Your Row House Was Built to Last.
Your window treatments should be too.
You bought a Capitol Hill row house because nothing else in DC feels like it.
The brick facade, the iron railings, the tall windows that flood the front
room with light. The house has character that a new build cannot replicate.
But those same windows that give your home its character also give you its
biggest headaches. They are tall and narrow. The casings have settled over
a century. The openings are not square. And the treatments you bought at a
big box store do not fit.
That is not your fault. Your house was not built for standard products. It
was built by craftsmen who worked to the dimensions of each individual
opening. Your window treatments should be built the same way.
What makes a Capitol Hill window different
A row house window built in 1890 has had 136 years to shift. The brick settles. The wood casings expand and contract through decades of DC summers and winters. The header drops a fraction of an inch on one side. The result is an opening that looks rectangular but measures differently at the top, middle and bottom.
A quarter inch difference does not sound like much until you install a blind built to a single measurement. It binds on one side. It gaps on the other. Light leaks through. The cord mechanism fights itself. You paid for a product that technically fits the number on the box but does not fit the window in front of you.
Professional measurement means taking readings at multiple points in each opening and building to the actual dimensions. Not the average. Not the nearest standard size. The actual numbers.
Treatments that belong on a historic home
Plantation shutters are the most requested treatment on Capitol Hill for a reason. They suit the proportions. A tall, narrow row house window with divided light panes looks right with shutters in a way it never looks right with a roller shade or a vertical blind. The louvres give you control over light and privacy without covering the architecture.
Roman shades in a flat fold work when you want a softer look. They stack cleanly at the top of the window and sit flat against the glass when lowered. No billowing, no bulk, no competition with the trim.
Woven wood shades bring texture that complements what is already in the room: exposed brick, hardwood floors, original plaster. They filter light rather than blocking it, which keeps the room feeling open.
And yes, you can motorize any of these. From the street, your house looks exactly the same. Inside, you control the shades from your phone, your voice, or a schedule. The motor is concealed in the headrail. Nobody sees it.
Respecting what was built
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society has been preserving the character of this neighborhood for over 70 years. The homes on their annual house tour are the standard bearers. If you live in the historic district, the choices you make inside your windows matter as much as the choices you make on the exterior.
An inside mount that tucks the treatment into the window frame preserves the full profile of your original casings. An outside mount covers them. Neither is wrong in every case, but in a historic home, the inside mount almost always looks more intentional. It lets the woodwork speak.
The same principle applies to hardware. A chunky modern curtain rod on a Victorian window fights the architecture. A low-profile track concealed behind a wooden valance works with it. The goal is not to hide the treatment. The goal is to make it look like it was always supposed to be there.
Built like your house was built
Your row house was built by someone who measured each opening individually and cut each piece to fit. Your window treatments deserve the same approach. Not standard. Not close enough. Custom built for the windows you actually have, in a home that was built to last.
Ready to see what the right treatments look like on your historic windows? Book your free in-home consultation at mitsnewashingtondc.com or call 202-929-5200.
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