Blinds Unlimited

The window fashions industry is now pushing its manufacturers and retailers to pay more attention to child safety.  All those dangling cords are a real hazard to young children and there are several deaths each year in the United States related to window treatments.

Hunter Douglas has led the way in making everyone in the industry, as well as consumers aware, of the potentially dangerous features of some window fashions.  With their bent for innovative design they have introduced products with child safety in mind. 

The main issue is the cords.  So cordless options are a must in households with young children (including grandchildren).  Some products to bear in mind  – the wood/alternative blind category all have cordless lifting options.  Add a tilt wand and all cords are elminated.  Their honeycomb offerings, Duette, Duette Architella and Applause also come with cordless literise lifting systems.  Vignette Tiered Roman Shades replicate a traditional roman shade, but with a cordless lifting system.  If the shades do not have a cordless option, most are available with battery operated motorization, a relatively affordable approach to motorized shades.

The latest introduction to the cordless shade scene is from B & W Window Fashions in Gurnee, Illinois.  The Vitale line of roman shades is truly a first on the market – beautiful fabrics, 6 shade styles and all with the One Touch Control.  Check out the video below to see this amazing shade in operation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eubQLGFnOto

A fabulous look – why change?

The client created this fabulous look in her home – custom made draperies and an elegant rod and then she added the Mackenzie Childs scarves to tie together the decor in her living room which featured the Mackenzie Childs line.

Four years later it was time for a little fine tuning and a room refresh.  She wanted to hide the security system sensors in the windows and requested roman shades inside mounted into the opening.  We suggested mounting the roman shades outside the window and near the top of the existing drapery pole in order to increase the height of the window and ceiling and tie the 2 window treatments together.  She had originally planned to keep the scarves in place. 

However, there are 2 slliding glass doors on the opposite side of the room to which we added Hunter Douglas Duette Vertiglides.  We suggested to complete the look and enhance an already elegant room, we should add side panels and elegant rods.  Now we will need the scarves to use as holdbacks.  The result will be a beautiful room that highlights the client’s collections.

IIt’s August and the sun is blazing down.  That is particularly the case here in Florida – we are in our dog days that for sure. 

In our homes we have some intriguing window shapes that are architectural gems that add light to the house and give fabulous views. 

These raked windows at the end of a family room are a great example.  They overlook the intercoastal – a scenic view – but they also face west.  In the summer months the heat is brutal and you cannot see the television for the glare.  My clients called and asked what can we do.  They requested an operable shade that could be lowered during the winter months.  Unfortunately there are no options that do not leave quite a large portion of the shade in the opening.  The client did not want this.  So I came up with this is the solution – a sheerweave solor shades in a 3% openness factor. 

Sheerweaves allow for some view but the 3% prevents 97% of the UV entering the room and the light color sheerweave reflects heat and the glare is non existent.  I had the shade custome made to fit the opening and mounted them with tension rods.  If the client wanted to remove them in the winter months he could, store them and then put them up again for the summer.  What do you think of the final result?

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Do you live in a highrise with large windows to make the most of the view?  How do you control the heat and light, especially if you live in the southern half of the country?

I had just such a problem to solve for a client and we decided on Hunter Douglas’s Pirouette Window Shadings as the perfect solution.  Blackout to control the light and heat - and also so that the client could sleep-in in the morning.  The the multi-functional Pirouette takes care of the rest.  It can be fully lifted into the cassette to make the most of a fabulous view.  Lower it and get complete privacy and blackout and then all those stages in between….operate the lifting system a little and there is a roman shade.  The open a little more and you achieve the interesting effect my client has in the photo shown above.  Completely open the shade and there is an elegant slat with a sheer which still shows off the view but filters and softens the light.

My clients were thrilled with their new window treatments.

In homes in Florida aquarium windows often present a problem – how to dress the window to add beauty to the room and also solve sun and privacy issues.    The biggest predicament is how to place privacy treatments so that there are no ugly and dysfunctional gaps at the corners. Hard treatments such as blinds and shades need to be overlapped at the “bends” in order to minimize the gap.  This can be unsightly, especially if you are not adding a top treatment.

A client recently asked me to solve this particular problem.  The morning sun was really annoying at the breakfast table, but for the remainder of the day she wanted to enjoy her view.  In addition, she wanted to “finish” off her room with a decorative top treatment.

My solution was a bent rod with sheers operated with batons.  The sheers were easily pulled to cover the opening but also provided a soft, decorative accent when pulled back.  We added a box pleat valance which pulled the main colors for her room.  The client was thrilled with the result.  She has also found a bonus in the sheers – they help insulate all that glass during the cold snap we are experiencing in Florida!