Olsson Smart Shades vs SelectBlinds: Which Fits Your Home in 2026?

Choose Olsson Smart Shades if you want custom-measured, professionally installed window treatments in Columbus and Central Ohio; choose SelectBlinds if you prefer online ordering and want to manage measuring and installation yourself. In 2026, the main difference is who handles the work—not which company has the longest list of styles.

Why this matters

A shade can look right online and still be wrong for your window. Handles, trim, mounting depth, and the way you use the room all affect the result. Fabric selection is only part of the decision.

For a 2026 window-treatment project, start by deciding how much responsibility you want to keep. A professionally measured and installed project puts those tasks into the service scope. A self-managed online order gives you direct control, but you must translate the ordering instructions into a treatment that fits.

Choose the buying process before you choose the fabric. That keeps a simple purchase from turning into a project you did not intend to take on.

At a glance

Local service wins when you want the project handled

Olsson Smart Shades is best for Columbus and Central Ohio homeowners who want custom measuring and professional installation. Its offering includes blinds, shades, plantation shutters, drapes, and motorized smart shades. That makes the service route relevant when your project involves more than choosing a color and entering dimensions.

You are buying help with the physical window, not just the covering. For example, a living room with several treatments needs decisions about mounting, alignment, and how the finished pieces work together. Put those decisions into the requested scope rather than assuming installation alone includes every detail.

The tradeoff is coordination. You need to arrange access to your home and make selections before the work proceeds. If you enjoy handling the entire purchase independently, that service process is not your main priority.

SelectBlinds fits the opposite profile: you want to browse, choose, and order directly. Its online buying route is the better match when control over the purchase matters more to you than having a local installer manage the project.

Professional measuring wins when fit is your main concern

Custom measuring is the stronger reason to choose the local service route. Window width alone does not settle fit. Mounting depth, frame shape, handles, and nearby obstacles also matter.

For an inside mount, the treatment must work within the opening and meet the selected product’s depth requirements. For an outside mount, you need to decide where the treatment will sit and how much surrounding area it should cover. These are different measurement tasks, not interchangeable ways to record the same window.

If you choose SelectBlinds, use the instructions for the exact product you intend to order. Do not transfer measurements from another treatment without checking them. A blind, shutter, and drape can require different information.

For your 2026 measuring checklist, take 3 width readings per opening—top, middle, and bottom—to identify variation, then follow the selected product’s ordering instructions. Those instructions determine which measurement to submit and whether any adjustment belongs in your order.

Professional measuring wins for buyers who do not want to own that decision. DIY measuring fits buyers willing to check both dimensions and mounting conditions.

Professional installation wins when you want less hands-on work

Installation is the clearest service difference. The local offering includes professional installation, while the online route suits a homeowner who plans to handle installation or arrange help independently.

Before choosing DIY, think beyond whether you own a drill. You need to identify an appropriate mounting surface, position brackets correctly, and check the treatment’s operation after mounting. Tall windows and awkward access deserve attention before you order, not after the boxes arrive.

A professional installation project still needs a defined scope. Ask whether your proposed work includes removing existing treatments, mounting the new ones, and checking their operation. Get those tasks recorded rather than treating them as automatic inclusions.

SelectBlinds wins no installation advantage simply because you can order online. Its advantage is allowing you to manage the buying process yourself. That is useful when installation is a task you actively want to take on.

Choose professional installation when reducing your own work is the goal. Choose self-managed installation when hands-on control is part of the appeal.

SelectBlinds wins for direct online shopping control

SelectBlinds is the better fit when you want to make product selections and place an order through an online retail process. You control when you browse and how you compare the configurations presented to you.

That buying style works well for a homeowner with a clear brief: a particular room, a known mounting approach, and a willingness to follow measurement instructions. It also lets you keep the decision process at your own pace rather than making every choice during a conversation.

The downside is that the order form cannot replace your inspection of the room. You still need to account for obstructions, access, and the way daylight enters the space. A product name does not answer those questions.

The local service route is stronger when you want help resolving choices in the context of your actual windows. The tradeoff is less independence in the project schedule.

SelectBlinds wins on direct ordering control, not on a guaranteed better fit. The fit still depends on the product and the information used to order it.

SelectBlinds fits a self-managed, room-by-room project

If you want to tackle one room before deciding what to do elsewhere, the online route fits that working style. You can manage each selection as a separate decision instead of treating the house as one coordinated installation project.

Start with 1 window as a pilot if you are new to measuring and installing. Choose an accessible opening with straightforward mounting conditions. This is a planning recommendation, not a promise that every product or order has the same requirements.

The pilot helps you answer practical questions: Do you like the material in your own light? Is the control comfortable to reach? Does the chosen mounting approach give you the coverage you wanted?

The drawback is consistency. Separate purchases leave you responsible for recording materials, colors, mounting choices, and control positions across rooms. Do not rely on memory.

A service-led project is the stronger fit when you want several rooms considered together. SelectBlinds wins for homeowners who deliberately want to manage the project in stages.

Neither company wins on privacy without a specific treatment

Privacy and light control come from the treatment you choose, not the buying channel. Compare fabric, construction, mounting, and coverage before naming a winner.

A light-filtering shade and a blackout shade solve different problems. Slatted blinds allow adjustment between open and closed positions. Drapes introduce decisions about coverage at the sides and how the fabric hangs. None of those categories makes every room equally dark or private.

Check the room under 2 viewing conditions: daylight and after dark. Your daytime view from inside does not establish what someone outside can see when interior lights are on.

Neither buying route removes the need to choose the right treatment. Ask what the selected material is designed to do, and distinguish fabric opacity from gaps around the installation.

This is a tie at the company level. The winner is the specific treatment that meets your room’s privacy and light-control brief.

Motorization favors service when setup is part of the brief

Olsson Smart Shades offers motorized smart-shade installation. That makes the service route the stronger fit when you want the physical installation handled rather than treating motorization as another DIY task.

Keep the brief practical. Decide how you want to operate the shade, where power will come from, and how you will access any components that need attention. A high window changes that discussion even when its dimensions are straightforward.

For any motorized product considered through SelectBlinds, check its own power, control, and installation instructions. Do not assume that one motorized shade works like another, or that a smart-home label confirms compatibility with your existing equipment.

The service route’s limitation is the same: compatibility must be confirmed for the proposed product. Professional installation does not make every shade work with every controller.

Professional installation wins when setup is part of the job; neither route earns a compatibility win without a named configuration. In 2026, write down your existing devices and preferred controls before requesting recommendations.

Compare pricing models by scope, not by headline figures

The useful comparison is a quoted installation project versus a configured product order. Those models assign work differently, so comparing them without a scope list leaves important decisions out.

For a local project quote, ask for the selected treatments, measuring, installation tasks, and any motorization setup to be described clearly. Separate required work from optional choices. You want to understand what you are accepting, not just recognize the fabric name.

For an online order, review the exact configuration and identify the work you will handle yourself. If you plan to hire an installer separately, arrange that discussion before ordering. The installer’s requirements need to inform your decisions, not follow them.

Use this 2026 comparison checklist:

• Product: Same treatment category and intended room function.
• Mounting: Same inside- or outside-mount approach.
• Operation: Same manual or motorized requirement.
• Labor: Clear responsibility for measuring and installation.
• Completion: Clear responsibility for adjustment and operation checks.

The project-quote model gives you a defined service scope. The product-order model gives you direct configuration control but leaves you coordinating the remaining work. Neither is automatically the better financial choice.

For more questions to bring to the discussion, read the motorized-shade cost guide for Columbus.

Final verdict: choose who owns the work

Choose Olsson Smart Shades if you want a handled installation project

Best for: Columbus and Central Ohio homeowners who want custom measuring and professional installation. Choose this route when window fit, mounting, and hands-on setup are tasks you want included in a service relationship.

To request an in-home consultation or quote, describe the rooms, treatments you are considering, and whether motorization is part of the brief. Ask how the consultation works and what information to have ready. You do not need a finished design to begin that conversation.

Choose SelectBlinds if you want a self-managed online purchase

Best for: homeowners comfortable with measuring, product instructions, and installation planning. Choose SelectBlinds when direct ordering control matters most and you are willing to take responsibility for how the selected treatment fits your window.

Before ordering, settle the mounting approach and installation plan. If either remains unclear, resolve it first rather than using the order as your starting point.

FAQ

One last thing

Before making your 2026 decision, stand at the window and use it as you normally would. Open the sash. Reach for the handle. Walk through the nearby doorway. Note anything a covering must clear.

A treatment that looks good while closed still needs to work with the room. Write those everyday movements into your project brief. That is a more useful starting point than choosing a color and hoping the mounting details work themselves out.

Related guides

• Best blackout shades for bedrooms
• Best window treatments for home offices
• Best custom drapes for living rooms