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How To Choose The Right Window Fashion

How To Choose The Right Window Fashion

Expert Author Brandon Freyre

Choosing the right window treatment for your window can seem daunting and understandably confusing. You have a lot of choices to make for your window treatment including color, types and textures. The variety of choices makes this a difficult choice. Color and textures, however, are dictated by the decor of the room and your taste. The right window treatment for you goes beyond color. It has to meet the needs of the room's occupants. Figuring out what type of window treatment you need for your room is a logical two-step process.



Step 1: Analyzing Window Function
Determining window function prior to deciding on the type of treatment will help you figure out what your treatment must achieve in function before considering the type of treatment and style.
Light
The amount of light you need should be considered as you choose your window treatment. Windows let the light in from the outside and most importantly the light comes in from the top of the windows.
Privacy
If your window opens to a high traffic area then blinds or interior shutters are a great choice since they both have louvers. They are the most functional window treatments for light and privacy. If privacy isn't an issue, then you have more options.
Style
This is the personal part of your window treatment. Do you like your windows dressed to the nines or just a subtle window fashion makeover. The style of your window also has to reflect the room's decor in addition to your personal tastes. There are many styles of shades to consider to add style and fashion to any room.

Step Two: Selecting the Treatment Type
You've got plenty of options for your window, which is one reason it's so hard to choose. After determining whether you need the window for light, deciding the level of privacy and figuring out what kind of style suits your tastes, it's time to select from the array of option for your window.

Curtains
The most acknowledged window treatment in existence, curtains allow for all three functions of a window treatment. It opens for light, closes for privacy and offers unsurpassed style. You can find a curtain made of heavy velvet, cotton or silk. You can find or easily make any color, size or texture curtain. Curtains are often employed with shades, valances, and blinds to enhance function and window fashion.

Valances
Valances add style, color and texture to a window treatment. It's rarely used on its own. You can add this strip of fabric at the top of the window in conjunction with shades, curtains, blinds, shutters or a combination of these treatments.

Blinds
Blinds let you easily control the amount of privacy and light in a room. Settling on blinds doesn't mean your window treatment is complete. Choose from vertical, mini or 2-inch blinds. Vertical blinds are usually used in doorways. Mini-blinds are the traditionally thought of as blinds. Typically, blinds are neutral in color and created out of vinyl, composite, wood or bamboo. Vertical blinds consist of faux woods or heavy fabric.

Shades
Shades are similar to blinds in the sense that it easily allows for privacy and light without much effort from the shade operator. They typically are created out of fabric other material, hung from the top of the window, pull down to allow for privacy and retract for increased lightened maximum view. There are many types of shades, including roller shades, cellular shades, pleated shades, and roman shades. The different styles add a decorative element and come in a larger variety of colors than their close cousin, blinds.

Shutters
Shutters provided a unique curb appeal. They have a larger louver than most blinds and provide more light, privacy and a simpler more elegant style to any room.

Combination
You can select a combination of the above window treatments to enhance the function--style, privacy and light--from your window. Typically, you will choose either shutters, shades or blinds in a combination as they tend to hang through the same space and perform the same function.

Once you've chosen your window treatment, hang them up and admire your choices. If you are still wrestling with your decision, the window treatment experts at Maggie's Shutters and Blinds are ready and able to guide you in making your choices. Additionally, Maggie's Shutters and Blinds offer a free consultation to help you make this difficult decision.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Freyre

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Understanding The Various Vertical Blind Components

Expert Author Janifer W Thompson

Most homeowners know that vertical blinds can be a fantastic addition to any room; they can keep the sun out, help you to conserve energy and enhance the decor of your home without even trying. They are also available in a range of color and style options, ensuring that everyone is able to find one that suits their tastes perfectly. When it comes to choosing blinds for your home, however, it is important that you are aware of the individual components that they are comprised of to ensure that you know what you are dealing with.

  • Headrail - This is the name given to a component that is located at the top of the vertical blind, where the movement tracks are located. The head rail controls the movement of each of the panels and the way that they open and close.

  • Valance - This is the name given to a component that acts as a covering for the track. It can be manufactured using a variety of materials, such as fabric and timber; the material, however, will ultimately determine its durability and strength.

  • Tilt Controls and Lift Slide - This is the name given to a component that allows you to open, close, let down and raise up the blinds. These devices are relatively hidden. The lift slide allows you to control the amount of sunlight let into the room.

  • Slats - This is the name given to a component that runs either vertically or horizontally across the window, depending on the style of blind that you have. The slats can be manufactured using a variety of materials, such as timber and fabric.

  • Groovers - This is the name given to a component that is only used on fabric blinds; it serves as a protective covering for the slats. When groovers aren't used, weights are often placed at the bottom of the slat to prevent them from moving.

  • Ladders - This is the name given to a component that holds the slats in place. They are inserted through each of the slats to create a ladder effect, hence the name. These ladders are often comprised of string that is very strong and durable.

  • Tapes -This is the name given to a component that is normally found in aluminium blinds. They perform a similar function to ladders - keeping the slats together - but they run down the front part of the slat instead of being threaded through.

  • Bottom Rail - This is the name given to a component that is used as an anchor to hold the vertical blinds together. It is located at the bottom of the slats and will normally match them, as it helps the component to go by relatively unnoticed.

Even though vertical blinds don't seem all that complicated, once you begin to look at all of the components that they are comprised of you will quickly begin to realize that there is much more to them than meets the eye. Once you have chosen your blinds and installed them in your home, at least you will know about all of the components that they require to work and you will be able to perform repairs and maintenance accordingly. Just make sure that you don't mistreat your coverings and they should be fine.

For More information about verticle blinds Melbourne and new curtains Melbourne Visit our website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janifer_W_Thompson

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Ask Your Decorator About Plantation Shutters When Choosing Window Coverings

Hunter Douglas
When you are decorating your home, you want the very best that you can afford in all things, but you should pay special attention to your choice of window coverings. Although there are countless options when you are looking to cover your windows, from cheap vertical blinds to plush and expensive curtains, only one option gives you class, elegance, durability, and utility in one package: plantation shutters. Your decorator already knows that plantation shutters are fantastic for more than just the commission, and you should too.

The Sensible Option
Plantation shutters are a sensible option for ensuring that your windows are covered because they offer the most utility available. You can easily control available light and ventilation with your shutters, and they cannot be beaten for the extra protection they offer. Moveable louvers make it easy to adjust the light and air flow your windows provide. The solid wood construction of these shutters provides an extra barrier between you and the world should you ever need the protection, explaining their enduring popularity in hurricane zones.

The Aesthetic Difference
No matter the size of your home, plantation shutters offer a feeling of lush glamour that no other window covering can. They simultaneously offer old world charm and a clean, modern look, a feeling that curtains and blinds simply cannot hope to duplicate. Your decorating options are endless when you choose to install plantation shutters. Tropical hideaways, cozy country homes, and staid statehouses all appear more complete with the classic elegance of plantation shutters covering the windows. Modern homes also have a wide variety of options when it comes to colors, so your decorator will not feel caged in by the traditional white.

Worth Every Penny
Plantation shutters are a wonderful investment that will last throughout your home's lifetime. They will also add enormous value to your property should you ever choose to sell. Because quality plantation shutters are custom built to your home's exact specifications, they will be a perfect match whether you live in your home for three years or if you pass it down through the generations for a few hundred years. They are timeless and will work with almost any décor you could desire, making their endurance even more of a boon.

Talk to Your Decorator
Your decorator will be thrilled to learn that you want the very best for your windows. They are certain to have a vendor they know and trust who can create and install plantation shutters on any or all of your windows, and they will easily be able to fit your style right alongside your new window trimmings.

Shannon Hodges is Director of Marketing at Eclipse Shutters. Eclipse Shutters is an Atlanta-based custom shutter provider with a network of licensed fabricators around the country. Their company has grown to become the number one shutter selling company in North America and largest manufacturer of tailor-made plantation shutters. Eclipse Shutters was established in 1992 and offers customers fast delivery and a 25-year warranty. Learn more about plantation window shutters at http://www.eclipseshutters.com/about-eclipse-shutters.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Hodges

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The History of Plantation Shutters




The history of plantation shutters is a fascinating tale of how people have adapted to their surroundings while simultaneously bringing beauty and style into their lives. From ancient Greece to the height of the southern plantation all the way to modern day, plantation shutters have offered humankind an elegant solution for how to control light and ventilation in their homes while also protecting them.

The Greeks
Early buildings were not pleasant places, especially if you lived in a climate that offered any sort of extreme weather. You either had to live in a home with few to no openings, or you had to brave the elements. Glass was not commonly available, so windows were left open with little more than cloth to cover them. That's where the genius of the ancient Greeks came in. The Greeks figured out that you could install shutters on the inside of your home to control available light and the climate inside.
These proto-plantation shutters were originally made out of marble to ensure durability, but the clever Greeks quickly discovered that it was possible to make them out of wood for a cheaper, easier to move version that became popular in many ancient homes.

The French
Over time, shutters continued to improve thanks to the ingenuity of talented wood workers. They added moveable louvers to improve light and ventilation control, creating the prototypes for the modern shutters we all know and love. The French were particularly wild for these new, moveable louver shutters. Their desire was further incited when King Louis XIV had them added to his residences. These new interior shutters provided a convenience never before seen, and the French simply could not get enough of this innovation.
Because of their popularity in France, interior shutters gained further admiration throughout Europe and the world.

The South
Stylish shutters naturally made their way into the New World and found a strong foothold in the sweltering summer heat of the South. Even though glass was widely available by the 18th and 19th centuries, southern homes found that the ventilation and shade provided by interior shutters offered them a far more comfortable climate. Interior shutters were used so frequently in the South that they became known as plantation shutters, the name by which they are still known to this day.

It is only appropriate that the name has stuck. Well-crafted plantation shutters visually evoke the same sensation that their name does: a sense of elegance and sophistication for your home. Whether your home is a plantation or not, these shutters add both utility and class.



Shannon Hodges is Director of Marketing at Eclipse Shutters. Eclipse Shutters is an Atlanta-based custom shutter provider with a network of licensed fabricators around the country. Their company has grown to become the number one shutter selling company in North America and largest manufacturer of tailor-made plantation shutters. Eclipse Shutters was established in 1992 and offers customers fast delivery and a 25-year warranty. Learn more about plantation window shutters at http://www.eclipseshutters.com/about-eclipse-shutters.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Hodges

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Vertical Blinds Are a Great Option for Many Homes


Window treatments are one of the most costly decorating considerations. You can spend hundreds of dollars per window on window coverings that are really quite simple, and even more if you want a really complicated or rich look. If you are simply looking for a window covering that will allow you to control the amount of light that streams into your home, you may not need to look at costly drapes and the like, instead you may be able to look into vertical blinds.

Vertical blinds are a great option for those who want to be able to control the amount of light that is allowed into any one space. The great thing about these blinds is that they can be opened just a small fraction of an inch at a time, so you can easily allow as little or as much light as you want into the space.
Another great thing about vertical blinds is that they come in a variety of colors and materials so that you can determine the look that you want for your home. This allows for you to choose vertical blinds that match your décor or beautifully offset it so that you get the best of both worlds in terms of being able to control the amount of light let into the space and also have it look good.

Many people choose vertical blinds because they are a more affordable option than curtains. Curtains can be a very beautiful addition to any home and an eye catching and dramatic addition to your home, but they can also be very expensive. If you don't have a huge budget for window coverings but you want something that looks great and will allow you to keep light out and preserve your privacy at the same time.

Vertical blinds have an added benefit in that they are very simple to clean. Unlike mini blinds or curtains, all you have to do is run a dust rag over the blinds from time to time and they will be clean. You don't have to worry about having them dry cleaned or working hard to dust off every little bit of dust, because they are easily cleaned so that they can look new as long as you would like to keep them hanging in your home.

Vertical blinds can be purchased off the shelf and hung in a home, or they can be special ordered if you have oddly shaped or sized windows. Hanging the blinds is a process, but it is one that can be done by a homeowner with time and patience, or they can be installed for a relatively affordable fee so that you get the quality blinds that you want, hung in a manner that will allow you to enjoy the blinds for years to come. When properly hung and taken care of, your investment in vertical blinds can last for many, many years to come.


Such features and benefits make these blinds the best option for houses and even workplaces. If you are looking out for verticle blinds in Melbourne or nearby areas, do visit this website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mack_Pablo


Blinds 4 Less
Quality Blinds, Shutters, & Shades
Proudly Serving Southern California since 1994
Free In-Home Shopping
(951) 924-9435