Sheer shades have become more popular and affordable in the last few years, but are still not as well known as the wood blinds or cellular honeycomb shades category. Mini blinds are recognized by anybody, even though not as high in demand anymore when looking for custom made products.

Sheer shades are very versatile products. They are a mix of a shade and a blind, while draped in a sheer. Sounds intriguing… and it is. The sheer shade, also known as sheer blinds, have 2”, 3” or 4” fabric vanes suspended between 2 layers of sheers. They almost look like a wood blind with a sheer in the front and back, but are much softer than in their appearance. We sometimes say that the wood blinds have a more masculine look, whereas the sheer horizontal shades have a more feminine appearance. The sheer horizontals have the advantage, that when fully raised, the shade completely tucks away inside the headrail, a wood blind on the other hand will have a rather large stack. It is usually operated by a single continuous cord which will lower and raise the shade as well as open and close the vanes once fully lowered.

The overall appearance is soft and dreamy and the clean lines work well with most decorating styles, ranging from traditional to contemporary. The vane material comes in light-filtering or room darkening materials, giving privacy in any setting and additional light control for bedrooms or media rooms. For added convenience the sheer shades can be ordered with a motorized lifting system, eliminating all cords for additional child and pet safety or any hard to reach window. Furthermore, sheer horizontal shades can be paired with sheer verticals, coordinating in fabric and appearance for the hard to cover patio door.

The best known sheer shade is the Silhouette by Hunter Douglas; however, restrictions apply for selling them online. Online we offer the Shangri-La made by Comfortex, offering most of the same features and decorating benefits paired with a Limited Lifetime warranty.  

We have just added the new cellular Applause fabric line “Sunterra blackout” to our website. Hunter Douglas added last year the new Sunterra light filtering collection to the Applause cellular shades offering which has now become its best selling product in this category. The Sunterra collection comes in the ¾” pleat size and sets itself apart through richer color tones. All 12 colors are earth or nature inspired. Prior to May 2009 the light filtering Sunterra fabric was priced the same as the Legends and Casuelle light filtering fabric line. Since then, Hunter Douglas has given even higher incentives to buy this product by pricing it 15% lower than the Legends and Casuelle fabrics J

Every year around May Hunter Douglas has their yearly pricing increase. But this year, due to the economy and the difficulties in the housing market, pricing has remained the same and some products have even enjoyed a pricing decrease. Sunterra was part of this pricing decrease.

Now, this popular product has been made available in blackout. The exact same beautiful, nature inspired colors have been created with foil technology as a lining on the inside of every cell, providing a blackout product that can be used in every bedroom or any room where complete light control is desired. Also the blackout Sunterra material is priced 15% lower than the Legends and Casuelle blackout material. It is available with all popular features like the top down / bottom up or cordless lifting system as well as motorized. Since the Hunter Douglas launch we have already had numerous sales before even having the product up online. Now, that we have received all necessary product supplies, we have added it and will start putting it on a 5% off sale starting Monday, June 22^nd.

As always, for anybody wanting to see a sample of the new material or any color therein, please contact us, we are more than happy to arrange to have some mailed to you. Enjoy learning more about the new product, its colors and specifications here: Hunter Douglas Applause Sunterra Blackout Collection.

An informal dining room area… no need for privacy… lot’s of oak trees outside the 7 foot windows and an openness that simply wants to be preserved. The area I am describing is actually in my own house. We are lucky, no neighbors close by to peak in

But last year, we cleaned up some of our oaks. Ever since some of these branches came down, in the summer months during dinner time, the person sitting at the end of the dining table and on the right side of the table gets punished with this terrible glare, that makes it quite uncomfortable in these spots. The sun in my eye, means tilting sideways, not looking at somebody I am talking to and it has simply become an issue. Those few missing branches are also responsible for an added few degrees of heat, that really make a difference in that near 100 degree weather which is quite typical for our southern TX area.

Yet we didn’t want to lose the openness and were looking for a simple solution where out outside view is preserved. We wanted to get something in the window that takes the edge off the heat and takes the glare during dinner time. In addition… a product with little stack, that can almost hide away behind our top treatments.

Our solution: Solar Shades; Hunter Douglas Designer Roller Screens. My husband and I opted for a dark chocolaty screen shade with a 5% openness factor; the material is called Umbria – color Chocolate – 423.

We are very happy with our choice. We accomplished exactly what we were looking for. During the day, we have the shades up – no stack, the windows wide open. In the afternoon hours we lower it for a bit of insulation, while still having a screened view out. And at the dinner table, nobody has to squint any longer. That splash of color when lowered, is an additional decorative touch we love to play with.  

Roller Shades are back!

An old favorite has been revamped, and is now offered with options like never before. The fabric choices available today are plentiful, ranging from simple to classy, meeting the most exquisite taste.

Important to point out is the fit of a Roller Shade. Roller Shades are different than any other blind or shade. The deductions taken off the fabric and tube on inside or outside mounts are much bigger than on any other window covering. A Roller Shade mounted on the inside of a window casing, has two little brackets that “grip” around the sides of the shade. The tube has a pin on each side, which rest inside these brackets. The construction of the shades therefore has a tube that has to be quite a bit narrower than the opening of the casing. Same thing with the fabric, it has a deduction taken off the ordered width that is bigger than any other product, in order to properly spool on the tube.

The deduction taken off the fabric ranges from a little over 1” (providing a clearance of +1/2” on each side of your shade) to almost 1 ¾” (clearance is 7/8” on each side). It is not possible to simply order the shade wider than the opening of your window fram, since a fit is not possible, once the pins and brackets are installed. Therefore, for everyone who is looking for a room-darkening product, working with an inside mount application, be aware of the light gap!! The product might not be the right choice, if this gap will bother you. Also, having a gap on very small window applications might not be what your personal preference is. In such a case, please look into other products where small deductions are taken. Cellular shades have minimal deductions taken, Comfortex even makes a system which eliminates this light gap altogether by using a track that is mounted on each side. Another solution is to simply switch to an outside mount application, where the shade can overlap each side by the desired amount.

For anybody interested in the beautiful Roller Shades, we have provided on each product page a “mounting requirements” section, which does display the finished dimensions of every product avoiding any surprises. And as always… give us a ring when uncertain about any technicalities or any issues for that matter. We love to help!