A restaurant with a wall of storefront glass gets the best light in town and the worst glare. This Weatherford space has floor-to-ceiling windows and a row of transoms above them facing the parking lot and the road, and by mid-afternoon the sun came straight across the tables nearest the glass. Those were the seats nobody wanted, which in a restaurant is a real cost.
The owner did not want to block the view or make the room dark, because a storefront that looks closed from the street loses walk-in traffic. We used black sunscreen, often called solar shades. Sunscreen is a tightly woven fabric that stops most of the heat and glare and still lets you see through it. Black gives the clearest view of any color because it scatters less light than a white or grey weave.
Sunscreen fabric comes in 1% and 3% openness, meaning how much of the weave is left open. Pick 1% if you want to cut more sun and glare, and 3% if you want more daylight and a clearer view out. This room needed to stay bright, so we used 3%.
It also suits a business because of how the view works. From the tables, customers can still make out the parking lot, the trees and the cars on the road. From the street during the day, people can’t see in, so the glass looks tinted and the dining room stays private. After dark, with the lights on inside, it works the other way.
We fitted eight shades, one per pane, including the transoms above the main glass. Each is mounted at the top of its opening so the black storefront frames and the shade hardware look like one system.
We installed them in a single visit in February 2026. The tables by the glass are usable through the afternoon now, the room kept its daylight, and the storefront still looks open.