Simple and easy, click on the check mark and be navigated to the product page and start checking out price, availability, shipping, and everything else you need to know to order your window treatments online and save money.  If there is no check mark then they don’t sell it.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page for easy reference for all your future window treatment needs.

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I live in an area where we don’t have many opportunities for people to be looking in our windows so valances did just fine for me, until the morning. This year I have been looking an inexpensive window treatment online. I found faux wood blinds in white to be something I would definitely consider. Cellular shades are also another good idea. I like both treatments.

Cellular shades seem to be a softer look but then again, my house has wood floors and a lot of wood furniture so the wood blinds would go well also. Cellular shades are either up or down, unless you buy the more expensive top down bottom up shades, and wood blinds I can tilt for privacy and light filtering. Either treatment will go well with the existing valances I have up now. I found a website that taught me how to measure for my window treatments so I feel confident I can order them to the correct dimensions. They don’t seem that difficult to install so either I or my husband will be able to do it. I guess it is just a matter of which treatment I want to go with.

I am leaning toward the wood blinds only because I have cats and a grandson. I think the wood blinds would hold up better than the cellular shade when it comes to my kitties and my other ball of energy. I really believe you need to think these things through so you won’t have any disappointments when you selection arrives and you put them up. I think if I can change a few things around. It will give me a whole new perspective on my surroundings.

My mom used to say a room has to have a focal point, if you don’t have a focal point, put in a red throw pillow. I think my window treatments, which ever I choose, will be my focal point of the room when I am done. I can’t wait to shake things up a bit. I’m ready to look at something new and different for a change. Maybe in the winter I will put my drapes back up again and I will really have some insulated windows. Both cellular shades and wood blinds make great insulators against the cold wind of winter. I am going to go online and ask a professional what he would do in my situation.

Whichever treatment I choose, I know I will love it and feel better about my home. Buying online will save you a lot of money so don’t think this is not something you can do also. In most cases you can save around 50% so it makes sense to shop online. Check it out; you’ll be glad you did

I have been in the window treatment business for 20 years. I have seen many people pay hundreds of dollars more for the same window treatments I have in my own home. In this article I will give you practical step by step info on how you can buy custom wood blind or faux wood blinds you have been wanting, and save you tons of money doing it. At the end of this article I’ve listed some places where with this knowledge you will find great prices.

• First try to stay away from shop at home places. You know where the decorator “salesperson” comes out to your home and shows you samples? You will definitely pay top dollar and more. Those places have much more overhead, salesperson’s commission and rent just to name a few. I think one of the reasons people go there is they don’t know what is available or what will fit into their decorating theme. Truth is neither do they, most decorators working for these places are salespeople and never see what the end result looks like in your home. If you want a real decorator to help, find one that has the proper education and is certified. But they don’t come cheap.
• Second when buying wood or faux wood blinds, consider the house Brand. Almost all online retailers have there own brand of blinds where they purchase materials in large volume. They are made just as well as the name brands like Hunter Douglas, Levelor, and Graber but without the name brand price to go along with it. In fact many of these retailers are contracted by the brand names to assemble their blinds.
• Third be flexible with your color choice. The house brands are stocked only in the most popular colors. Mostly these are white, off-white, and some earth tone colors.
• Forth, go with standard controls. By standard I mean tilt mechanism on the left, and lift cords on the right. The house brands are pre assembled and when you place your order they just pull a blind from stock and cut the width and length to your custom measurements. This cuts down on labor cost and the savings are passed on to you. For the same blind if you specify let say both controls on the right side then you will pay a lot more.
• Fifth you may think that Home Depot or any of the other big box stores will be cheaper if you buy off the shelf. Actually the prices will be about the same as online retailers house brands and even cheaper in many cases. But another reason to buy online is places like Home Depot will only cut the width to your measurement. You either have to live with the excess lengths or trim the length yourself and it’s not as easy as the instructions suggest. It’s very frustrating. In addition the blind will never raise evenly. Buying online they will custom make the width and length plus it’s delivered to your door.

So in conclusion, buying wood blinds, or faux wood blinds can be affordable to do if you shop online and buy house brands. Be flexible with the color and control positions and your blinds. Not only do you get the savings, but you will get a more custom fit. Most places do not charge sales tax. All places that I am familiar with don’t charge shipping either unless they are exceptionally long or oversized. Once they are installed, just sit back and enjoy your savings, and your new look. That’s how you buy wood blinds and faux wood blinds without breaking the bank.

Click On The Link Below To See The House Brands For These Online Retailers And Start Saving Now

Steve’sBlinds.com House Brand
Blindsgalore.com House Brand
BlindsExpress.com House Brand 
SelectBlinds.com House Brand YourBlinds.com House Brand

There are many reasons one might require room darkening shades

This article will explain what some of your choices are and how well they work. 

 Which Block Out The Most Light

The shade that works the best would be cellular shades that are made specifically for room darkening. Sometimes they are called double cell black out shades.  One set of the cells closest to the window are treated with a light filtering material to keep the light out, the other cell is the color of shade you prefer. These are also known as honeycomb shades.

Outside mount would be better as can overlap the window more and thus reduce of light seeping in along  the sides.  If you really are set on having inside mount,  you can simply hang small drapery side panels to coordinate with your shade. This would keep that small beam of light out that might peek in the sides. 

No window is perfectly squared so you always will have a small tolerance in the width of the shade to accommodate the unevenness. This would be the darkest your room can get in daylight. Another good choice would be woven wood shades that are lined.  They can be fashioned from rattan, grass cloth, straw, or bamboo, to provide dimension and texture to your room. Not only would they be room darkening, they provide good insulation from the cold, as well as keep the heat out of your room in the summer. 

If you prefer the look of wood, you can also purchase wood blinds that do an excellent job at keep the light at bay.  If you are going to be considering wood blinds, look at the routeless wood blinds.  This means that there are no holes for the strings that hold the blinds together.  No holes mean no light coming in.  They do a really good job at keeping your room dark. They close very tightly.

Which Let In The Most Light

Inside mount roller shades are not a good idea for room darkening.  I once had a sales associate tell me they were, that they even have special room darkening roller shades.  I agree the actual material is very good at blocking out the light but the fact is, the brackets on a roller shade do not allow for a close tolerance.  The factory makes allowances when you tell them your measurements to accommodate for this.  You will end up with at least a 1/2 inch gap along the sides. I am pretty sure the only reason the sales associate told me that was they were on sale and he would get a bigger commission for selling them.  Don’t be fooled, inside mount roller shades are not good for room darkening. 

Tip To Prevent Mold

Also keep this tip in mind.  Any window treatment you have installed, whether it is room darkening, shutters, cell shades, roman shades, etc. always open your window treatment every day to allow air to circulate.  In the winter especially, when it is cold outside and warm inside, condensation forms.  Condensation forms mold when air is not allowed to circulate.  We all know what mold can do to wood and your health for that matter. 

I hope this helped you to be more informed when in the market for a room darkening shade.  An informed choice is a good choice because you will know what to expect……

…….For More Information Click Here Room Darkening Shades

Top up bottom down shades come in a variety of styles and colors to match or coordinate to your home or office décor.  For example, they are available in cellular (honeycomb), roman, woven woods, and bamboo.  You can get the opaque; meaning light will not go through them, semi opaque, semi sheer, and sheer. 

They also come with standard corded controls or cordless.  Now this is something you will want to definitely give some consideration to.  Corded shades have a cord on each side of the shade.  One cord draws the bottom of the shade up, and one cord draws the top of the shade down.  They are less expensive than the cordless shade. If you have only one or two windows, this may not be a problem for you.  

If however, you are outfitting say a 5 pane bay window with top up bottom down shades, you will have 10 cords hanging.  This may not look very good, and also your cords may tend to get tangled with the other cord right next to it.  So keep this in mind if you have multiple windows, close together.  If you have a double window, you may want to consider a single head rail with two shades.  You can operate each shade different if you choose to.  You can get cordless even on woven woods, but not all companies carry them. 

Cordless shadees also tend to have a neater look to them.  You simply use your hand to push your shade up where you want it, or down where you want it.  The drawback here is if you have a high window, you won’t be able to reach it to push it down.  But don’t worry there is an answer to that also.  Remote control top up bottom down shades.  Then you can open your shades any way you want to from the floor.  Of course, these are more expensive than either of the other two ways. 

These shades are also be good insulators from the heat and cold.  Some are better than others.  The best to keep out the hot rays of the sun, or the cold blast of that arctic air in the winter would be the triple cell honeycomb shade.  These shades will trap a lot of the hot or cold air in the honeycombs cells and keep it out of your house.  It works as well as having closed, lined, draperies.

Anyway you slice it, (get it, slice it, as in cake) top up bottom down shades are a very nice, practical, window treatment for people who want light, control their view, but enjoy their privacy……

 For more info and where to get a good price click here Top Down Bottom Up shades

Honeycomb blinds are a nice choice for your window treatments. They have been on the market for years and still in high demand. Companies have had years to work out any kinks, a lot of newer treatments hitting the market are still being tweeked as problems arise.

Nothing worst then buying a new treatment and putting it up only to find after only one week it doesn’t work. And guess who has the hassle of dealing with sending it back and re-installing. Honeycomb blinds have proven themselfs over the years. In this article you will find some of the main features and benefits and drawbacks so you can decide if these are right for you.

Feel The Cold Air Disappear

Honeycomb blinds keep you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. When you install a new blind on a cold day, when you lower it for the first time you can feel the cold air disappear. As the hot or cold air tries to pass through the material it get trapped in the cells keeping you more comfortable. They really do save on your energy bills.

They work so good that in cold weather you should make sure you draw them up everyday. This will allow for air to circulate behind to prevent ice build up on your windows.

What A Difference A Cord Makes

They are available in cordless feature. This is much safer for children since they can’t get caught up in any cords. If you have young kids and can afford the upgrade this is the way to go. Another nice thing about cordless cellular shades have a much cleaner look to them. When you have several of them side by side like on a bay window the difference in appearance is very apparent.

You have to keep in mind that since there are no cords you have to reach it to operate it. If you have tall windows where you can’t reach the top or over a sink these shades will be harder to operate.

Piss Off The Nosey Neighbors

Top Down Bottom Up implies just what it says. With this feature the honeycomb blinds will operate like a regular shades where you can raise the bottom (bottom up)so you can see out. Or you can lower the top (top down). These are ideal for anywhere you want privacy but still want to maintain you view outside and let some light in. Consider these for baths, bedrooms, or street level windows facing the street. The drawback is you have two cords for each blind. This might not be a big issue unless you have several of them butting together, for example a large picture window where you would have three treatments butting. The way around all the cords is to go cordless.

Breakaway Child Proof Cords

If you do decide to have cords the good news is they are much more child safe. All honeycomb blinds that I am familiar with have breakaway cords to prevent little guys from getting hurt. They are designed so that if a little one gets hung up in the cords, the piece that holds the cords together will break apart thus freeing our little loved ones. The piece then can be snapped back together. In additional to breakaway cords most will come with a cord cleat that you can mount high up on your wall beside you treatment. You can drape the cord around the cord cleat to keep it out of the way of children.

Drawback to the breakaway cords is sometimes the pop apart under normal use. It doesn’t always happen but it can be a little annoying. It certainly is worth it to keep your kids safe.

Competition Is our Friend

Many people are surprised at how affordable honeycomb blinds are. They have been on the market for years and are produced in larger quantities, they are very reasonably price. Also the market is so competive companies keep their prices down to attract more business.. Once you start adding on some of the options like cordless or top down bottom up then the price rises as well. Overall these offer a nice look for a affordable price and a great consideration if your in the market for new window treatments

For More Info and A Great Price Click Here….. Honeycomb Blinds

 
 
 
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Do Cordless Shades Really Work
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Bay windows definitely adds character to a room. They make it feel bigger, adds value and curb appeal choosing window treatments for bay windows can pose a bit of a challenge. You may have space constraints and not sure about what type of window treatment you can use…..or how a certain treatment will look? Where do the brackets go? Where’s the best place to buy them?

In this article I will review various types of window treatments for bay windows with photos. I will also review the pros and cons of all these bay window dressings. Hopefully this will give you some insight and ideas on what you can use for you bay window.

Woven woods in a box type bay

• Head rail ( top part of shade ) is only a 1 1/2 deep, allows you to get them nice and close together so the gap between them is minimum.
• The headrail is wood…easy to install–no need for brackets, all you do is drive a 2″ screw through the wood headrail and into the top or ceiling of your bay.
• Space constraints with woven woods in a box bay…make sure your end shades are not too wide or they will poke out past your bay opening.

Roman shades with hobbled feature in box bay

• Hobbled feature adds charactor and dresses your up bay a little more.
• If your concerned about privacy be careful because the hobbled material increases viewing from outside.
• If you have deep windows the hobbled shade can be set back to increases privacy.
• Roman shades the brackets get screwed into the ceiling 0f the bay for easy installation.

Sheer shades on open bay.

• Sheer material soften the room and add elegance.
• Functions like a blind…give you more control over light and privacy.
• Since the headrails are bigger on sheer shades you’ll need more wall space between them. Be very carful if you want to use on a box bay when you have more space limitations

Vertical sheer shades in large open bay

• I know this is a bad picture but just wanted to show you what the possibilities are for a large bay.
• Shown is vertical sheer shades in a master bedroom. Sliding glass door in center and windows on each side.

Mini blinds dressed up with a board mount swag valance

• Top Treatment is a Beautiful board mounted swag with jabots, really warms up the room
• With Mini blinds you have more control over your light and privacy

Cordless cellular shades on box bay

• Another good choice if you have space constrictions.
• Has a very small headrail so you can get the treatments close together with minimum gaps between material. The only problem is there either up or down. That’s why I like the top down bottom up shades.
• Shade on left is cordless cellular shades with top down bottom up
• Right shade is cordless standard. Note both are install the same way
• Couple of bracket mounted into the ceiling for an easy installation.

Plantation shutters, box bay

• Easy to use. Gives you control over light and privacy.
• Notice there is plenty of space between each window. If the windows were closer together that would complicate things. Still could do plantation shutters but it would increase your price of an already pricey window treatment.
• Picture on left has a divider rail so you can open the top portion independently of bottom, more control your over your privacy
• Picture on right, notice you can still see wood trim around the shutter…called a mock inside mount. Used when you you have to go with outside mount but still want your trim to show.

What part of your house will play a roll . For example a kitchen bay overlooking your back yard, privacy might not be as much a concern during the day. So a treatment like a woven wood (bamboo shade) might work. It can be up during the day but down at night for privacy. But a front window facing the street you might consider cordless cellular shades with the top down bottom up feature. Or in a bedroom where you want to block out light add liner to a woven wood or light blocking cellular shades.

Whatever your situation I hope this article gives you some ideas a little more insight into the possibilities for your window treatments for bay windows.

Four years ago my wife and I (I did most of the work) decided to re-decorate our living room area. Part of the project included finding window treatments for our front window and our sliding glass doors. We considered different treatments and decided on vertical blinds for sliding glass doors and front window. I know many feel vertical blinds are dated and don’t like them but we felt they were the perfect treatment for our needs.

Click here for Vertical Blinds with Top of the Line Headrails 

See, we have a 2 year old grandson that’s loves to push out of his way anything that’s going to obstruct his view when he wants to see what’s out front. Same goes for our dog and 3 cats. Other treatments available would not only cost more but would not be able to stand up to the abuse these guys will give it.

Privacy was another big concern. People walking by have a nice view into the front of our house. We wanted to be able to control that more and with a vertical blind we could just tilt the slats a little to increase privacy but still let in some light.

Once we made the decision to go with vertical blinds for sliding glass doors and front window, next step was to pick out a color. We were dead set on burgundy (locking ourselves into a color was an expensive move, I explain later) so we search every online store that I was familiar with at the time and finally found burgundy. Great we were happy and excited, place our order and installed with no problems.

Now I consider myself a realist, and don’t expect things to last forever but I do expect them to last for a reasonable amount of time. So when I started having troubles after only two years I was a little upset. That’s when some of the vanes wouldn’t rotate anymore. I had to turn some of them by hand. I was annoyed but not annoyed enough to pick up the phone and complain. It wasn’t until the little carriers in the headrail starting popping out and the vanes dropping to the floor that I was upset enough to finally place a call and get this resolved.

I was pretty confident I could resolved this and get the headrail fixed, after all it came with a lifetime warranty. So I spoke to the customer service rep and he had all my order information on record still but the manufacture of the blind went out of business and so did my lifetime warranty. I couldn’t get my blind repaired, I would have to purchase another headrail which cost almost as much as a new blind.

I am a window treatment installer I should have known better. My mistake goes back to focusing all my efforts on finding the right color when I should have also looked for a good quality headrail. You can purchase a vertical blind in many places, local hardware stores, shop at home places, online but all vertical blinds are not created equal. The main component about a vertical blind that’s going to determine how well it hold up and how long it will last has to do with the quality of the headrail. The headrail to a vertical is the same as a curtain rod is to a drape. You can have beautiful drapes but if the rod doesn’t work right well it’s frustrating. There are a lot of companies out there that are not selling quality headrails, most people don’t think to ask about the headrail they assume it OK and rightly so.

My problem was I focus on only the color when I should have consider the quality of the headrail. Now you have a excuse but I don’t, after all I’m a window treatment installer I’m aways going out on service calls regarding poor working vertical blinds. Now I won’t make that mistake again.

There is a headrail out there that is consider the cadillac of the industry which I have been familiar with for a long time but for some reason didn’t think about it back when we were re-decorating.

As an installer I come across many different types of vertical blinds and found that they fall into three categories. Good, better and best. Most fall into the good category, a few make it into the better category and only one makes it into the best. I am in the process of ordering a new blind and it will be from the best category. But maybe you don’t need the best. Maybe you don’t plan on staying in the house too much longer. What ever the case the better is still better then the good category. Here’s some of the feature and benefits of all three categories.

Good….

• This accounts for most, this is what you will get off the shelve. This is also what your get from many places you order from.

Better….more info

• All metal headrail, Extra heavy duty.
• Self aligning carrier stems, Eliminates out of sync louvers. This feature sets it apart from the good, very nice feature, if the vanes ever get out of whack you can get them back in sync simply by pulling the chain. If I had this feature I might still have a functional vertical blind.

Best….more info 

• Only two fall into this category and that is the Super-Vue G71 and Ultra-Vue both made by Graber.
• Extruded aluminum headrail, Extra heavy duty allows for wider widths. Self aligning carrier stems, Eliminates out of sync louvers.
• Stainless steel carrier system for precise spacing of louvers and smooth traversing.
• Stack release for allowing for vanes to be moved for window cleaning.
• Interchangeable carrier stems….this is the biggie. Now when those little plastic things break you can remove them and insert a new one without taking down anything.

Now just to give you an idea of price. As the time of writing this article if you were to buy a vertical for a sliding glass doors 84 wide by 84 long in solid vinyl . In the good category it might cost about $80.00, in the better category would be about $ 114.00 and in the best category would cost about $169.00.

So if your considering a vertical blinds for sliding glass doors or any other window. The upgraded headrail will elimimate many of the issues associated with this treatment. I think some of you reading this can relate to the problems I ran into. If you have a story about your treatment whether positive or negative please share it with us in the comments below. It may help others who read this. Thank you

For more info on the better vertical blind headrails click here

For more info on the best vertical blind headrails click here

Have Questions Then ASK THE EXPERT

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• Latest thing in window treatments for sliding glass doors
• Everything you need to know about vertical blinds

In this article I will go over some tips for measuring outside mount cellular shades. After reading this you will have the confidence to measure your own windows and get the same results as a profession installer would.

Outside mounts can have its advantages, nice clean look if measured right and blocks out more light. It doesn’t matter what brand your going with, the measurements will be the same. It also doesn’t matter what option you decide on, cordless or top down bottom up. They will all be the same as far as measurements.

When measuring for your width all the instructions you will read say to measure from one side of your trim to the other side. These measurements would be OK in a perfect world where everything is square and straight. But even the best carpenters will be a little out of square. The problem is, when you mount your cellular shades and lower them and if the frame is a little out of square then the trim will peek out from behind the shade. Looks a little sloppy.

So what do you do? Simply make your cellular shades a little wider than the trim. I like to make them overlap the trim by at least 3/4 of an inch on each side. So if your window measures 40 inches trim to trim then make your shade 41 1/2 wide. This way when you lower your shade everything is covered up, no trim peeking out for a nice clean look.

To measure your height simply measure form the top of your trim to the very bottom. If you don’t mind add a little to the height about a 1/2 inch. If you don’t want to drill into your wood trim then go about 1 1/2 – 2 inches above the trim. When measuring for a outside mount the manufacture will make the cellular shades to your exact dimensions.

Well that’s all there is to measuring for outside mount cellular shades. Follow these tips and not only will you have a beautiful shade but it will be easier to install…..more info

click here for more info……how to measure for outside mount cellular shades

Have Questions Then ASK THE EXPERT

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In this article I will touch on some of the basics for measuring your windows for cellular shades but you can also find measuring instructions on the web site of where you purchase your cellular shades. More importantly I will also go over some measuring tips not found in web sites.

 
It doesn’t matter what brand cellular shade your going with or the features you opt for like cordless or top down bottom up, the measurements will be the same. So here we go , lets first cover inside mounts. Inside mounts I think are most popular. First measure the width of your window opening at the top, then measure across the middle and again measure the width at at the bottom. Compare the 3 figures and go with the smallest of the 3. So if the top measures 33 1/8, and the middle measures 33 and the bottom measures 33 1/4. You would go with 33. This is to ensure the cellular raises and lowers without binding.

 
If you have a deep window opening and want the shade mounted close to the glass, then take your measurements closer to the glass. For example if you have a 10 inch deep opening the measurement at the front of the opening can be different then the back of the opening.

 
Next measure the height. Here I measure the height at both left and right sides and if it’s a real wide window I’ll measure the height at the middle as well. Unlike when measuring the width you want to go with the smallest dimension, here you want the largest of the measurements. And if you don’t mind it won’t hurt to add an extra 1/2 inch to the height. I just think it rests on your sill better.

 
It is very important to know that if you call out you shade to be inside mount then the manufacture will take a small deduction off the width. So if you tell them your width is 33 inches, the actual shade will be a bit smaller usually between 1/8 to 3/8 inches smaller. I’ve seen some people take their own deduction and the manufacture takes their deduction and before you know it you have a shade that’s way too narrow. So don’t let this happen to you.

Well that’s all there is to measuring for inside mount cellular shades. Follow these tips and not only will you have a beautiful shade but it will be easier to install…..more info
 
Click here for more info…..measuring for inside mount cellular shades

Have Questions Then ASK THE EXPERT

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