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| "Our
Passion is Your Window Fashion" |
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Happy St. Patrick's Day |
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Why Can’t the Baby Get Sleep? |
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Window treatments in a child's room deserve special consideration. Beyond the choices of color, styles, and pattern, are the basic safety and function issues.
Many home experts recommend avoiding long draperies in a child's room, especially during the years when they are crawling and learning to walk. It is all too easy for small children to grab onto long flowing fabrics, with a danger of pulling the hardware down. |
Cord hardware on blinds is one area where major improvements have been made. Ask for newer breakaway and safety cord options when purchasing blinds for a child's bedroom and perhaps throughout your home.
Here are some great options in window treatments for children’s rooms. |
"From holiday to birthday celebrations…the home matters more than ever."
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• Keep things simple. Window treatments for a child's room should be as light and airy as possible. • Avoid long "to the floor" draperies for very young babies and children. Go for shades, blinds, or shorter curtains instead.
• Be especially careful about installation and hardware choices when windows are in close proximity to cribs, beds, shelves, or other furniture. For example, a changing table placed near a window can offer tempting opportunities for a child to grab fabrics, pull on cords, or twist mini-blind slats. |
Soft fabric shades with blackout linings are custom-made to fit a window. Raise them completely for light or view then lower them for privacy and light control.Cord hardware on blinds is one area where major improvements have been made. Ask for newer breakaway and safety cord options when purchasing blinds for a child's bedroom and perhaps throughout your home. Here are some great options in window treatments for children’s rooms. |
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Designer
Tips and Trade Secrets |
Window coverings can paralyze a decorating project. Should you go with mini-blinds or shutters? Long draperies or just a valance? A decorative rod or something plain? Tiebacks or straight panels?
Window treatments can baffle even experienced home decorators. Overwhelmed by a huge variety of choices in material, fabric, color, size, options, and hardware, where do you start? You start with the basics: privacy, light control, function, and style. Paying attention to these four elements can give your project a sense of direction, and combining window treatments in intelligent ways can accomplish the necessary functional aspects as well as contribute to a room's style.
Let's take a look at each of the main factors in window covering choices and see which treatments can be most successful in each case.
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Privacy
Perhaps the only people who don't need privacy in window treatments are those who have homes in the forest, far from prying eyes. For the rest of us, however, privacy can be a major issue.
If you have a bathroom window that looks directly into your neighbor's hallway, you need privacy.
When your dining room looks out on a busy sidewalk, street corner, or a community pool, you want privacy.
To get it you'll need to choose window treatments that offer complete opaque covering.
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Here are some good choices for privacy:
• Fabric or Roller Shades generally offer complete window coverage. Most roller shades are made of vinyl or fabric that is usually opaque, while fabric shades (Roman, balloon) are lined and custom made to your exact window measurements.
• Curtains and Draperies, when closed, will also close off the view.
Add linings that will add to the opacity and durability, and arrange the center overlap to eliminate open spots.
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• Pleated and cellular shades (in non-sheer materials) have full glass coverage for privacy. Many styles can be ordered with a "top down" feature, so a portion of the glass can be visible at the top of the window to let in light and have a view.
• Sheer curtains and draperies may afford a bit of daytime privacy, however at night most will turn practically transparent with indoor lighting. If you love sheers, but want privacy, then use shades underneath for privacy after dark.
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• Mini Blinds, wood blinds, and shutters will all provide a nearly private environment. Be aware, however, that with each of these there is a small possibility of seeing through the slats at certain angles.
Cellular shades (in non-sheer fabrics) can add privacy and many have insulating benefits as well. |
"First, keeping glare down is necessary..."
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Part 2: Basic light control is critical
Light Control
This factor has two elements. First, keeping glare down is necessary when someone is sleeping in the daytime or when watching TV or working at a desk near a bright window.
Second, UV rays from bright sunlight will adversely affect fabrics, furnishings, and artwork in your home. Full sun can quickly fade expensive upholstery and rugs, eventually causing some fibers to break down and rot. Window coverings can be used successfully to control light. Consider these possibilities:
Any of the opaque window treatments listed in the Privacy section above can also help with light control. However, since sunlight will eventually break down many fabrics, it can be helpful to use a non-fabric shade next to the glass, behind expensive draperies, valances, or fabric shades.
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For custom made draperies ask about special linings and fabric treatments that help reduce UV damage.
Light Control and Style
• Light blocking treatments can be installed for rooms that need to be fully darkened. Look for room darkening roller shades as well as light blocking linings for fabric shades and draperies.
• Metal or wood blinds can be tilted to keep direct sun out of your room, while still affording some view and light.
• Natural blinds such as bamboo and matchstick will filter the light and cut down on much of the glare, and can be ordered with an exterior privacy lining.
• Cellular shades in non-sheer fabrics will cut down on light.
• In areas of very strong sunlight, look into window tinting options where a film is attached directly to the glass. This will reduce UV rays and is available in several levels of tint. To be continued…
Check back next week when we cover the basics of function and style! We have all the shades mentioned in this article available at www.blindsonsale.com.
Or if you would like some help with decorating ideas or problem windows, call Barbara, our top designer at 1-800-919-4301. |
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You Ask, We Tell!!! |
Let’s answer some questions; this one comes from a person confused about color and choice. Berry
Hi Berry!
We just built a new home and I am freaking out about the window treatments. I was never good at choosing them and always found, in the past, that I went with safe, boring, things like sheers. With this house I want to do it right with something I will love and not get sick of.
So far I decided to do roman shades in the kids rooms and 4th bedroom. I am undecided on the master bed, family room, bay window in kitchen, living and dining rooms.
The bay window is really killing me. I like to have a lot of light during the day with a view to my yard but also have privacy at night. I thought about wood blinds, roman shades (bamboo or cotton), shutters, valances. I just can't decide. |
The kitchen area is 9x10 with light wood floors, light oak cabinets, a black and taupe mix counter top trimmed with wood and all black appliances with pewter fixtures. I thought about painting the walls in taupe as well, nothing is painted yet.
The breakfast nook is 8x14 with the dreadful bay window, light wood floors (the floor is throughout family room too)it has a round oak table and a beautiful 8 ft. round floral area rug that is mostly black with ivory, olive and burgundy. I'm thinking of painting the wall where the bay window is olive.
The rest of the main level, besides the dining room, will be in a buttery cream color. The family room which is right off the breakfast nook has a sage couch, brown leather recliner and an area rug with brown, olive, gold, dark brown and burgundy triangles. |
The end table and fireplace are light oak. This room has two joining windows each 30x55.
I also thought of the wooden roman shades in this room gravitating toward olive or brown, but I'm afraid to do dark shades and feel "safe" with white or natural only because the trim is white. This is the same wall coming down from the bay window (about 10 ft apart)so it will be olive as well. Can you help with these two rooms? I'll save my questions for the other rooms for later. :)
Thanks in advance!! Debbie
Answer -
Get all your blinds at the same time, in the same texture and color. I'd opt for either white/off-white or a natural wood tone (to match your existing wood).
Roman shades are wonderful in bedrooms, baths and can be used alone or in combination with blinds.
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Visit www.blindsonsale.com for details.
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Don't leave your walls white. Paint them taupe, and consider carrying that green/taupe/black/white throughout your home.
Shades and blinds are truly part of the window. So when you're in doubt about color, stay neutral. You can add sheers, draperies or scarves to add color and texture.
Regards,
Berry |
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The Graber Wood Story |
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Due to the practice know as "sustained yield forest management", the United States grows twice as much hardwood for it's harvest every year.
North American basswood has long been considered the premier wood for use in wood blinds. Favorable characteristics of basswood include its light weight, consistent color, hardness, attractive grain and structural stability. It is for these reasons that North American basswood was the only wood used in the manufacturing of wood blinds for many years.
Other domestic species such as poplar, cottonwood and aspen were introduced into the wood blind market due to cost considerations. These woods are usually heavier and more susceptible to warping when compared to basswood.
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Over the last few years the use of imported wood has increased dramatically. Ramin wood from Indonesia is frequently used. Ramin wood weighs up to 50% more than basswood. Recently the harvesting of ramin has come under attack due to the lack of forestry management practices and the adverse impact the harvesting of this species has on our rainforests. Due to the environmental issues raised we have discontinued the use of ramin wood in our wood blinds.
Basswood imported from China has become the primary source of wood for many of our competitors. Although this wood is much less costly than North American basswood, we do not think the quality of drying, molding, and sanding meets the standards we have established for the Graber wood blinds.
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Product Highlight
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Our exclusive use of North American basswood once again demonstrates our commitment to quality in Graber products.
Springs Window Fashions works only with foresters that practice sound forestry management techniques.
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Today there are 70% more hardwoods growing in the United States than there were four decades ago. Slats used in Graber® wood blinds are are manufactured in our wood milling facility in Wausau, Wisconsin. We are the only major fabricator of wood blinds that actually mills our own slats. This allows us to have absolute control over the quality of wood that is used. |
The wood is kiln dried to strict specifications to assure that finished slats will remain stable and not warp. Molding and sanding operations are designed to provide the highest quality surface, free of defects. Slats are carefully sorted prior to finishing for color uniformity and wood characteristics. The end result is craftsmanship quality in all Graber wood blinds. |
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thanks, Hunter Douglas, Comfortex, Graber,
and Better Homes and Gardens.
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About
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Happy St. Patrick's Day!
