Pirouette shades are worth it for living rooms, dining rooms, and large picture windows where you want soft light and still want to see outside. They're a premium product, and they won't make a bedroom dark without a room-darkening liner. Skip them for rooms that need blackout, or if the budget is tight.
Pirouette is a Hunter Douglas shade with soft horizontal fabric vanes attached to a single sheer backing. The vanes open for a view through the window and close for privacy, and the sheer keeps filtering light either way. Hunter Douglas calls the system Invisi-Lift, and it means there are no exposed cords or tapes on the back of the shade.
You can actually see out. Most fabric shades make you choose between a view and a covered window. With the vanes open, Pirouette gives you a clear look outside while the sheer backing stays in place. If you've got a view of the pines or the valley, that's the main reason to buy this shade.
The light gets softer. Spokane summers are bright and long, with strong afternoon sun from the west and south. The vanes open flat for daylight, curve for filtered light, and close for privacy, so you can keep adjusting through the day without shutting the room down.
There's some privacy even when they're open. The sheer backing covers the window all the time, which helps in neighborhoods where the houses sit close together.
They scale up to big windows. The wider vanes suit picture windows, and PowerView motorization handles sizes that would be heavy to lift by hand.
Your floors get some protection. The sheer backing filters UV continuously, with the vanes open or closed, and closing them adds more. That helps slow fading on hardwood floors and furniture near a sunny window, compared with bare glass.
There are no cords hanging down. Cordless lift is standard across the Pirouette line, which matters in homes with kids or pets.
They're not blackout. This is the one that surprises people. Closed vanes still let the sheer layer filter light, so the room won't go fully dark unless you add a room-darkening liner. Spokane's early summer sunrises make that a real issue in a bedroom. If dark is the goal, read our guide to what makes a bedroom dark first.
You'll still have silhouettes after dark. Closed vanes give you strong evening privacy, but interior lights can cast soft shadows on the shade at night.
They cost more. Pirouette sits above a basic roller or cellular shade in price. Motorized Pirouette and Silhouette run $1,500 to $2,500 per window, measured and installed, as we lay out in our motorized price guide. Manual pricing depends on your window size and fabric, so that part takes a measurement.
They take more care than hard blinds. Light dusting with a feather duster, or a vacuum on low with a brush attachment, is usually enough. Avoid water, and don't press on the vanes, since that can distort the fabric. If the window sits close to a range, talk through the fabric at the consultation.
This is the comparison most people end up making. Silhouette suspends slim vanes between two sheers, so you always look through fabric. Pirouette uses wider vanes on one sheer backing, so the view is clearer when it's open. Pirouette looks softer and fuller, and Silhouette looks sleeker. We've got a full Silhouette vs Pirouette guide, and our Silhouette review follows the same format as this one.
Good fit: a living room or dining room with a large window, or any room where you'd like the view and soft light at the same time.
Works with a liner: a bedroom, if you love the look and add a room-darkening liner.
Probably not: a utility room or a rarely used guest room, where the extra cost won't get noticed.
Photos don't show much here, because the appeal is how the light changes as the vanes move. We run Pirouette shades motorized at our Spokane Valley showroom, so you can work the controls yourself. Or book a free in-home consultation, and we'll bring samples to your windows, measure, and give you an exact quote.
For rooms where you want a clear view and soft light together, yes. For bedrooms that need to go dark, or a tight budget, other options will serve you better.
No. The sheer layer keeps filtering light with the vanes closed, so the room won't go completely dark unless you add a room-darkening liner.
Motorized Pirouette runs $1,500 to $2,500 per window, measured and installed. Manual pricing depends on window size and fabric, and a free in-home consultation gets you an exact quote.
Silhouette suspends slim vanes between two sheers, so you see the outside through fabric. Pirouette uses larger vanes on a single sheer backing, so open vanes give a clearer view. Pirouette reads softer and Silhouette reads sleeker.
Yes. The wide vanes scale well on picture windows, and PowerView motorization handles sizes that would be heavy to lift by hand.
Light dusting with a feather duster or a vacuum on low with a brush attachment is usually enough. Avoid water and avoid pressing on the vanes.
Yes. We run them motorized at our Spokane Valley showroom, and we can bring samples to your home with a free in-home consultation.
Have more questions? Spokane Blinds offers free in-home consultations across Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
