Custom Blinds are an essential decorating staple that can be functional and stylish.  In fact many businesses and home owners can benefit from custom blinds made specifically to suit their needs.  There are so many styles of blinds to choose from that it is easy to be overwhelmed when making a decision on the selection that is right for you.  There are a variety of choices available and it is often a great idea to hire a professional to assess what kind of custom blinds would be right for you.

Style

There are so many wonderful styles to fit a room or window covering.  Ranging from the time honoured Roman blind or newer vertical blinds.  Often times we go into purchasing these items with a fixed idea in mind, yet it can be very beneficial to listen to the suggestions of a professional.  Not all styles will be functional in the same space; this is a concept that may irritate some buyers but in the end will drastically improve the quality of the finished product.

Energy Efficiency

Blinds can make a drastic difference in the heating and cooling of your home or business.  There are so many options ranging from blinds that allow light in but block out radiant energy, to those that completely block out all light. There are lots of blinds that allow you to still see out of a window but provide enough light and energy reduction to be useful in a space, these are all options that have an impact on your energy bill.  A professional can assess your needs and recommend a style to ensure you receive the maximum savings on energy; they can also give some statistics and numbers regarding the environmental impact that good custom blinds provide.

Roman shades have been a decorating staple for interior designers in magazines and showrooms for many years.  There elegant, effortless beauty, in addition to their timeless appeal, makes these shades a smart choice for your home.  Roman shades are easily customizable and can be created using a wide variety of materials, from heavy velvet, to airy linen, to rustic bamboo.  They can also be customized to any pattern or colour specification.  They really are an incredibly versatile design piece that is fashionable, yet functional as well.

The simple functionality of Roman blinds has propelled them to success as window coverings.  They can be made out of so many different materials that the climate in a space can be controlled very well without sacrificing the owners need for light or visibility.  Although blinds should be stylish it is the functionality of them that serves a general purpose.  The fact that Roman blinds can be both functional and stylish is why they have survived such a long time in an ever changing design world.  Historically these types of shades were used to ensure that the most heat and light was kept out of a space, however they have been adapted very well to cooler climates.  The opposite principals can be applied to let in heat and light simply by using a lighter material more airy material.  Roman blinds are a staple of design functionality and as such they are among the most popular choice for window coverings, found at all levels of society.

Window treatments add beautiful enhancements to any room of your home, while shading the indoors from the sun’s rays. Here are a few of our favorite window treatment options:

Roman shades are usually a perfect option for window treatment as they are suitable for most spaces in your home.  At Blind Advantage we favour the Designer Roman Shades made by Hunter Douglas like the one featured in the picture to the left. These shades can be very formal and sophisticated with the pleats gathered at the top in an elegant fashion.  Or the pleats can be released, free to hang in a casual manner, which is better suited to a family room or child’s bedroom.  Roman shades are very easy to operate, and can be customized to be any colour, pattern, size or texture, based on your specifications.

Hunter Douglas Honeycomb Shades are a great choice for all window coverings especially when energy efficiency is of most importance. These shades do an excellent job of blocking out the suns radiant heat as well as shielding yourself from the frigid cold in the winter months. Available in sheer, semi opaque or opaque fabrics you can chose from a large selection of colours and styles. With many quality  lifting systems such LiteRise which  is the lifting system that is featured in this picture –  you can customize your honeycomb shade to be exactly how you like them.

Vinyl Shutters are also a fantastic, window covering option for almost any room of the house. They are easy to clean and made of a lighter material than wood making them easier to operate. Based on the shutters colour, design and the material that they are made of, they can bring out a cottage chic vibe, or a more clean and crisp look to your bedroom, bathroom or kitchen.  Shutters allow you to adjust the louvers to determine how much sun light is allowed in, or how much you want light.  Also, they offer fantastic energy efficient properties and have significantly cut down on the air loss leaving a home.  Based on their colour, design and the material they are made of, they can bring out a cottage chic vibe, or a more clean and crisp look to your bedroom, bathroom or kitchen. Wood shutters are also a great choice but dependent on the conditions in which you live they might not be as practical.. which is why we sell about 95% of our shutters in Vinyl.

Lastly, custom drapery can be made to fit into any rooms design scheme. Using the right colour and fabric choice, they can add a deeply masculine tone to a man cave, or in just the right hue of light pink, they can take your space to a whole new feminine level.

There are many window treatment options available to consumers to enhance their home decor, while offering sun protection for furniture and flooring.  Cellular blinds are a great alternative to traditional horizontal blinds, or roman shades in that they mute, rather than block the sun’s rays and allow a hazy glow to envelope the room.  Cellular blinds are available in a wide variety of fabrics, pleat sizes, textures and colours, and have a unique operating system, which allows the user to raise and lower the blinds from the top or bottom to suit the time of day and height of the sun.

While attractive and modern, these unique blinds are more renowned for their energy efficiency and environmentally responsible design.  Their innovative structure works by trapping air within the honeycomb shaped pockets. These trapped-air pockets create a layer of insulation that auto regulates your homes temperature, making it cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  In addition to this, they are among the best, most cost effective solutions for insulating your windows, by far more cost effective then installing energy efficient windows or taking more permanent measures.

These blinds are also visually stunning and can be installed on their own to match your homes decor, or be accented with colourful curtains or drapes, or even classic and crisp shutters.  The honeycomb pattern is shear and iridescent and gives off a sparkling glow, during mid day when the sun is high in the sky.  In terms of an energy efficient, yet attractive window treatment, there is nothing quite like cellular blinds.