Honeycomb Shades
Honeycomb (cellular) shades are the only soft window treatment with a published insulation value: Lutron rates its cell fabrics from R 3.5 for single-cell light-filtering to R 4.4 for blackout. Exotic Shades & Draperies fits them cordless or motorized in bedrooms and west-facing rooms across Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach and Boca Raton.
The engineer of the shade family
Honeycomb (cellular) shades trap air inside their cells, forming an insulating blanket at the glass - the single most energy-efficient soft treatment you can put on a Florida window. Your AC feels it in August.
Choose translucent single cells for glowing daylight or double-cell blackout for bedrooms that stay dark and cool. Cordless by default, and motorized whenever windows are tall, wide, or many.
Recently: a golf course home in Boca Raton - Coulisse Edmonton blackout honeycomb in White fitted behind lacquered basswood shutters, on Somfy Cord Lift WireFree CL32 RTS motors recharged by solar panels because there was no power at those windows.
Honeycomb shades by the numbers
Insulation values
Lutron publishes R-values for its cell fabrics: single-cell light-filtering R 3.5 (Rio, Monaco, Cyprus), double-cell light-filtering R 3.6, single-cell room-darkening R 4.3, Madrid and Kyoto light-filtering R 3.8, Madrid and Kyoto Blackout R 4.4.
Width
Lutron honeycomb fabrics run to 114 in usable width; taller drops stack deeper at the top than a roller tube.
Battery life
Lutron Triathlon and Serena honeycomb shades run on replaceable D batteries rated by Lutron at three to five years, assuming two up-and-down cycles a day.
Where they win
Bedrooms, nurseries and west-facing rooms: blackout cells for darkness, insulation at the glass for the AC. Where the view matters, a solar roller wins; the comparison lays it out.
Cells, fabrics & control
Single & Double Cell
Deeper cells insulate more - we spec cell size to your glass and exposure.
Blackout Cells
Mylar-lined cells block light completely - the bedroom favorite.
Translucent Cells
Soft, even glow with full privacy for living spaces.
Energy Savings
Measurable cooling savings on sun-facing glass - honeycombs pay rent.
Top-Down / Bottom-Up
Privacy below, sky above - ideal for baths and streets-facing rooms.
Cordless & Motorized
Clean, child-safe operation, or quiet motors with schedules.
Recent installations
Blackout Honeycomb
Translucent Cells
Cellular Install
How honeycomb shades insulate a Florida window
A honeycomb shade is a row of fabric cells that trap still air against the glass, and still air is the insulator: single cells for a soft glowing daylight, double cells for more insulation, blackout cells with a light-blocking core for bedrooms that stay dark and cool. We size the cell to the glass and the exposure, cut every shade to the opening in our workroom, and fit it edge to edge so the air pocket actually seals.
Honeycomb shades in South Florida
Sun-facing glass in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach is where honeycombs earn their keep - west-facing bedrooms, nurseries, home offices and any room the AC struggles with in August. Choose translucent cells for living spaces and blackout cells for sleep; add top-down/bottom-up for privacy below and sky above; go cordless on a single window or motorized on Lutron or Somfy when the windows are tall, wide or many. For overhead glass, the same cellular fabrics ride in tensioned tracks on our skylight shades.
Frequently asked
Do honeycomb shades really lower cooling bills?
Yes - trapped air in the cells insulates the glass line, reducing heat gain.
Blackout or translucent?
Blackout for bedrooms; translucent for living areas. We often mix within one home.
Can they be motorized?
Yes - see motorized shades.
Are they good for skylights?
Excellent - see skylight shades.
Single cell or double cell?
Double cells insulate more and suit large sun-facing glass; single cells are lighter and glow more softly. We specify by exposure, room by room.
Are honeycomb shades good for condos?
Yes - cordless or battery-motorized, they install without wiring or HOA construction, and they cut the heat load on floor-to-ceiling glass.
Control systems these shades answer to
Every motorized system we install runs from a remote, an app or the home's control system. Which one depends on the motor family, so we settle it before the shade is made.
Lutron
Sivoia QS, Triathlon, Serena and Palladiom shades: Pico remotes and the Lutron app, with native integration to Crestron, Control4, Savant, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa and Google Home through Caseta, RadioRA 3 or HomeWorks. Lutron motorized shades.
Somfy
Sonesse, Glydea and WireFree motors on Somfy RTS or Zigbee: Telis and Situo remotes, the TaHoma app for scenes and schedules, Amazon Alexa and Google Home through TaHoma, and Control4, Crestron and Savant through the TaHoma integration. Somfy motorization.
Crestron
Crestron shade motors and drapery tracks commissioned into the home's Crestron processor and keypads with your integrator, with the fabric, hems and hembars still made in our workroom. Crestron shades.
Honeycomb shades in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton & Palm Beach
Honeycomb (cellular) shades that insulate at the glass - light-filtering or blackout, cordless or motorized - the most energy-efficient soft treatment for a Florida window. Our workroom and showroom are at 4539 Powerline Rd in Fort Lauderdale, our second showroom is South of Fifth in Miami Beach, and the same in-house team measures and installs from Miami to Palm Beach.
Cooler rooms, softer light
One free hour with our team routinely saves owners thousands in avoidable mistakes - wrong fabrics, bad mounts, missed motorization. Book a private, complimentary consultation - we bring the fabrics, the samples, and honest answers. Start with the free guide: the 5 costly mistakes.