{window treatment wednesday}

Once again, Hunter Douglas leads the world of window coverings with their recently launched iPad App, “The Art of Window Dressing.” This free app lets you see what Hunter Douglas products will look like on the windows in your home.  If you have a hard time visualizing the end product this App is for you.

App highlights:

Fashion Show lets you view hundreds of Hunter Douglas products. With a tap of your finger you have the product details, a gallery of room settings, whilst still seeing your window treatment in the background.

Swatch Sorter lets you do just that, sort through all the fabrics, colors, and styles available from Hunter Douglas.

Dress A Window lets you take a photo of your window, and using the Hunter Douglas proprietary iMagine rendering tool, lets you see how the window treatment will look on your window. Renderings can be saved with fabric type and color in a “Workbook” and shared by email, Facebook or with a dealer.

I uploaded my family room window, selected products, and found operating the rendering tool was seamless. Selecting different fabrics and products also worked smoothly. I was told I could not use a particular shade because my window was too small. Scratch that shade from my short list.

What it didn’t tell me was, because I have an older home, the Architella window covering would not be flush with my window casing and would stick out a tad. Michele (Hirshfield’s Roseville) shared that intel with me, which promptly slowed my roll; I need to decide if that would bother me.

The iPad app is a great tool to use to begin searching for window coverings. With thousands of options available, looking through product photos and room settings will help you decide what you like and don’t like, before stepping into a Hirshfield’s store. Then you’ll be in the very capable and knowledgable hands of one of Hirshfield’s many window treatment experts. I know you’re sick of me telling you about Hirshfield’s window treatment experts, but they are A-mazing.

If your home needs  freshening up in the window treatment department, click here for information on Hunter Douglas’ Celebration of Light spring savings event (sale) which runs through June 17, 2012 .

The “Art of Window Dressing” iPad App was named Best Marketing Technology at the Window Covering Manufacturers Association Product Awards.

{window treatment wednesday}

As I searched the portion of my soul where window treatments reside, I found a heaping mess of drapery. I can’t help it, I will always try to find a way to include fabric in any room, on any window!

{window treatment wednesday}

Alustra® Woven Texture® Roman Shade without privacy lining

Alustra® Woven Texture® Roman Shade shown with privacy lining

Behind the scene with the Alustra® Woven Texture® showing the privacy lining on a Roman Shade

Alustra® Woven Texture Shade without privacy backing

If you are looking for something different and versatile, take a look at the Hunter Douglas Alustra® Woven Texture® line. The Alustra® Woven Texture® is available in a roller shade and roman shade, with 20+ different fabric options.

The roman shade has an optional liner shade in the back, that operates independently for complete privacy or room darkening. During the day you can enjoy the shade down and still have a diffused view, and at night total privacy.

The texture adds a natural and organic feel to your space, but the fabrics are much easier to care for than a traditional woven wood. The Alustra® Woven Texture®  stands on its own or looks great layered with side panels.

Check this product out next time you are in. You will be happy you did! Your style. Our expertise.

Guest post from Jill Henneberg, Hirshfield’s Edina

{window treatment wednesday}

Offering superior energy efficiency and numerous other benefits, Duette Architella shades are the most energy efficient and best-selling honeycomb product Hunter Douglas carries. Don’t take my word for it; these stories from Hunter Douglas dealers around the country will give you insight as to why Duette Architella shades are so popular.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
I had a project in a renovated historic building in downtown Sioux Falls.
While visiting with the customers I learned that light control for a big screen TV was the primary concern.
Although the windows were originals from 1916, they couldn’t replace them because of the building’s historic status. We recommended Duette Architella shades with an opaque fabric to save energy, and used the Top-Down/Bottom-Up design option to reduce the glare while still providing a view.

The Architella shades exceeded their expectations. They were happy with the way they complemented the decor, added color to the room, protected the TV from glare yet allowed them to enjoy their view. The biggest surprise was that after installing Duette Architella shades their energy bill went down $200 per month!

Columbus, Ohio
I received a frantic phone call from a very concerned mother whose daughter had recently opened her own chocolate shop.
Her daughter had to throw away nearly half of the chocolate the previous afternoon because the sun was literally melting her inventory!

I placed an urgent order of Duette Architella shades. When I later followed up I was given a hero’s welcome. The new shades keep the temperature up to ten degrees cooler in the store, and the Top-Down/Bottom-Up feature gives them flexibility. To show their gratitude they offered me a box of chocolates to share with everyone at our store.

Crested Butte, Colorado
My customer had a large sunroom where she grows tomatoes year round, despite the extremely fluctuating temperatures in our area.
In the sunroom we installed two 105″ wide Duette Architella shades with Vertiglide® butted up to each other, forming a perfect shield for her tomato plants. At night she closes the shades to retain heat. Most of the day she opens them to heat the sunroom, then closes them when the mid-day sun is too strong. She is able to grow heirloom tomatoes in her sunroom year-round because of the great insulating attributes of Duette Architella shades.

Youngstown, Ohio
One customer lived in a century-old home. She and her husband had worked hard at improving the energy efficiency through the years, but the rooms were still cold during the long winters. I knew immediately the product she needed was Duette Architella honeycomb shades.

There were beautiful old lace and damask curtains on each window in keeping with the period of the home. I showed her a hand sample of the Duette Architella shade and held it to the window. She was amazed at how nice the shade looked and that it did not interfere with the authenticity of the window treatments.

She ordered Architella shades for all the downstairs windows and later came back to cover the upstairs windows. Her gas bill went down $40 per month!

Richardson, Texas
My customer had a two-story home with the kids’ bedrooms and a game room upstairs. The game room window faced southwest and was bombarded by the sun for most of the day. This was heating up the entire floor, making it unlivable much of the time.

We installed one Duette Architella 1 1⁄4″ Elan Eclipse shade into the game room window. The entire second floor almost instantly became more livable. My customer uses “average billing” for his electricity, and when he got his revised billing statement his monthly cost went down by $20, plus he later received a credit that covered almost two months of payments. All from covering one window with an Architella shade!

There you have it. Any questions you may have about the Duette Architella or any other window treatment, please contact our Shop At Home division or one of our many certified window fashion specialists at our retail locations.  It sure sounds like people, and their wallets, are loving their Duette Architella shades.

{choosing safe window coverings}

Windows allow the beauty of nature to come in to our homes. They let the natural sunlight in while also allowing us to look out at the scenery. It’s no wonder windows play such an important role in the design of a home!

But windows serve more that just an aesthetic purpose in your home. They are also an important safety feature.

When it comes to window covering safety, a main concern is child safety. Children and window cords can present a potentially hazardous situation. The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) recommends homeowners and renters replace all window coverings in the home made before 2001 with today’s safer products.

{window treatment wednesday}

Texture Trends 

The current offerings in stylish window treatments really have something for everyone.  Adding a textural dimension to your window covering has a time-honored appeal.  You can use a textured window treatment in a utilitarian fashion, or step it up and let the window treatment be the focal point in a room.

Woven wood shades have become a classic window treatment solution. The combination of natural woods, bamboo and reeds create a timeless treatment suitable for any style home. From contemporary to traditional styles, woven woods natural beauty compliments almost any setting.  The delicate, yet durable Grass weave shades are another wonderful treatment possibility to ensure the right choice.

Interior Design By Lucy

Wood blinds, in either a stained or painted finish, offer yet another texture to a room.  The smooth, more regimented lines feel right at home in both sleek contemporary or more laid back cottage decor.

The Hunter Douglas Silhouette is offering us more choices in texture with the Chateau fabric fast becoming a favorite for clients.

Drapery panels are another beautiful choice to add some texture into a room.  Not to mention style and sound absorption as added benefits of fabric on your windows.

Make certain window treatments inject the appropriate texture to balance a room. Too often, texture is overlooked as a consideration, even though it can entirely alter the ambiance of a room.

For a hard, predominantly wood-filled space with few upholstered pieces, select soft, voluptuous curtain fabrics. In a carpeted room with plain drywall or plaster at the walls, consider wooden blinds or shades to inject the warmth of natural wood tones; or create a mixture of textures in a single window treatment to provide textural richness and depth.

Guest post from Beth Zentis, Hirshfield’s Woodbury location

{window treatment wednesday}

Spring is the time when Hunter Douglas introduces to us new fabrics, colors, and features on their window shadings.

We are really excited to hear about Silhouette being introduced with the LiteRise cordless operating system.  The LiteRise cordless system conveniently controls light by raising, lowering and opening the shade easier.  It also enhances child and pet safety.  It’s available in all of the Silhouette fabrics and vane sizes.

Since spring is here, remember cleaning your Silhouette shade is easy. Lightly dust or vacuum using low suction or for more thorough cleaning, professionally clean ultrasonically. For those Asian beetles, use a can of compressed air to blow them out of the vanes.

Update:

Here’s a link to additional information on the Silhouette with LiteRise® window covering. This window covering won Product of the Year and two other awards at the Window Covering Manufacturers Association. It doesn’t get any better than this in the world of window coverings!

Guest post from the Decor Department, Hirshfield’s Lakeville location.

{window treatment wednesday}

My all time favorite window treatment is the Silhouette® by Hunter Douglas. If you’re not familiar with the Silhouette®, it’s a horizontal shade with fabric vanes suspended between two sheers.

 Why I like the Silhouette® :

• it works in contemporary, traditional, and casual room settings
• depending on your decorating taste, it can stand alone or side panels can be added to dress it up
• visually, it’s a pretty shade
• you can see through to the outside when the vanes are opened
•  it’s a full privacy shade when the vanes are closed
• the shade disappears into the fabric-covered headrail when raised
• beautiful neutrals, with over 200 fabric and color selections
• the vanes are available in 2″, 3″, or 4″

Guest post from Michele Maxx, Hirshfield’s Roseville location.

P.S.  In the 2011 “Oscars” of the window covering industry, the Silhouette® shade won “Best Overall Concept.

{window treatment wednesday}

Hunter Douglas Duette Architella

This is the last week for tremendous savings on all the Duette products from Hunter Douglas Window Fashions. The selection of product and color choices are fabulous!

The new Duette Architella, or “cell within a cell,” offers the best insulation for our Midwest area windows. Duette Architella comes in a variety of cell depths, lots of beautiful colors, and numerous choices of fabrics.  There is also one grouping that has a “streetside” back color… so, if you do not care for white showing to the outside of your home, there is an option.  No problem!

Duette Architella gives you the best window coverage fit, inside the frame or on the outside; the control options are endless; and best of all, Hirshfield’s stores are offering exclusive “Free Upgrade” choices (you get one option free per shading) plus Free Installation of your new Hunter Douglas window fashions until MARCH 10, 2012.

What a wonderful time to take advantage of all these great offers….this does not happen very often! Hurry on in, we can help you…and you’ll be ready with a new outlook for a wonderful spring!

A special note here:  Another important energy-related function of window coverings is to diffuse the incoming light, to soften it and bring it deeper into the room. This function is called “daylighting.” In addition to reducing glare and improving visual comfort, daylighting can sometimes save energy by reducing the need for electrical lighting!

Also, hold onto your hats, Rebates from Hunter Douglas on these and other shadings until March 31st.

Guest post from Margaret Cole, Hirshfield’s Apple Valley location.

{friday finds: hunter douglas – it’s a sale}

Don’t forget…Hirshfield’s Hunter Douglas Window Treatment sale ends Saturday, March 10, 2012.