Anybody looking for top notch wood blinds should consider the Hunter Douglas Country Wood Blinds collections. This product clearly stands out in regards to detail and performance. Country Woods are made of premium hardwoods and crafted to the highest industry standards. With more options in colors, decorative tapes and hardware, the offering is the most extensive available.  

So, what does this really mean the product is made of higher quality and enduring performance? Here you go… this is why Country Woods are not ordinary wood blinds: 

The product is manufactured using a unique multi-step process to achieve unmatched results:  

• Sort – Under strict criteria only the finest woods are selected and sorted to achieve a color-consistent wood blind
• Preparation – Wood is prepared and sanded to perfection for an enhanced, finished appearance
• Color – Woods are painted and stained using a proprietary coating process, featuring multiple finished coats for a premium look. Color will not fade or change over time
• Sealant – Wood is sealed to increase the durability of the wood finish
• Protective coat – wood is encased in a clear top coat, which provides a protective shield against environmental factors and every wear.

Every blind is made with a Topshield Finish, the ultimate protection for each wood blind: 

• Fade resistant – resists Ultraviolet sun rays
• Moisture resistant – the interiors wood is protected, the finish will not chip or crack
• Scratch resistant – wood finish is hard and durable
• Chemical resistant – resist common household cleaning solvents

And what about the price? Yes, you get what you pay for, Hunter Douglas Woods are priced higher, but will outlast other products. And let’s not forget – they are greatly discounted here on the net J

Hard to reach windows? Windows 10’ high? Avoiding dangling cords to ensure child and pet safety? All the big window blind manufactures are now making them… shades with a motorized lifting system. Our bestseller is the Hunter Douglas Duette line. The Duette PowerRise with Platinum Technology is offering the latest technology on the market. Now you can enjoy dual methods of controlling motorized operation:

· Infrared (IR) line-of-sight remote control for operating individual shades

· Radio frequency (RF) out-of-site control for operating groups of shades (up to 100 feet away from shade(s)

On products powered by Hunter Douglas’ Platinum Technology you can use either control method with the same remote control.

Some technical bits of information on this new piece of technology:

The shade has a battery wand that uses 8 AAA batteries which is hidden inside the headrail. Battery life is approximately 1 year depending on usage and should be replaced when the shade begins to operate slowly. With the RF technology, the traditional pointing of the remote control is not necessary any longer. Shades can even be operated from another room. By clicking a simple UP or DOWN button shades can be lowered or raised. A group of shades can be programmed for individual operation or in a group setting, depending on preference.

Its popularity has been on the rise and is now also available with Hunter Douglas’ Applause shades, the honeycomb shade that won’t break your budget. Please browse all Duette or Applause shades on our Hunter Douglas page for more information.

As all window blind manufactures revamp their fabric lines from time to time, one new fabric that is worth mentioning has emerged in every major window covering brand. It is the new Micro suede look. In all actuality the material is made of 100% Polyester, but looks like warm, soft suede. This new material can be found in the Roman Shades line by Bali, Graber and Comfortex, as well as every Roller Shades line, including Hunter Douglas’.

The material is plush and thick, only transmitting limited light and is therefore a great choice for rooms where light control and privacy is an issue. The material itself creates warmth and depth and will complementing any decor, working especially well with rustic or modern interior styles.  The color choices are neutrals, tan and brown.

Below to the left is a room scene of a Graber Roman Shade and to the right a Bali Roller Shade with the micro suede look: 

As a refresher, Roman Shades are offered as flat panel shades or can be ordered with the popular ‘tear-drop’ feature, also called looped panel shade. Roman shades are available as regular bottom up shades, but have the optional top down feature as well, well suited for a darkening material like the suede.

Roller Shades, everybody knows them, are the regular roll up shades. They are available with the beaded chain for precise operation or the cordless lift for added child and pet safety.

Remember to call us for samples, if you are considering the new suede look for your home!

Our Holiday Special for the Comfortex Shangri-La Sheer Shades is ending at the end of the year. We have had a tremendous response to this sale. I know we still have a number of “open” quotes and color samples out there. Whoever is looking to get this great deal – please make your purchase before 12/31/2008!! We can unfortunately not honor pricing of these quotes in 2009.

Until then the SALE will include all products:

• Eternity light-filtering collection (2” & 3”)
• Paradise light-filtering collection (2” & 3”)
• Linen light-filtering collection (2”)
• Moonlight room-darkening collection (2” & 3”)

Please follow the link above to find product and order information for all Shangri-La’s

Happy Holidays J

First about Bali: This brand has always been known for their mini blinds; today Bali holds a leadership position among all product offerings within the window fashions industry, capturing the essence of today’s decor trends and providing style, and functional attributes at an affordable price.

Wood blinds are a favorite choice for their natural beauty and energy efficiency. Warm wood tones or clean painted whites and off whites complement any decor or style, traditional, rustic, contemporary, just to name a few. The composite and faux wood blinds are today as close to a wood blind look, that it can be hard to tell them apart. They are popular in demand for their moisture resistance and economical price point, while providing a wood blind look.

Bali revamped their wood and faux wood line in 2008 and is offering a great range in the horizontal blinds product line:

• Northern Height’s Wood Blinds – image below left
• Design Basics Wood Blinds (economy line)
• Wood Images Composite Blinds – image below right
• WoodPlus Faux Wood Blinds (economy line)

The Northern Heights wood blinds include the top of the line real Ash wooden blind, 2” and 2 3/8” wood blind with a wide array of painted and warm wood tones. The Wood Images composites are now available in the 2” as well as 2 1/2” shutter-like slat size. The WoodPlus faux woods are also now offered in the wider 2 1/2” size with a broader offering of colors. Most of these horizontal blinds are available with a NoHoles feature, eliminating traditional route holes for a clean and finished look.

Just follow the links above and check out our competitive pricing.

We have recently received many great compliments from our customers on our competitive pricing in general and on our roman shades in particular. A lot of people really like the roman shades but may not have the budget to buy them in the stores at list price without any discounts.  They then look online for competitive alternatives and find us. As an online dealer we operate with a lower overhead and can hence pass on super cheap prices to you. The roman shades still cost a little more than cellular shades or wood blinds but within reach for most budgets.

Ace of Shades Window Coverings is currently carrying the Bali Blinds roman shades but will soon also add the Comfortex Window Fashion line of roman shades to provide you with more options and choices. This will again be launched with very competitive prices to ensure you have this great product option available at a reasonable cost even from the best known name brands.

Above is a beautiful picture of the Bali Blinds roman shade with the top-down / bottom up feature.

Check out our roman shades online or give us a call at toll free 866 553 6088 to talk to a window coverings specialist or to receive a quote.

Let us tell you a little about the newly updated Hunter Douglas Cellular Honeycomb Applause shades they have just come out with. This is really great news because you can now have the best known cellular shades window coverings brand name Hunter Douglas with amazingly rich, new colors at prices that will not sink your budget.  In addition to this, the value is further enhanced by the fact that cellular honeycomb shades help reduce your summer and winter energy cost. Cellular shades do trap air inside their honeycomb pocket, acting as a great insulator year around. Now, who wouldn’t like that?  J

A second point to consider is the appearance of the shade. The Sunterra collection features a 3/4” cell,
light-filtering material, allowing light in while giving complete privacy. Also exciting are the new rich colors which are all inspired by nature. Color saturation is amazingly rich, translating into warm and intense tones. You can see all the available colors on our web site under Hunter Douglas Applause Sunterra.

The Hunter Douglas Applause cellular shade is available with cordless lift, continuous cord or PowerRise
with Platinum Technology for motorized management.

No sooner than we announced 2009 price increases for Hunter Douglas products, here on our blog, did we receive a wonderful message from them. Hunter Douglas has rescinded their scheduled price increase due to the market conditions. It’s a world were just about everything else is getting more expensive it is really nice to be able to hold our prices firm on Hunter Douglas window blinds. Ace of Shades Window Coverings will not raise our prices either so we can continue with the very competitive 2008 pricing in 2009 for Hunter Douglas favorites such as Country Woods and Chalet Woods wood blinds as well as their EverWood and WoodMates faux wood blinds. You can read more about these products on our Hunter Douglas product page.

We certainly hope this great news will allow you a little break in your home upgrade project. Ace of Shades Window Coverings will continue to work hard to provide our customers with the best deal on the best window coverings name brands in the industry. Let us see if we can get others to follow the hunter Douglas example and cancel their announced price increases.

We receive a fair number of telephone calls and e-mails requesting information on how best to clean your Hunter Douglas Shades. This makes perfect sense, you have purchased a fantastic product that adds emotional and dollar value to your home so, of course, it is important to take extra good care of these window coverings.

We have created a page on our web site designed to address just this issue of how to clean blinds and shades. Here is a link to the page: Product Maintenance.

You will find detailed instructions on recommended cleaning methods. Please remember if you have different types of blinds and shades in your home i.e., Hunter Douglas wood blinds and Hunter Douglas cellular honeycomb shades then the cleaning procedure may differ.

Take a look at it, this will answer most questions. If not then please remember you are always most welcome to call us toll free at 866 553 6088 to ask questions. We are happy to help any way possible.

There is always something new and exciting going on here at Ace of Shades Window Coverings. We certainly do not let the economy or the Christmas season slow us down, well maybe the Christmas spirit is slowing us down a little

This month we have launched a wonderful new product line on our website and that is the Bali Blinds Roller Shades. This is a great addition to our wide range of products and provides you with a really cool modern alternative for your decorating needs. We have seen a solid increase in the interest in these roller shades and they deliver a clean and decorative appearance to any room in your home or office.

The Bali Blinds Roller Shades are extremely versatile in the sense that you have a wide range of fabrics to choose from. The fabrics range from sheer to room-darkening and are available in many different styles including smooth or textured looks to prints, woven or solid materials.

There are also numerous colors, hems and trims, cassette options and other fancy bells and whistles. Please read much more about it here on our Roller Shade page.

What would a new product launch be without an introductory sales offer? Right, that is what we thought too so we are starting out with a 10% off for the rest of December 2008 to make this an unbeatable deal.