shades can carry your home from the first snowfall to New Year’s Day, and well beyond.
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Drapery: The Coziest Layer in the Room
Floor-length drapery is the single biggest upgrade for a cold-weather room. Fabric adds softness, absorbs sound, and frames the window like a picture, which is exactly what you want behind a Christmas tree or around a dining table set for a crowd.
Choose fabrics with weight. Velvet, wool and wool-blend, chenille, and heavy linen hang in deep, generous folds and feel instantly warm. Designers are turning away from shiny synthetic fabrics in favor of textures you can see and touch.
Ask for lining. A thermal or interlined panel adds a layer of insulation between your room and cold glass, cuts drafts, and helps the drapery hang beautifully. Blackout lining is a smart choice for bedrooms and guest rooms when long nights mean early-morning streetlights or holiday lights outside.
Hang it high and wide. Mount rods several inches above the window frame and extend them past the sides. Panels that just kiss the floor make ceilings feel taller and let you pull the fabric fully off the glass during the day to soak up winter sun.
Mind the details. This year’s drapery is about craftsmanship: contrast banding along the leading edge, tape trims, and even tassels and fringe on tiebacks are back. Bronze and warm brass hardware is replacing the matte black rods of the past few years and we still see silver and nickel hardware as a solid choice for lasting style.
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Soft Fashions: Roman Shades, Valances, and Cornices
Not every window has room for full drapery. Over a kitchen sink, in a window seat, or beside a radiator, soft shades bring the same warmth of fabric in a tailored package.
Roman shades fold into soft, neat pleats when raised and lie flat or gently looped when lowered. Linen Romans are a favorite this year for their relaxed texture. For a bolder holiday look, try a Roman in a small-scale plaid or a petite floral. Mounting the shade outside the window frame makes small or older windows look taller and grander, a helpful trick in historic homes.
Valances and cornices are making a real comeback. An upholstered cornice board in a rich velvet or a classic tartan instantly adds tradition and a touch of formality, perfect for a dining room that will host the big holiday meal. Pair one with a cellular shade underneath and you get style on top and insulation below.
Coordinate the room. Carry your drapery or shade fabric onto throw pillows, a bench cushion, or a table runner. Repeating one fabric two or three times around a room is what makes a space feel pulled together and designed, rather than decorated piece by piece.
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Cellular Shades: The Hidden Layer That Keeps the Heat In
If you want a home that stays warm when the temperatures drop below freezing, cellular shades are the hardest-working window treatment you can buy. Also called honeycomb shades, they are made of fabric cells that trap pockets of air between the glass and your room. That still air acts like insulation, slowing heat loss in winter and blocking solar heat in summer.
The numbers are worth knowing. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that windows make up only about 10% of a typical home’s surface but can account for 30 to 40% of its heat loss in winter. Tightly installed cellular shades can cut heat loss through windows by 40% or more, which works out to roughly 10% in heating-energy savings. By comparison, closed conventional drapery reduces heat loss by up to about 10%.
Single cell or double cell? Single-cell shades provide good insulation and a slim profile. Double-cell shades add a second layer of air pockets for greater thermal protection, a smart choice for north-facing rooms, drafty older windows, and bedrooms.
Pick the right opacity. Light-filtering fabrics glow softly during the day and keep your privacy at night. Room-darkening and blackout versions are ideal for bedrooms and guest rooms filling up with holiday visitors.
Choose convenient operation. Cordless lifts are a standard for homes with children and pets and give a cleaner look. Top-down/bottom-up shades let you lower the top for daylight and sky views while the bottom stays closed for privacy, a great option for street-facing windows downtown. Motorized shades can open and close on a schedule, so they catch the warm afternoon sun and close before the evening chill sets in.
Layer for the best of both. The coziest, most efficient window combines a cellular shade on the glass with lined drapery over it. The shade does the insulating work every day, and the drapery adds softness, color, and an extra barrier on the coldest nights. Cellular shades come in a wide range of colors, so they can blend with your trim or pick up a tone from your drapery.
The 2026 Color and Style Trends to Know
This year’s palette is warm, earthy, and made for winter. The cool grays that dominated the last decade have given way to colors that feel like a crackling fire and a walk through the orchards.
Colors
- Warm neutrals: sand, oat, cream, and soft greige. These are the easy foundation for cellular shades and drapery that will work for years.
- Cloud Dancer white: Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year, a soft, warm white that looks beautiful in sheers and light-filtering shades.
- Earthy greens: sage, olive, and deep forest green. A forest-green velvet drape is a natural fit for the holidays and stays stylish long after the tree comes down.
- Spice and clay: terracotta, rust, cinnamon, and ochre as accents in pillows, banding, and patterned fabrics.
- Rich, deep anchors: burgundy, chocolate brown, tobacco, and navy for a dining room or library with real drama.
Styles
- Layered windows: sheers, shades, and drapery working together for light control, insulation, and depth.
- Statement drapery, done tastefully: fuller panels, richer fabrics, and meaningful details rather than fuss.
- The return of tradition: upholstered cornices, valances, tiebacks, tassels, and fringe are back in the conversation.
- Plaids and menswear fabrics: windowpane checks, tartans, and velvet stripes, a perfect match for Pennsylvania’s cold-weather season.
- Small-scale prints: petite florals and tiny geometrics on Romans and valances.
- Natural texture: linen, wool blends, and finely woven wood shades layered under soft drapery.
- Warm metal hardware: bronze and brass finishes replacing matte black.
Dressing Gettysburg’s Homes, Old and New
Gettysburg’s homes have character, and their windows deserve treatments that respect it.
- Historic homes and older windows: Original wavy glass and single-pane sashes are charming but drafty. A double-cell cellular shade mounted inside the frame, topped with lined drapery, adds real comfort without altering the window itself. Neutral shade colors keep the look appropriate from the street.
- Farmhouses: Linen Romans, plaid valances, and wool-look drapery in olive, oat, or rust suit the rural setting and the season.
- Newer homes: Large living-room windows and patio doors lose heat quickly. Consider motorized cellular shades for hard-to-reach glass and a pair of full drapery panels to soften a big expanse.
Plan ahead. Custom drapery and shades are made to measure, and production typically takes several weeks. Bring photos of your rooms, paint colors, and any fabrics you love so your designer can build a look around them.
Make This the Coziest Season Yet
Warm color, soft fabric, and a smart insulating layer can change how your home looks and feels all winter long. Ready to cozy up your windows? Contact Budget Blinds of Dillsburg, Gettysburg and Chambersburg at 717-844-6275 or visit budgetblinds.com/dillsburg/pa to schedule a free in-home design consultation. We will measure, bring samples to your door, and help you choose the drapery, soft shades, and cellular shades that fit your home and your holiday plans.
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