Tip of the Month: Match Cellular Blind Opacity to Lighting Needs

Cellular blinds have become a very popular trend for modern window treatments. The honeycomb structure keeps your home energy efficient by reducing drafts and cold spots around windows. Cellular blinds also help to control light filtration to maintain a comfortable environment for you and your family. When considering cellular blinds, don’t simply think about the color as a decorative choice but keep in mind that different rooms in your home require varying degrees of opacity and light filtration.

Block the Light
How much would you pay for a restful night’s sleep? What if the cost was as little as a new set of cellular shades with blackout fabric? Studies have shown that completely blocking light can lead to a more restful sleep and more energy by day. They are a necessary choice for those who work at night and sleep by day. For bedrooms, especially with windows facing the street, cellular shades with blackout capacity block light as well as noise from the outside while providing extra privacy. Blackout shades are also an excellent choice for a media room or home theatre where minimal light is optimal.

Diffuse the Light
If you have south facing windows, you know that on a sunny day the light and heat that come through those windows can warm and light up the entire house and even make it too hot. In fact, new sustainable architectural designs use the south facing side of the house to collect solar energy. Installing semi-opaque cellular shades on your south facing windows or any window with high exposure will help insulate your home, diffuse harsh light, block UV rays and provide some privacy.

Let the Sunshine In
During the winter months with the heater turned up, it is more important than ever to keep the cold out and the heat in. You may also find yourself flocking to cozy spots near the windows in your home with the best light exposure. With sheer cellular shades, you can keep the cold at bay, the heating bills down and the perfect amount of light coming in to keep you cozy all winter. The sheer shades still block out the UV rays coming in. Sheer opacity is a perfect choice for windows in rooms where privacy is not a concern.

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Single or Double Cellular Shades?

If you decided to embrace the trend of cellular shades, you are making an excellent decision. The stylish design, color variety and gentle light filtration are sure to make any room in your home the envy of the neighborhood. However, the true value of cellular shades are the way to reduce energy costs by filtering light and drafts while keeping UV rays out. Cellular shades are named for the tubular honeycomb shaped cells which create a pocket of air for insulation.  Most cellular shades are made with a single layer of connected cells. With the growing demand for energy efficiency, a double layer of connected cells improve upon the already superior insulating and protective qualities of single cell shades.

Single Cell

Double Cell

Insulation
If you are especially concerned with the energy efficiency of your home, the double cell shades are the way to go. The double layer cells provide an extra air pocket of insulation to keep warm air in and cold air out in the winter, and cool air in and warm air out in the summer. The cells also keep air from circulating through drafty spots around windows.

Solar Heat Gain
If you haven’t yet made the switch to energy efficient window blinds or shades in your home, you may be creating a greenhouse effect inside your home. Also called solar heat gain, the sun streams through the windows unobstructed and raises the temperature inside your home. Double cell shades help to more effectively filter out this radiating heat and light and keep the inside temperature in check.

Ultraviolet Blockage
Single cell shades and double cell shades are equally effective at completely blocking out ultraviolet light. The specially designed non-woven polyester fabrics absorb ultraviolet frequencies, which can damage skin as well as degrade pigments in furniture, painting, textiles, walls and other objects in your home. While most window glass has some UV protection, cellular shades (both single cell and double cell shades) filter out 99% of ultraviolet light.

Pleat Size
Single cell pleats are available in a variety of sizes from 3/8″  to 3/4″ and larger.  The variety in pleat sizes allows you to select the best pleat for the scale of  your window and room.  Larger pleats scale better to large rooms and windows and add a more dramatic feel to your windows.  Smaller pleats don’t overwhelm small windows or spaces.  Double cellular shades are typically available only in smaller pleat sizes such as 3/8″ or 1/2″.

Cellular blinds are available in vertical varieties for patio doors or large windows and special blinds made for skylights and other hard to reach windows. Adding a remote control system to your shades also makes it easier than ever to control your indoor environment.

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3 Tips to Pick the Right Shade for a Nursery

Cordless roman shade

When equipping your baby’s nursery with window coverings, there are three factors to consider when choosing the right shade.

1) The first and most important factor is safety. If possible, install only cordless window coverings in the nursery. Most shades are available with a cordless option. The next best solution is a continuous cord loop which anchors permanently to the wall. You also want to place the crib on a wall with no windows. Cordless shades make nursery safety a breeze so that you have one less thing to worry about as a parent. The little one may not be able to reach the cord now, but they sure grow up fast, don’t they?

2) The second factor is light control. You should be able to darken the baby’s room so they can nap comfortably during the day. Room darkening shades will provide peace of mind and help your baby rest comfortably. If there is a light right outside the baby’s window at night, black out shades will block out the annoying light. Room darkening and black out shades will also provide needed privacy so no one can see into the baby’s room. A darker room provides a deeper sleep and more relaxing environment. You might even catch a nap in the nursery yourself. Who can pass up a nap when given the opportunity?

Cellular shades, available in black out fabrics, offer a second benefit as they are very insulating. The cell pockets in honeycomb shades trap cold, drafty air that comes in through the window to ensure a warm, cozy environment for your baby in the winter months. Similarly, honeycomb shades help keep a room cool in the summer by trapping unwanted warm or hot air that enters through the window. Temperature, light and privacy control in a baby’s nursery is critical.

3) The third factor is style. When determining the room’s style or theme, you will need to consider whether a gender neutral theme such as animals or a gender specific theme like fire trucks or fairies will work best for your baby’s room. If the walls are neutral, coordinate the color in the room with window coverings. Roller shades in black out or room darkening fabrics are available in bright colors and children’s prints. Room darkening roman shades offer a timeless and classic look. Cellular shades come in so many colors; it will be easy to find the right energy-efficient shade for your nursery.

Decorating your baby’s room is personal and fun. Adding the right window treatment completes the look.

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Top 3 Reasons to Choose Blackout Shades

You may have heard about blackout shades and the advantages they offer. If you are not familiar with blackout blinds and are still on the fence about whether they are worth investing in, read on to learn the top three reasons to choose blackout shades.

#1 Light
The #1 reason people choose blackout blinds is because they effectively block light from entering the room. If your bedroom is illuminated by any light source from outside your home at night, you can use blackout shades to keep the light out and the room dark. If you enjoy an occasional morning of sleeping in, blackout shades are the answer. If you work the night shift, room darkening shades can be essential in helping you sleep better during the daytime. An added bonus – blackout shades provide total privacy, which is important for both bedrooms and bathrooms.

#2 Noise
Blackout shades are known for their light-stopping ability, but you may not be aware of their noise reduction properties. Because of their insulating characteristics, blackout shades can greatly cut down on noise coming from outside of your home. This combination of noise cancellation and light blocking makes room darkening shades the perfect solution for people who live in cities, near busy roads or next to a loud neighbor.

#3 Insulation
The honeycomb design of cellular blackout shades helps to keep out the cold better than nearly any other window covering. The blackout component keeps your home cool in the summer by reducing heat gain. The shades are also backed in white fabric so they reflect the sun and heat. Energy efficient blackout cellular shades translate into year-round savings on both heating and cooling costs.

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What Window Treatments Would Santa and Mrs. Clause Choose?

Ho, ho, ho, if you traveled up to Santa’s North Pole workshop and home, what window blinds do you think you would see? Every room at the Claus homestead has a need for light control, privacy and a splash of color or warm wood tones to keep that good cheer going year round.

Mrs. C knows beauty and function and keeps Santa happy with blinds that can take the heat and cold like the faux wood blinds she had installed in Santa’s Workshop. Plus, the faux wood blinds keep the Top Secret work that goes on there safe from prying eyes. To solve the problem of 20 hours of sunlight a day during the summer, the clever Mrs. Claus has decorated their bedroom windows with pleated blackout shades. Santa needs his sleep all year long to keep the toy factory going. Adding blackout shades in the elves’ rooms helped keep them focused on their work too.

In Santa’s Study, you will find his trophy sailfish (from his beach house in Acapulco of course), a mini fridge, and his favorite recliner with ottoman. For this manly retreat, Mrs. Claus selected wood blinds to bring a warm, natural look to the room. Wood blinds also provide excellent cold weather energy efficiency and remind him of Christmas trees all year long.

And what could be sweeter for The Doll Room than cellular blinds? With their unique structure, Mrs. Claus knows the pleats in these delicate-looking but sturdy cellular shades provide year-around energy efficiency, and come in a rainbow of decorator colors. For safety’s sake and ease of operation, she upgraded to the free cordless lift for windows near the baby doll cribs.

She selected roman blinds, of course, for the toy soldiers at The Guardhouse. The reindeer almost opted for roman blinds, too, but Mrs. Claus talked them into roller shades because they are easier to use for those without opposable thumbs and easy enough, well, for even Donner and Blitzen to use (there’s a reason they are last in the sleigh lineup).

However, the Most Famous Reindeer of All wanted something a bit different. So Rudolph chose sheer honeycomb blinds– to let his famous glow shine through, why else? And, being Numero Uno, he pulled rank to get a skylight installed for viewing the Northern Lights. So for his stall, Mrs. Claus ordered specially designed honeycomb blinds, which operate on sloped or totally horizontal windows like skylights.

It is not always all business at the Pole. The Clauses do manage to leave the ice and snow behind after the busy season, sneaking away on vacation to some place warm, usually their condo in Acapulco. It is rumored that Santa likes to catch a few rays without his suit, so privacy is a must. This is why Mrs. Claus thoughtfully chose top/bottom roman blinds for seclusion, while letting the sun shine in through the tops of the windows. For their large picture windows, the Claus’s chose solar shades to keep the sun glare out and their ocean view in.

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