Now that we’re in the summer months, movie studios are bombarding us with a new blockbuster each weekend. The temptation is great too as the 2013 summer movie season includes Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek into Darkness, The Hangover 3, Fast and Furious 6, Man of Steel as well as indies like Before Midnight and Frances Ha.  However, with these movies do come some expenses – well, a lot of expenses actually. Between the cost of the movie tickets for you and your family and the exorbitant prices for the Mike and Ikes and popcorn that your children will demand they have to complete their viewing experience, your summer movie season may be a costly one.

And that’s not all. The prices of the movie and snacks are one thing, but add to that the annoyances that come with finding parking and dealing with people who decide that the movie theater is the perfect place to start a long conversation about how well the school’s bake sale went, and you’ll want to go home after the opening credits. Because of these factors, more and more people are choosing their home base as the place to watch movies. With the advent of Netflix, Redbox, and On-Demand, new movies have never been more accessible, and you can have the movie theater experience at home. But there are some things to know as you create your own home viewing room to make the most of your viewing experience:

• Use shades to control light: Outfitting your windows with sheer shades help to darken the room, so you can replicate a movie theater. There’s nothing worse than trying to watch a key point in the movie and adjusting your shade’s position to try and find that perfect spot where there is no glare on your screen. Sheer shades can darken the room, so your beautiful screen isn’t hindered by escaping light.
• Set up furniture in the best viewing position: Do you remember the old wives’ tale about sitting close to the television and damaging your eyes? While there is no evidence that this is actually the case, sitting too close to the television limits your viewing experience because the picture will look grainy. At the same time, if you sit too far from the television, you’ll need to squint to catch what’s going on. Play around with your furniture and chairs to ensure you, your family and your guests get the best possible view.
• Buy the best equipment possible: While that great deal on the television might seem too good to be true, it might cost you more in the end. A good television and sound system is an investment in years of entertainment. Estimate what you can afford and purchase quality equipment that is close to the number you estimate. Consumer Reports and CNET and other review publications are great resources to help you find the best equipment in your price range.

Blinds are one of the most popular window treatments available today, and they are constantly evolving. Our sheer blinds offer the convenience of a blind overlaid with translucent curtains. This allows you to open your blinds to the sun, while still providing a degree of shade using the curtain to screen the interior; if you desire additional darkness, just close the vanes and try our room darkening blinds, which also protect your belongings from sun fade.

Some people replace their blinds in the winter, believing they need to remove them in order to hang thicker curtains to better insulate their windows, but this is not always the case. Blinds, our sheer blinds in particular, can be left in place within the frame of the window while heavier curtains can be hung across the outside of the frame. Not only will this provide an extra layer of protection from the cold air, but when the weather permits, the heavier curtains can be drawn back so that the blinds can let the sunlight inside the house. Both can be used together on standard and picture windows alike.

In a sunroom where the windows are divided into sections in each wall, our sheer blinds can be alternated with one of our other window treatments during the winter so that there is always light coming in from one direction, while the other windows are shut tight to block cold air. Curtains can be hung over the top of the blinds here, as in other areas of the house, for maximum and cold protection and optimal light filtration.

With our silhouette-styled thin blinds at Ace of Shades, any home can look good and remain comfortable and efficient throughout the year. Check out our selection of different styles, sizes, and colors today!

The holidays are right around the corner. More than likely you will have family and friends gathering at your house and come together. So if you are in business for new blinds and shades, why not take advantage of the holiday sales as well as rebates right now?

To celebrate the holidays in style with the right window covering we always come back to our sheer window shadings. These shades are the embodiment of class and style. Comfortex Shangri-La Sheer Shades combine functionality and beauty. This sophisticated product mostly known under the term Silhouette Shades, a sheer shade combining the function of a blind and the beauty of a shade. Our sheers offer vane rotation, they can be opened or closed for varying degrees of privacy or your shade can be raised and completely be tucked away into the headrail / cassette system. We offer the two inch and three inch vane size depending on preference and size of your windows. Our holiday savings event for sheer shades will last through December and does include Vertical Sheers. At this special time of your you can enjoy 15% off discount as well as a 25 dollar mail in rebate per shade ordered.

So be sure to take advantage now and make your home warm and welcoming for your friends and family and of course yourself to enjoy. Happy holidays!

It’s about time By popular demand, we sell a lot of sheer horizontal shades. Comfortex’ Shangri-La Sheers, our private label Naturelle Sheers as well as the Good Housekeeping Sheers. When furnishing with sheers we often get asked for a coordinating vertical treatments.  So now we finally added it to our online product offering.

Comfortex Ballet Vertical sheers can now be ordered online.  Billowing soft sheers are designed to add beauty and functionality at the same time.  The billows could be mistaken for an ordinary drape, when in fact functionality is the one of a blind. The shade cane be drawn like a vertical to the side or split in the middle to stack evenly on both sides.  When in the closed position, overlapping folds create vanes that can be rotated for privacy.  The sheer material however provides only moderate privacy unless ordered with a light filtering insert or a room darkening PVC vane. When paired with inserts the shades provides excellent privacy and light control which is well suited for bedrooms or areas where complete privacy is an issue.

The sheer materials come in a range of styles. From a classic woven sheer, to striped or floral sheer or patterned with swirls. The classic sheer works with any interior decor, where the floral look and swirls are beautiful in traditional or antique surroundings, the striped fabrics add texture and clean lines in contemporary environments. Most sheers come in neutral whites and of whites, but some materials are available in an array of colors.

Ballet sheer shades offer a durable track that can hold shades up to 192“ wide and 120″ long, the headrail offers smooth traversing and vane rotation. The color is aluminum, but the shade can be ordered with an aluminum valance that has a matching fabric insert.

Ballet Verticals by Comfortex are not only an ideal treatments for patio doors, but also well suited for large windows and glass areas that need covering.  To kick off the new availability of Ballet sheers online we are offering a $25 rebate per sheer.

What are the design trends we are seeing and hearing about this fall? One of our favorite designers has the following new design trend:

This season it’s time to forget the match all look. The trend is moving away from the sterile all matching feel to a warmer more relaxed look. The contemporary style offers clean lines, creating simplicity and simple appearance. No clutter, little color, often white on white. The traditional look on the other hand is created by utilizing rich colors, accessories where antique furniture often is the foundation. By mixing contemporary and traditional decor you create a fresh and youthful look. We love it!

Here is what this could look like: Take a traditional couch as the center piece and pair it with contemporary chairs. Or you might want to revamp a sofa with a cream colored fabric and accent it with pillows in floral print. You get the picture… how interesting these pairings could be.

However when mixing such contrasting styles it is important to include calming elements, says Sally the interior designer. We would recommend sheer window shadings for this. Our horizontal sheer window shadings like the Comfortex Shangri-La would work well in a contemporary as well as traditional environment. Clean lines are calming, making sure that the room does not turn into a busy chaotic scene. The sheer front and back can help here to soften the look.

We are thinking another great product to compliment this mixed styles and doesn’t overpower is a roller or solar shade. When choosing a roller shade, it is important to go with a solid material; we would want to skip all patterns or prints to take out anything that creates “busy”. Roller and solar shades don’t have additional pleats or lines making them a great element that soothes and tones down ;-

Fall is just around the corner and with that, change is coming .
Our Comfortex Shangri-La sheer shades will be updated. Sheer shades of course are one of our most popular window coverings and best seller. This Silhouette like shade is in high demand and we can’t wait to get our hands on the new fabrics and colors that are coming out.

So what does this mean? Dramatic color like no other! The new Aura collection is awash in color. In this collection the sheer material in front matches the floating center vane creating more richness and intensity of color. Unlike our traditional fabrics where the sheer is always a white color, washing out or toning down the center vane’s color, here the sheer matches the fabric vane. A cocoa bean vane will be matched with a cocoa bean sheer. The Aura collection is available in soft neutrals but mostly in deeper tans, brown and black. To suit everyone’s taste shades can be purchased in the traditional two inch vane size or the modern three inch vane.  For living areas like breakfast room or kitchen and family room light filtering fabrics would be best suited, whereas in bedrooms the darkening fabrics would be ideal for added light control.

Even though this new collection is not yet available on the internet for the time being, it is right around the corner and we will be able to offer them in the near future. We should get our lunch date soon and we cannot WAIT.

The time is here. Ace of Shades has taken on a new Label: Naturelle Blinds & Shades. The first product line we have added to our online selection: Naturelle Sheer Shades. The Sheer Horizontal product line is one of our most popular one; a beautiful product, with functionality, versatility and style.

Sheer Shades feature two layers of sheers with 2” or 3” fabric vanes “floating” in-between them. The fabric vanes can be closed for privacy and light control, tilted into the open position for a sheer view out or the entire shade can be raised up for an unobstructed view outside. The product rolls neatly into the headrail, so when raised no stack is visible. Sheer Shades are soft window treatments that suit almost any décor. From the modern look with clean lines to the traditional look, Sheer shades add elegance and class to your home.

Our fabric selections are light-filtering for living areas or room –darkening for bedrooms. The vane sizes are 2” for the traditional look or 3” for a more bold and modern look. Naturelle Shades are more competitively priced, but offer the same quality and craftsmanship as our other brands do. Our manufacturer has over 26 years of experience and every product is backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty. As always, contact us for color samples to get a feel for fabric and colors You’ll like what you see!

Alright, you have made the decision: It will be new sheer horizontal shades for your windows. And now the questions come up: Which vane size? Should you go with the 2” or 3” vane? Is one better than the other? What are the advantages or disadvantages for choosing one over the other?

These questions have been posed to us many times. So here are some things to consider when making this decision:

Price. Even though that rarely will be the “decision-maker”, but the 3” vane size on the Comfortex’ Shangri-La Sheer Shades has a 10% higher price point. That being said, you want to consider your window size. For small and narrow windows, usually the smaller vane size will be great. On large windows or doors, it will be a personal decision. The The large size will complement your big, open windows, creating an open, modern. The 2” will complement with its more traditional, soft atmosphere. When looking for a modern look, a lot of times the 3” vane size will be great. Also to consider, when choosing the larger vane size, you will have less vanes and therefore a better view out. Off course, the 2” vane has one and one half times as many vanes “obstructing” the view when tilted in the open position for a screened view out. So, how important is your view?

Another technical aspect to consider, how much or little mounting surface is available; when you have limited mounting surface the 2” vane size will be the better choice. It can be paired with the UltraSleek low profile headrail, whereas the 3” sheer shade can be as well, but is not ideal for it.

Above and below are sets of pictures illustrating what the 2” versus 3” sheer shades will do in terms of view. Whatever you decide, please remember, there is no right or wrong here. Many things are preferences of YOUR taste. Make your decision, run with it and enjoy your home

As flat and big screen TV’s get bigger, so has the problem of glare control increased when trying to enjoy them. The best picture of a great Plasma TV can become pure annoyance, when the screen has turned into a mirror.

For a dedicated media room a blackout shade might work. We can work here with any cellular blackout shade, room-darkening roller or roman shade or any shade that offers a darkening liner. But when our living area has become a pitch-dark room we have not found the best window covering solution. Let’s talk sheer shades. Sheer horizontal shades will eliminate glare, but not block sunlight (unless a room-darkening material is chosen). The Hunter Douglas Silhouette is the most recognized sheer shade, however is restricted from being sold online. Therefore we will focus here on the beautiful Comfortex Shangri-La sheer shades only. Available in 2” or 3” vane size, the sophisticated product offers great glare control, but does not necessarily block light. While the suspended fabric vanes can be in light-filtering or room-darkening materials, the sheer fabric in front and back will give a screened view out when tilted in the open position. For hard to reach windows a motorized version is available for your convenience. When raised, the Shangri-La shades are fully tucked away in its headrail for an unobstructed view outside. We have here a perfectly versatile product that will work in any living area where light is welcome, while providing glare control for the media and entertainment system.

When finding the right window treatment one does not have to resort to an either or solution. In today’s market, the right window covering will provide functionality and a beautiful look at the same time.

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.