My initial experience with The Shade Store two years ago was very positive and when there was a problem, it got fixed right away. Unfortunately, I decided to use them again this year in a different room. Six months later, I encountered a problem with the motorized shade. I reported it at the beginning of May 2025. It is now July 15th and the earliest that the issue MIGHT get fixed is August 4th. I was unable to convince them via email or phone that there was a problem. I sent videos and pictures and went into the store to explain the issue and tried to get the problem "escalated." This never happened. As a consequence I spent 6 weeks waiting for a technician to come - during which time it was not possible to close the shade. The afternoon sun heated the room up to 100 degrees! The installation was not done correctly and I have been waiting another six weeks to get the situation corrected. I simply cannot recommend them. I tried giving them the opportunity to make it right before posting this review but the lack of responsiveness and ability to get the problem fixed has motivated me to share the experience, read more

I needed a very large replacement shade in my townhouse front window. The store I originally purchased from was no longer in business, so I was looking for a new supplier, and was surprised at how many don't have actual stores to go to. Since I wanted an actual store where I could see samples of fabric and how the shade operated, I went to The Shade Store in Potomac. Mandy was a great sales person, who kindly answered questions, and was attentive without being overbearing. We had a situation whereby we live out of state most of the time, so after making a selection, I needed the shade to be kept at the store until several months later when we could return to have it installed. Mandy arranged the person to come to measure and then another person to install when we returned 3 months later. Both gentlemen were on time, and did their jobs well, such that the outcome was perfect....I would use them again and recommend. read more

Our experience with the Potomac branch of The Shade Store has been very positive. We met Daihana on the one occasion when we went to the store. She was professional, welcoming, well-informed, and efficient. Since then, we have communicated via emails/phonecalls only and she has been very available and responsive. This was so crucial for us, as we had a lot of questions and back and forth. She has been willing to provide her opinions and expertise without making us feel like she was simply trying to sell us expensive things. We were concerned about the cost of our custom drapes but Daihana really went out of her way to make any adjustments and accommodations that she could make. We can't speak to the quality of the product or the installation process, since we haven't received it yet, but we can say that our customer service experience so far has been great. read more

The installation took place today, and it was one of the most professional, competent installations I have ever had. Magid arrived promptly, and put on protective shoe coverings before I could even ask him. Arrival time was between 12- 2, and I got notifications both by email as well as phone that he was on his way; he arrived around 12:05. He was competent, polite, informative, and did an outstanding job installing the drapes, showing me how the pulls worked, and cleaning up the work space so that I can't tell anything was done. A most excellent job! read more

I have a large roller shade that was custom made about 25 years ago to match with a roman shade above it. It became waterstained on the lower half of the shade - so assumed I would need to replace it. My first stop was to the Shade Store in Cabin John Village. I met with Daihana, who immediately went into action. She was fantastic to work with and answered a multitude of questions with so much patience. Most of this was done thru phone calls after my initial visit. Unfortunately I had to go in another direction. No matter how hard Daihana worked on my behalf, the cost of a new shade this size became prohibitive. I can't say enough good things about Daihana @ The Shade Store. She is kind, caring, efficient and knows the business very well. The Customer Service I received was impeccable, the way things used to be. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Company, especially Daihana. read more

I had the worse customer service from Gwen Seidlitz and thus I decided not to go forward with using the Shade Store as there were too many red flags including lack of response time, flippant attitude and wrong measurements of my windows. read more

It has been a pleasure working with Gwen Seidlitz from the Potomac, MD store. My interior design firm (Mudan Interior Design) have done a couple of full house window treatments with her and the experience has been great. She is extremely knowledgeable, patient and detailed. Are there hiccups along the way on large orders (especially during the pandemic)? Yes! But Gwen has been great in assisting with working through the various ordering and installation issues. Great customer service! Ultimately great window treatments installed and I would not hesitate to work with Gwen and the Shadestore again for my future projects! read more

I stopped by the Shade Store today to look for bedroom shades in Cabin John Mall. The two women working in there were unfriendly and had no interest in the customer. I looked around briefly while they were snickering.. No lie! Snickering! Creepy place to look for shades. They blew a good sale.. I hope the Company can interview some decent help soon for the sake of the customers! I read more

After a second time of ordering, measuring, and installation, half of my order was a bust. Do you think The Shade Store would have offered a complete refund? No. Did they ask me how they can fix the problem and make it up to me? Nope. They just wanted to remake them a 3rd time. I had to threaten legal action to get my money back and ask to speak to someone in customer care. The whole ordeal was so stressful. They did end up refunding the window coverings that were sent back after I kept insisting. Here's the kicker, their tagline is "100% customer satisfaction"! Umm, not really. They are outrageously over priced, rude, and care more about their bottom line than customer satisfaction. I'm working with another window covering company now, which has been a much better experience and less expensive without sacrificing quality! read more

Place is full of incompetent people. We are building a new house which is in the last few months of completion. Made an appointment to get measurements and an accurate quote so that we could compare with another place. Had to wait 3 weeks for the appointment, which was long but fine. The day comes to meet the guy at our house site and as I'm walking him through he tells me that in order to get an accurate measurement, the windows need to all have the trim completed. No one informed me of that at all in all the emails and initial meet. Unreal. So it was a complete waste of precious time for everyone. And when I told the sales lady of the issue, she gives me an attitude saying they can't give an accurate quote without the measurements...ummm, DUH?! Complete waste of time. read more

Daihana Valladares was an absolute pleasure to work with at the Shade Store in Potomac! She was patient, knowledgable, provided excellent guidance throughout, and was available to answer our constant slew of questions that would arise during the selection process. We never felt rushed from her to make a decision and I genuinely felt as though she wanted to ensure that we were 100% happy with our selection choices. She took the time to meet us in person twice to go over everything and was available via email constantly. It can be a very overwhelming process to select shades for an entire house, and Daihana Valladares made the process as seamless and straight forward as possible. If you need any help with window treatments, I highly highly suggest going to see Daihana Valladares at the Shade Store in Potomac! read more

We had a wonderful experience working with Gwen Seidlitz. She was extremely professional and helpful in making selections for our entire home. We couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome. We have worked with many window covering companies over the years, but the Shade Store was far and away the best! We highly recommend The Shade Store and Gwen Seidlitz to help you with your window covering needs. read more

I worked with Daihana to order custom roller shades from a distance (I don't live near a Shade Store location). We had several rounds of back and forth to make sure we got the order completely right. Every detail was considered and I ended up with the perfect product. I had to measure myself and hire someone for the install because I don't live within the range of those services for the Shade Store. Besides that, I am totally pleased with the process and the outcome. read more

As always, The Shade Store was great. Great measurers, great installers and especially great salespeople. Worked with Jill in Potomac. She was very thorough and extremely patient with my indecisiveness. Thank so much for all of your help, Jill! read more

This is a long post- but I had such a bad experience with this company that it will take a lot of words to explain. I had new windows installed in May, and my old blinds didn't fit. I went to the Shade store in late May and met with Gwen. She had a few suggestions and sent me home with searches and a catalog. We set up an appt to have the windows "professionally measured " I returned a few weeks later expecting to place my order. Instead I had to go through everything with Gwen, and then she said it would take a day or two for her to put everything in the computer. I received a quote several days later - with errors. After a few back and forth emails, I approved the quote and paid for the order of 13 sets of wood blinds and a Roman shade. The blinds arrived mid-July. We installed them ourselves instead of paying their installation fee. The blinds fit the windows but one of the bedroom blinds didn't open properly every single valence was the wrong size. I called Gwen and she told me to send photos. After 2 more weeks, quite a few emails back and forth, and quite a bit of confusion about whether Gwen or customer service was responsible for the re- order, I was finally told that they would re-make all of the valences and would send a part to fix the bedroom blinds. The part arrived quickly and someone came over to repair the bedroom blinds. But, it took several more weeks for the new valences to arrive. When the new valences arrived, we were shocked to discover that the were ALL the wrong size again!!! They basically re-made the entire wrong-sized order again and sent it to us. I expected better than this after spending thousands of dollars on blinds. I contacted customer service and asked to work with a different consultant. After several more weeks, they sent someone out to re- measure and then we finally received the correct valences in October! In addition the gave us a free set of living room blinds as compensation - the blinds arrived but the wand to open and close them was missing. We eventually received that missing piece but it took multiple emails to the store to get any response. To be fair - the company eventually corrected all of the problems - but they were slow to respond, did not follow up when they said they would, and were generally difficult to work with. I certainly won't order anything from them again. read more

We worked with Gwen at the Potomac location and had a wonderful experience from start to finish. We needed window coverings around the whole house and she was so helpful helping us figure out the best type and style for our home. We even had a small issue with install and they rectified it immediately. Top not customer service. Would definitely use them again. read more

Luv this place! Great selection. Have worked with Gwen on window treatments for my home and for my design clients. Very knowledgeable and reliable. Always turn out beautifully. Highly recommend!! read more

We have really big windows, but need shade to keep the room cool. Kasondra at the Shade Store gave me samples and helped us select tasteful shades that look good with our walls, but stay up and out of the way when we want them to. Installation was fast. The bronze finish on the hardware pulls the look together. I'm glad I didn't try to do this all on my own. The price was fair too. read more

Working with The Shade Store in Potomac, MD, was an outstanding experience. I was impressed with The Shade Store at every step in the process of purchasing shades. Ms. Gwen Seidlitz could not have been more professional and attentive during the selection of the window coverings. I appreciated how she immediately followed up with every one of my inquiries, scheduling a virtual home tour, emailing estimates, and sending samples that arrived promptly. The measurement technician as well as the installer, Mr. Jon Winkler, were both commendable. They arrived on time, treated both me and the house with respect, and did great work. Every detail of my encounter with the firm was excellent: the thoughtful reminders of the scheduled onsite visits, the delivery of the shades on schedule, and thoughtful follow-up emails to make sure I was satisfied with the product and service. The staff of The Shade Store can take considerable pride in being associated with a company that provides a quality product along with exceptional customer service. read more

The Shade Store is so lucky to have Gwen Seidlitz represent their business.  If you are reading this, you are probably researching high quality window treatments for your home.   We purchased and installed 37 window and door treatments in our new home from Gwen.  The task of trying to figure out the window treatment style, the right material and the fit with our existing furniture could have been stressful but thanks to Gwen's patience, expertise and style sense, we were able to complete the selection with ease.  We never thought about the potential sun damage to our furniture and art, the infinite options of material , the ease of motorized treatments and the degree of privacy we needed for particular windows in our home.  We now enjoy the function and beauty of each window everyday.   Gwen always responded quickly to all our questions or concerns. Save yourself precious time and head over to the Shade Store and ask for Gwen! read more