 | Frequently Ask Questions - Design Decorating Style Room Type Specialty Shapes & Design Options Privacy & Light Control Operating Systems Decorating Style First you’ll want to think about functionality, then about style. Start by asking yourself Additional questions to ask yourself: Do you want privacy during the day but natural light to stream in as well? Do you mind someone seeing your shadow only from the outside? Or do you need complete privacy during the day and night? Do you want a transparent sheer or a room-darkening opaque fabric? These are all important functional window fashion considerations. Decorating Style Windows that are taller than they are wide and raise and lower are often better suited for horizontal window coverings, while windows that are wider than they are tall and slide from side to side are often better suited for vertical window coverings. You may also want to consider horizontal window fashions because they can enhance a room’s informality and coziness. On the other hand, vertical blinds or privacy sheers, which are constructed of soft fabric vertical vanes, can add height and dignity to a room. Your decorating style can also affect what product looks best in your home. Modern, Contemporary and Eclectic styling looks great with clean and sleek lines and tailored window fashions. Traditional and Country styling could also go with those clean, sleek and tailored lines, but you may choose a product that has more softness as well. Depending on the direction your window faces, the climate you live in, and how old your windows are, the need for energy efficiency may be a big consideration in what product you select. Decorating Style For small windows, I often recommend horizontal window treatment such as our Country Woods® Genuine Woods or EverWood® 2” blinds. Just like with clothing, horizontal lines tend to accentuate width (this is why you will never see stripes around my hips!). If you want your window to look wider, go with a horizontal blind. Also, if you select a window treatment to blend in with the color of your wall, it has a tendency to make your window look bigger. Decorating Style You have got to see our new Country Woods® Exposé™ wood cornices. They give the ideal finishing touch to any of our privacy treatments. They are made from either oak, cherry, pine or basswood materials. There are six different styles and are offered in heights of 6”, 9” or 12”. They are also available in 35 painted or stained finishes. You can even get an unfinished wood to customize it to your décor. There are also decorative keystones and wood appliqués that can really add more character to these stunning cornices Another option is that you can purchase fabric by the yard from our Luminette® Privacy Sheers and our Vignette® Modern Roman Shades collections. I love to finish the window with fabric, whether it be cornices, swags and jabots, soft top treatment or decorative draperies or side panels. Fabric provides warmth, color, pattern and overall character to the window. Decorating Style That is a great question and I do have some EXCITING choices for you! 1. If your home style is Contemporary or Transitional (which is a mix of styles), you might like Skyline™ Gliding Window Panels. The design was influenced by an Italian window covering, but made better in America. It comes in so many wonderful fabrics including my favorite, which is like ultra suede. I also love shutters on a sliding glass door. It has such a bold look and with the by-pass system it functions great. 2. If you prefer a Traditional style, you will love Luminette® Privacy Sheers. I also would recommend what I did in my home: two Silhouette® window shadings on one head rail. Pirouette® window shadings can be mounted two-on-one head rail as well. This configuration allows you to operate each window fashion independently so that you can go freely in and out of the door while still enjoying partial privacy. With these four suggestions you will have the latest, most exciting look. Room Type Without a doubt, I recommend polysatin shutters or EverWood® X-tra blinds. These products are made from materials that are guaranteed to never warp, chip, crack or fade even in the most extreme temperatures. They are ultra easy to clean as well. Use a static duster or soft-brush, handheld vacuum attachment to dust off. To reduce static, clean and help repel dust, wipe the product with dryer sheets. Our EverWood Alternative Wood Blinds can be washed by soaking them in a tub full of water (not the head rail) with a mild detergent. Wash for five minutes by gently moving liquid around with your fingers, and then rinse with clear water. Close the blinds before removing from the rinse water, hold the rails and tilt to remove the excess water. Re-install and dry completely. For both the polysatin shutters and EverWood Alternative Wood Blinds, you can also spray glass cleaner on a cloth to clean. Having a product that can be easily cleaned in a bathroom is extremely important for health reasons. Because they are alternative wood products, they are easy to wipe down and won’t bend or crease. And remember the wider the slats or louvers, not only will you have more view through and natural light streaming in, but less slat surface to clean! By simply tilting and turning the slats and louvers you control the light and privacy levels you want in your bathroom. Room Type What you need is a room-darkening product. And we have a variety of shades and blinds to choose from. My favorite room-darkening product is our Duette® honeycomb shade in our Eclipse™ fabrics. This will give you total room darkening, and your husband won’t be disturbed by any light coming into the room. We also have other products that give you the same room-darkening effect: our Vignette® Modern Roman Shades in our EveScape™ fabric; our EverWood® 2” blinds and Country Woods® Genuine Woods blinds that have our de-Light™ routless feature (there are no holes in the blinds so you don’t have any light leakage). We also have several other products that have the room-darkening feature, so you have many products to choose from. To see these fabrics and materials up close, be sure to visit the Hunter Douglas iMagine™ Design Center. Once you access the tool, you can see virtually all Hunter Douglas product lines and easily change colors, fabrics and materials, even opacities, and also zoom in and out to see the fine detail. Specialty Shapes & Design Options I have a half circle above my doorway. I don’t know what to do with it but know I need to cover it. The sun comes in and the light is sometimes very intense as our front door faces west. What should I use for my French doors? My door handles seem to get in the way of door blinds. I’m looking for a unique window treatment for my bay windows in the front of my house and I don’t want a Vertical Blind and I don’t like mini blinds. Can I use something else that has vanes and isn’t just a honeycomb type shade that obscures my view? Specialty Shapes & Design Options Your half circle is actually an arch. We have some lovely treatments for that with your choice of fixed or operable arch treatments. My favorite: Duette® EasyView® arches. This specialty shape is in our Duette honeycomb shades collection and stacks at the bottom of your arch. You can raise and lower it to cover the opening or to have a completely unobstructed window when you choose. The EasyView arch is controlled with an extension pole for easy operation. You can also put Shutters on your half circle arches. We have several Shutter collections to choose from. They offer operable louvers and will coordinate with either of our wood, alternative wood or our shutter collections. They make a dramatic statement to any room and are sure to bring attention to your special window. Specialty Shapes & Design Options You need a product that has a low-profile head rail and something that can be attached on the bottom of the window portion of the door with hold-down brackets. You also need a product that allows the vanes or shade material to stay close to the door itself. Jen recommends that you use something like a Duette® honeycomb shade, which has a headrail that isn’t very deep and won’t interfere with opening and closing the door. You could go with the Provenance® woven wood shades or Designer Roller Shades because these lay flat against the door and tuck behind the handle very easily. They can be attached at the bottom of the door with hold down brackets. That way they won’t “swing in the wind.” I also highly recommend Hardwood shutters (which I have in my own home), as they can be ordered with special cut-outs for pull-down lever door handles. They look substantial. In my experience, the shutters always elicit a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” from guests - they’re so dramatic and beautiful. Specialty Shapes & Design Options If you want a product that makes a statement, I recommend Hunter Douglas shutters. They are bold and dramatic and look amazing from the inside of your home as well as the outside. They are offered in several different Collections of materials and a wide range of colors. Also, there are many frame types and options to fit your bay window. Most of all, they will give your bay window a distinct and attractive look. Jen suggests Luminette® Privacy Sheers or Silhouette® window shadings. Both products give your window a soft and airy look, while also providing privacy. If you want a horizontal product, go with Silhouette. If you want a vertically hung product (and a look unlike vertical blinds) go with Luminette Privacy Sheers. Silhouette and Luminette are companion products, so both will give you a distinctively elegant look while softly focusing your outside view and giving you privacy. Exceptional versatility and beauty in both products! Specialty Shapes & Design Options The windows on either side of your front door are known as sidelights. Keep in mind that when the front of the house coordinates, you make curb appeal more attractive. Most of our products are available in a 12” size, so putting the same product on your sidelight that is on your other front facing windows is a smart option. The first product that I recommend is Silhouette® window shadings. They are essentially a soft 2”, 3” or 4” fabric vane that has a sheer to the front and back. In the open position, you will have filtered visibility outside with the sheer. Sheers always look elegant and are very practical for a sidelight as well. Close the vanes and you will have your privacy. Then with the pull of the cord, they roll up to disappear up into the head rail when you want full visibility outside. These are a perfect solution for your sidelights!! Sally recommends Shutters. Sally has them in the sidelights in her own home, and they make a dramatic statement with curb appeal (also because they are on all of her windows that face the street). The fact that you can tilt and turn the bold louvers for privacy and light control is very appealing. Specialty Shapes & Design Options Our Skyrise® lifting systems are manual or motorized lifting systems specifically manufactured for rectangular windows and especially suited for skylights. Coupling this system with our Duette® honeycomb shades would be a great way to treat a skylight. Most people find that skylights are wonderful for natural lighting but rooms can sometimes overheat from too much direct sunlight. Selecting Duette honeycomb shades with our Skyrise lifting system allow you to dramatically reduce heat while getting the natural light you want. Privacy & Light Control We have some wonderful products for you to choose from that will allow you to maintain your view when you want it but will also preserve your privacy-and, in addition, these products will also block a hot sun from heating up your room and damaging your furniture and accessories. My favorite product for this is our Silhouette® window shadings. It is so versatile! It has fabric-covered vanes that are suspended between sheer fabric facings. The vanes rotate for privacy but for you, they allow you to control that light when you have the hot sun. The vanes in the open position will always give you a soft-filtered view but in the closed position you will be able to close out that sun. When the sun doesn’t interfere you can raise the Silhouette shadings totally off your windows. They retract into their own head rail, giving you a completely unencumbered view. Also, Silhouette window shadings have a wonderful benefit of blocking out 78% to 88% of ultraviolet rays (depending on the fabric chosen) when in the open position-which means when you can see out. When you close the soft vanes, they offer you 99% UV protection. This will help to protect your furniture, carpet, accessories and upholstery for the future. Privacy & Light Control Our new Quartette® 4” vane sizes on our Silhouette® window shadings spans windows up to 10’ wide by 10’ high. The larger vanes provide just what you’re looking for: 83% greater view-through than our 3” vane size and 120% greater view-through than our 2” vane size. The soft sheer in the front and back of the vanes provide filtered visibility and light, yet you can tilt the vanes for privacy when you want. Luminette® Privacy Sheers will allow you the same versatile functionality but in a vertical form. Go with the Quintette™ 4 ¾” vane and you will maximize view through. Our newest product, Pirouette® window shadings, can go from looking like a flat Roman shade, to a soft contoured Roman shade, to a soft blind revealing a layer of sheer fabric to give you what you are looking for with filtered visibility and light. You can also pull the cord and they roll up-and voilá! the Pirouette shading disappears like magic into the head rail. Operating Systems When deciding on motorized window fashions, the most important decision is whether or not you’re able to run individual wires to each window opening. If yes, you can choose a hard-wired switch system that operates from a wall panel or a hard-wired remote control that allows operation by wall switch or remote control. If not, your choice is battery operation with our PowerRise® with Platinum™ Technology, PowerGlide® with Platinum™ Technology or PowerTilt™ with Platinum™ Technology system. If you select a window fashion in the Our Products section, you’ll see information about what lifting systems are available for that product. Operating Systems We’re very concerned with child safety at Hunter Douglas. All Hunter Douglas products provide standard or optional safety features, and some offer more than others. For example, our LiteRise® cordless system has no operating cords. It just pushes up and pulls down from the bottom. The shade or blind raises or lowers evenly to the desired position, and then holds that position, locking in automatically. Some products offer the UltraGlide® retractable cord system, which is a single cord that is retractable. It hangs about 2/3 of the way down and to pull the shade upward, just pull the cord and it retracts back into the original length. It looks nice and best of all, it is very child and pet friendly. Operating Systems We’re very concerned with child safety at Hunter Douglas. All Hunter Douglas products provide standard or optional safety features, and some offer more than others. For example, our LiteRise® cordless system has no operating cords. It just pushes up and pulls down from the bottom. The shade or blind raises or lowers evenly to the desired position, and then holds that position, locking in automatically. Some products offer the UltraGlide® retractable cord system, which is a single cord that is retractable. It hangs about 2/3 of the way down and to pull the shade upward, just pull the cord and it retracts back into the original length. It looks nice and best of all, it is very child and pet friendly. Operating Systems Hunter Douglas has several shades with this special option — we call it our Top-Down/Bottom-Up option. You can see what products come with this feature if you visit the Our Products section and select Top-Down/Bottom-Up under Specialty Shapes & Design Options. Keep in mind that there is a slight variation in this option if you just want a Top-Down shade instead of the Top-Down/Bottom-Up. This is wonderful for when you want to let light in at the top of your windows and have the lower part of the shade covering the bottom portion for privacy. The Top-Down/Bottom-Up option is perfect for kitchens when you want to eat in private, and for bathrooms and bedrooms where you want to shower, take a bath and change clothes in private. For family rooms, this product is ideal for preventing glare on your TV while you enjoy the sunlight streaming in at the top of the window. It is a fun and versatile product that you are sure to love. Operating Systems I would recommend our patented PowerRise® with Platinum™ Technology battery-powered system. This system allows you to raise or lower window fashions individually or in groups from a sleek handheld remote control. This system is available on our Silhouette® window shadings, our Duette® and Applause® honeycomb shades, our Vignette® Modern Roman Shades, and our Brilliance® pleated shades. All of these products are lovely. You can’t go wrong with PowerRise! We also have hard-wired systems with Platinum™ Technology, offering simple wiring solutions for guaranteed operation and precise control via a contemporary-styled wall switch or remote control. This is a wonderful alternative. If you select a window fashion in the Our Products section, you’ll see information about what lifting systems are available for that product.
|
 |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
 |