Window Treatment Wednesday: Window Covering Safety Month

October is Window Covering Safety Month

The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) want to remind everyone about the hazard window covering cords can pose to young children and pets. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says window treatment cords are one of the top five hidden hazards in American homes, with infants and children accidentally becoming entangled in window cords. Their message needs to be heard by everyone, not just parents or caregivers.

Here are some tips from the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) to keep in mind:

•  Install only cordless window coverings in homes with young children.
•  Continuous-loop pull cords on draperies and vertical blinds should be pulled tight and anchored to the floor or wall.
• Move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows and window cords.
• Make sure tasseled pull cords are as short as possible.
• If you cannot replace older window treatments, this link offers instructions on how to retrofit them.

Not quite certain what your options are? Hunter Douglas has a wide array of lifting systems for child and pet safety. Also, the Window Covering Safety Council website has tons of valuable  information.

Since Frank and Elizabeth Hirshfield opened their first store in 1894, it has been our mission to do the best job possible meeting customer needs and solving customer problems. Hirshfield’s. People and products you can trust.

 

{window treatment wednesday: add personality with valances and cornices}

There are so many styles and fabrics available for your window treatments that it’s easy to forget one of the easiest ways to add another decorative touch — at the top. Valances and cornices add style and sophistication to the top of your window treatments, while also concealing the curtain rods or other hardware if necessary.

Kellie Burke Interiors via House of Turquoise

What’s the Difference?

In some ways, valances and cornices are very similar. They both add style to the top of your window treatments, but a valance is a soft treatment — similar to a very short drapery panel — while a cornice is a hard top treatment.

The style of the customer’s home usually directs our Hirshfield’s Shop at Home designers to use one or the other. Dawn Feda says valances can appear much softer while cornices have more of a hard line. However, she points out that each treatment can be dressed up or down by adding decorative trims, contrast banding or lining, or unique shapes.

Kellie Burke Interiors

{window treatment wednesday: national window covering safety month}

 

We expect parents to cover electrical outlets, put gates on stairs, and childproof their doors and cabinets, but we often forget about the hidden danger of the cords from window coverings.

Yet the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says corded window coverings are one of the top five hidden hazards in American homes, with infants and children accidentally becoming entangled in window cords.

Safety Month

That’s why the CPSC and Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) are urging parents and caregivers to check their window coverings for exposed and dangling cords as part of National Window Covering Safety Month.

The CPSC, WCSC, and safety advocates all recommend using only cordless window coverings or window coverings with inaccessible cords in homes with young children. “As a result of industry innovation, consumers have more choices than ever to purchase cordless products or those with inaccessible cords,” said WCSC Executive Director Peter Rush.

{window treatment wednesday: the next step in motorization}

The world of window treatments has certainly changed over the years — thanks to technology. We started with motorization. Then we added remote controls and apps. And we now have the ability to fully integrate those controls into a connected home.

So, what’s next in window treatments? Thanks to advances in low-voltage power, all of the window treatments in your home can be powered by the equivalent of speaker wire — which is why we’re seeing more “smart homes” being prewired for whole home integration. 

Hunter Douglas has been on the leading edge of motorization for window treatments, and Shannon Scarella, Manager of Hirshfield’s Window Fashions, has enjoyed a front-row seat. She shares her thoughts on the latest changes in the world of window treatments — and the way it may change the way you plan your next home project.  

{window treatment wednesday: window treatments from the artisan home tour 2016}

Stonewood, LLC.

We love to track design trends, and few places are better than the annual Artisan Homes Tour. It’s one thing to see a trend mentioned online or in a magazine, but the Artisan Homes Tour by Parade of Homes gives us a chance to see how they look — up close, and in person — and also see what interior finishes Minnesota and Wisconsin interior designers are using.

We shared an overview of the entire tour earlier this month, but this blog will focus on window treatment trends as seen by Cora and Judy from Hirshfield’s Shop At Home.

“Standout for me was the use of pattern in the drapery panels,” said Judy Ciacura, Hirshfield’s Shop at Home designer. Some of her favorites included: “Neutral background with navy or gray design, and the Moroccan pattern still seems to dominate.”

“A few things that stood out for me were the amount of woven woods featured in the homes,” said Hirshfield’s designer Cora Asp. “There were a couple of homes that had shutters in the bathrooms,” Cora noted,” and we saw lots of side panels as well.”

Hendel Homes 2016 Artisan Home

{window treatment wednesday: hunter douglas premieres event}

What’s new in Window Treatments? To help us appreciate their exciting new innovations and product enhancements, Hunter Douglas puts on their Premieres event each year for dealers around the country.

Hirshfield’s sent key window treatment personnel to this year’s regional get-together for special training classes along with an up-close look at the latest product updates, upgrades, and enhancements, including new fabrics, hardware, and operating systems.  Here are some of our designers’ favorites:

Silhouette® Duolite Window Shadings

Silhouette® Duolite

Cindy  from Maple Grove and Becky from Design Resource singled out the Silhouette® Duolite. The all-in-one window shade/room-darkening roller shade looks like a Silhouette during the day, with a room-darkening shade for sleeping. The Silhouette® Duolite was actually named the 2015 Product of the Year by the Window Covering Manufacturing Association, but it was just released to showrooms for the Spring of 2016.

{lake home and cabin show preview}

Minnesotans love our lakes. In the summer, we can’t wait to get to the cabin for the weekend (or hopefully more).  In the winter, we look for ways to make that lake home or cabin even better. That’s why the Lake Home & Cabin Show is such a popular attraction every February.

The 12th annual Lake Home & Cabin Show runs from Friday to Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and  a team from Hirshfield’s Shop at Home will be there to answer your window treatment and decorating questions. We had so much fun last year we’re doing it again this year!

The show offers a stimulating three-day lifestyle experience with more than 250 exhibitors showcasing everything you need and want for your lake home, cottage or cabin. Exhibits include furnishings, furniture and décor, real estate, builders, remodelers, architects, finance, recreational products, boats and marine products, landscaping and lakeshore products and services, unique accessories, gifts and a host of other items specific to the second home lifestyle. There are also free interactive features, demonstrations and educational seminars on the Cabin Living Stage.

What to Expect

The Lake Home & Cabin Show is for people who own or are interested in buying second homes and those people who simply want to decorate their existing homes in lake home, cottage or cabin décor.  Here are some of the things you will find at the show:

• Rustic and Specialty Furniture & Furnishings
• Architects, Builders & Remodelers
• Real Estate & Finance
• Sporting Gear, Outdoor Equipment & Marine
• Landscaping & Lakeshore Maintenance
• Custom Products, Accessories & Publications
• How-To Seminars & Demonstrations

Schedule

The Lake Home & Cabin Show runs Friday-Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

• Friday, February 19    2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 20    10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Sunday, February 21    10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Stop by Booth 433 to see what’s new this year and to check out the Show Specials.

Since Frank and Elizabeth Hirshfield opened their first store in 1894, it has been our mission to do the best job possible meeting customer needs and solving customer problems. Hirshfield’s. People and products you can trust.

{window treatment wednesday: hunter douglas wins big at WCMA awards}

It’s awards season. The Golden Globes got us started, with the Oscars and Grammys on the way. But no matter how much somebody or some group cleans up at any of those events, it will be hard to match the showing Hunter Douglas made at the 2015 WCMA Product Awards.

Hunter Douglas won an amazing 31 awards at the annual Window Covering Manufacturers Association event, held this past November. All product award winners were recognized this past week in Las Vegas, at the International Window Coverings Expo. Hunter Douglas has received the WCMA Product of the Year award for the 15th time.

Hunter Douglas Silhouette® Duolite™ Shadings

The WCMA Product of the Year, awarded annually to the product that stands out across all categories and judging criteria, is Silhouette® Duolite™ Shadings, designed and engineered by the Silhouette® Product Development Team at Hunter Douglas.

{friday finds: window treatment project keeps kids safe}

A special project completed during National Window Covering Safety Month will have a lasting impact for children in Anoka.

The stock vinyl mini-blinds at the Little Blessings of Anoka Early Childhood Learning Center were a safety hazard, so the non-profit, Awareness of Blind Cord Safety (ABC’s), organized a project to fix it.

Old Mini-Blinds at Little Blessings of Anoka had Hazardous Cords and Needed to be Replaced

Hunter Douglas, Hirshfield’s, and Blind Installation & Repair worked together to bring the safe, new window treatments to the learning center.

Hunter Douglas contributed Applause® honeycomb shades with a LiteRise® operating system for every classroom, while Blind Installation & Repair took down the old blinds and handled the reinstallation.

Out with the old, in with the new.

The final installation of the shades was celebrated at a grand re-opening event during National Window Covering Safety Month in October. Window covering safety packages were also distributed to all of the families at the unveiling event.

New Look: Applause® Honeycomb Shades with a LiteRise® Operating System

The Hunter Douglas product line features the widest selection of child safety products that eliminate lift cords or substantially reduce access to them. The Window Covering Safety Council sponsors National Window Covering Safety Month every October to increase awareness of the potential dangers associated with corded window coverings.

The Window Covering Safety Council encourages parents and caregivers move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows, and follow these basic cord-safety precautions:

• Keep all window cords well out of the reach of children.
• Install only cordless window coverings in homes with young children.
• Make sure tasseled pull cords are as short as possible. Continuous-loop pull cords on draperies and vertical blinds should be pulled tight and anchored to the floor or wall.
• Be sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit inner-cord movement.

The Window Covering Safety Council offers free retrofit kits if you prefer to keep your older window treatments.

Hunter Douglas has plenty of great cordless options, including PowerView Motorization System and Pebble Remote Control.

Since Frank and Elizabeth Hirshfield opened their first store in 1894, it has been our mission to do the best job possible meeting customer needs and solving customer problems. Hirshfield’s. People and products you can trust.

{window treatment wednesday: tips for window covering safety month}

They make our homes and windows beautiful, but window coverings can be dangerous for small children and pets. That’s why the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) hold National Window Covering Safety Month every October.

It’s a chance to urge caregivers to check their window coverings for exposed or dangling cords, which pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children, and to replace them as soon as possible with safer blinds and shades. WCSC and CPSC strongly recommend that only cordless window coverings or those with inaccessible cords be used in homes with young children.