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Unusual plastic window shades in 1961 midcentury modern bathroom

pam kueber - Updated: September 27, 2016

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

retro plastic window shadesThese vintage plastic window shades, which seem to be original to Todd’s 1961 house — are fabulous. They appear to be basket-weave plastic, on a track like a shower door, but accordian-style. I’ve never seen them before. Does anyone else have them? Does anyone know about them? Yum. Todd writes:

Does anyone know where I can get these types of plastic shades? Our house was built in 1961, its a mid century modern, and only 3 windows left have these as the previous owners junked all the rest (as we found pieces of them here and there in the back yard).

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  1. Christa says

    Hi, I don’t know where you can get them now ( or if you can) but my grandparents had the same things ( in baby blue) in their bathroom ( he used them as the shower door on their tub/ showe unit) I know that grandpa did the bathroom in the mid 60’s…though the house was from the 30’s.

    Good luck in the search

  2. Kelly says

    I don’t know how to find them, but I need them, too! We have a shower with a window in it at shoulder level and nothing to cover it with or keep the water off the wood trim! Hope you find some answers soon. :o)

    • Ann-Marie Meyers says

      Same here. I am just about to resort to the old “cut off vinyl shower curtain over the window” trick. Ugly, but it may save the window trim until I get a chance to get someone to replace the wood with subway tile or something.

  3. Barb23 says

    Those are so cool for the bathroom! I have 2 baths they would look great in. Even with opaque windows my hubby still wants window treatments! If any one finds a source, I’m in!

    I have the browny-beige colored woven looking plastic accordion doors in 2 places in my 1961 house (both in good shape). Not nearly so cool.

    • Joni says

      Hey Barb–
      All of these doors say they’re trim-able to match the height of the opening–I have no idea if they mean trim-able by an inch or if you could cut a foot or two off of the bottom to fit your window opening. It might be worth dropping an email to a few manufacturers to find out!

  4. Joni says

    Home Depot has a few acrylic accordion doors on their website–they’re kind of plain, but could be really cool with a textured window film on the acrylic panels. (Solyx has some nice window films at decorativefilm.com)

    Woodfold.com has been in business for 50+ years and has woven wood, acrylic, and really cool perforated aluminum accordion shades.

  5. Anne says

    I have the same hard plastic acordian blinds over my sliding door in my dining area. Soooo cool!

    • pam kueber says

      Anne — I would LOVE to see a pic. If you get a chance can you take one and email it to me to add to this story? retrorenovation [at] gmail [dot] com. So cool!

  6. Patty says

    I think you are very lucky to have 3 left. After 50 years. the others probably got brittle from hanging in the windows and possible beat up/broken. These are pretty cool.

    I remember accordian type doors that were availabe in the 60s. They were made out of plastic sheeting, like a shade, and were on a track. You could use them in a doorway or on a closet.

  7. Lynne says

    Did you look them over carefully? Way down in the corners and such? Maybe there is a makers brand or company name stamped in the track or on the metal somewhere. I’d bet they were all custom made.

    I did see a horizontal blind at the JC Penney that was a textured clear plastic. I thought it had a real retro feel to it. Of course no where close to this look, but a cool alternative for a bathroom. Privacy, while still letting in all the light.

  8. JamieAbe says

    I have similar accordion folding curtains in my living room. I believe that are from the late sixties early seventies, but mine are very thin strips of basket woven wood. I have a certain “appreciation” for them, but they will have to go. They are in bad shape anyway. I am loving the translucent plastic though!

  9. Chris H says

    No idea where you could get such shades, but it might be a good DIY project. Let the originals inspire, but you can take it in new directions – colored glass, or colored translucent plastic, hinged to fold accordion style, and hanging/running on a tack.

  10. Gavin in the UK says

    They are great, very unusual. “Previous Owners” eh? I seem to have spent a large part of my life trying to undo what they have done to every place I have ever lived in! At the moment that includes trying to find the best way of removing several layers of emulsion paint from the granite field stone chimney breast inside our new home, plus reinstating a working central heating system to replace the badly installed one previous owners thought would be an “improvement”. Oh, and of course sorting out the awful combination of colours they painted everything else… Happy New Year to all from Scotland!

    • pam kueber says

      take care, gavin in uk, regarding the potential for lead in that old paint, for example — consult with an expert. and hello scotland!

    • Marion Powell says

      Hi Gavin in Scotland.
      What exactly is emulsion paint? I get The English Home magazine and emulsion paint is mentioned in stories and advertised.

      Also, Pam, this month’s issue of the magazine has an advert by Little Greene (paint and paper 1773). They have a new line called Retrospectives (32 authentic colours from the 60s and 70s).
      Thought you might like to see their take on those year’s colors.
      littlegreene

      • Gavin in the UK says

        Hi Marion,

        emulsion is the name we in the UK use for the water-based gloopy paint applied to walls and ceilings. Mostly manufactured by paint companies like Dulux and Crown. We did check out the Little Green range and Crown have just introduced a “Vintage” line http://blog.crownpaint.co.uk/colour/crown-vintage/ but bizarrely not actually shown on the web! Incidentally Pam, our house is the only butterfly roofed Mid century modern home I have ever found in the UK, so we leapt at the chance to buy it last year, regardless of any renovation issues… luckily it post dates any problems with lead-based paint, but has plenty of other issues. See photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7371133@N06/sets/72157627502558710/

        • Marion Powell says

          Thanks, Gavin.

          I checked out your house and it’s to die for. When you get all that paint off the brick and stone, you’ll have a show place.