One of the most common shades our customers ask for outside of our Hunter Douglas lineup is the High-Lite shade from Elite Window Fashions.  I really like this shade; it’s very modern and straight line look appeals to my contemporary taste.  It has a very similar look to the Hunter Douglas Pirouette, but does not have the bulbous roman type vanes, it stays nice and flat.

This really is a revolutionary shade that allows you to maintain your view while protecting your privacy. Alternating bars of coloured and clear fabric pass over each other either blocking light completely or providing a view similar to a venetian blind but with the privacy of a roller shade.

It’s really a simple concept that’s relatively new, alternating bars of coloured and sheer fabric pass over each other either blocking light or providing a view like a wood blind or give the privacy of a roller shade.  The bottom rail mechanism provides a smooth operating system allowing the user to use the blind like a roller shade- raising it to any desired position. The head rail fascia allows the shade to be fully concealed.

The High-Lite is a great shading system, it’s a bit more economical than the premium Hunter Douglas products, and it comes with optional motorization, it’s not for everyone or every application, but when placed in the proper setting it achieves a look your friends and neighbours will be wowed over.

For more information on our products please visit our blinds section HERE.

Cheers!

Human beings are instinctive creatures who tend to observe their surroundings in great detail without even knowing it. From our subconscious observations, we will use that information to understand our surroundings, decide our behaviour, make judgements on the environment we are experiencing and make informed decisions about how to proceed with an action.

One important fact that we experience as instinctive human being’s when we walk into every home, is to look at 2 different places once we have entered a premises. As I am sure we could find endless reasons for doing so, there are two simple answers for why we would be attracted to these areas. The first would be the floor; we look at the floor to see where you are going.  The second area we direct our attention towards is the windows; we are naturally attracted and drawn towards light. You may not notice it, but you do it and this is what generally affects someones first impression or judgment of a home.

Thus brings us to our point that new window coverings – and perhaps new floors to compliment the windows – are an essential piece of decor for your home, when trying to create a desired atmosphere or specific feeling for someone entering into a room.

How do you know you are ready for an upgrade?

Perhaps you have already noticed that your blinds, shutters or drapery’s are outdated after you noticed a friend or neighbour has recently purchased their new window coverings. But, in the event that you believe 10+ year old coverings is still fashionable decor, take a trip to the nearest model home centre in a new community and see if pink, green or blue blinds are still in style.

If your venetian blinds are crooked, dusty or broken, and your draperies have been hanging around for 10+ years, chances are your friends, family and neighbours have already noticed the outdated look and appeal of your home. Just like your carpet and furniture, window coverings do become outdated with time, use and can also carry lots of dust or airborne bacteria that accumulated over the years. It is no surprise that window coverings are often overlooked, but it is also a nice way to refresh the look and feel of your space when new furniture and flooring’s are not in the budget.

How can you stay current for longer?

The Answer: Neutral colours.  White, Off-White and sometimes beige do not date themselves like the Pinks, Greens, Blues and Browns from the 80s and 90s. Even in our showroom we still have a couple blinds that are 10+ years old and we keep them on display because they still look new.

Check out all the latest products you’ve been missing out on if you are currently looking for an upgrade! CLICK HERE

Cheers!

photo credit to: Ugly house photos

Temporary shades are designed (as the name implies), to temporarily cover your windows until your custom made shades are ready to be installed. Although they may only be up for a short while, it’s important to install temporary shades in areas that you would like absolutely privacy. Areas include the kitchen, bathrooms and other areas that would otherwise be open to view from neighbours.

Installation is simple; measure your opening across the window and cut the temporary shades to size with a good pair of scissors or shears. Once you have cut to the desired size, peal the tape back and stick to your window at the top. Your will want to try and stick the tape to the vinyl part of your window if possible, as this makes it easier to remove the shade when you are ready to install your new shutters, blinds etc. As these are temporary shades, they do not include a system to raise and lower the shades, therefore if you would like to raise the shade, simply follow the fold in the shades pleat and clip the clips on at your desired height.  2 clips are included with each shade.

Temporary shades come in either light filtering or room darkening styles. In the event that you have a wide window that is beyond the size of the temporary shades,  it is possible to overlap them and cut to size again. They can also be overlapped length wise to cover longer windows.

In the event that you would like to cover arches, this is also possible with temporary shades. In order to do so, you must cut the shade to the desired size and then spread it out like a fan. Cutting can be tricky with arches however, if you measure carefully and try to fit the temporary screen before you cut, it will save you from making a cutting mistake.

Thank you for reading Sunshade Blinds Blog post.

Let us begin with Louvers.

Louvers are also commonly known as slats, they come in 3 different sizes (seen below Fig 1.1) for you to choose from which offer different benefits and function. The louver size you select will depend not only on your personal preference but how much mounting depth is available for your windows. That being said, mounting depth can be overcome simply by adding extension frames or longer hinges to your windows. Most homes with casing windows can easily handle 3.5’’ and even 4.5’’ Louvers.

The most popular louver size is the 3.5’’ Louver, it allows for a much better view than the 2.5″ Louver without having a bulky look (a lot of customers refer to 4.5’’ Louver as bulky). Where we see a lot of 4.5″ Louvers are for homes with many large windows, or estate homes who tend to go for the 4.5’’ Louver as it doesn’t seem bulky in large windows.

The 2.5″ Louver has been referred to as a more classic look and feel for window frames. When vinyl shutters were first introduced in the late 80s early 90s, they only used 2.5″ Louvers for their models, which would explain why so many customers tend to select this style when matching existing shutters in their homes.

3 louver sizes

Control Options

There are 2 control options for our shutters being the Traditional Tilt-Bar (seen below on the left), and the Clearview option on the right. While some of our customers prefer the Classic styling of the Tilt-bar for opening and closing the louvers, others prefer to grab 1 louver and operate the louvers that way (it’s also a lot easier to clean). In case you are wondering how the Clearview option opens without a tilt-bar, this option has a series of connects on the back of the shutter, that opens all the shutter louvers, offering an unspoiled view as well as easy maintenance.

Both systems are designed to keep the louvers in sync when opening or closing the shutters.

**Important note: There are some internal-gear system shutters that start to work out of sync as they get older. This usually requires them to be shipped back to the factory to be repaired however with the Clearview system, this is not required and the shutters can usually be fixed on site by either a technician or the homeowner.

Shutter Colours

Currently Eclipse Shutters offer four different colours. Other manufactures offer similar colours mainly White (cotton) and off-white (pearl), but some like Maxxmar offer an array of colours that can be anywhere from pink to black.

With vinyl shutters it is generally a good idea to match the colour of your trim and moulding to the  colour of the shutter, although it is to your preference.

Arches

Arches of the following shapes are now available in vinyl. This is a HUGE success because these shapes are actually operable, available in Octagon, Hexagon, Full Rake, Half Rake, Symmetrical Angle Top, Angle Top, Half-Circle, Eyebrow, Tunnel, Elliptical, and Quarter-Circle.  The picture shows all of them with a tilt bar, however clearview option is also available. This is perfect for matching existing shutters in your home.

Divider rails and French door Cut-outs

Divider Rail is the term used to describe what is more or less a “break” in the panel of the shutter, this allows the top sections of the shutters louvers to operate independently from the bottom section. This is especially important in bedrooms and bathrooms where “neck high” privacy is required. Allowing natural light into the room while still providing privacy.  The French door cut-outs allow shutters to be placed on French doors that have handles in the way of the shutter.  This keeps the functionality of the door without having to change to a door knob.

Divider rails are ONLY required if the panel is over 60” high. Sometime we place them on windows that are less than 60” to match taller windows in the same room. Sometimes consumers would rather have no divider rail and just tilt the louver the opposite way, this limits your view but still allows light into the room.  Divider rails can also be ordered with a groove cut out of them so they act as a handle to open and close the shutter. This is more often seen on patio door shutters where they are opening and closing regularly

Patio Doors.

This must be the single most common place to install shutters. It’s usually in a kitchen, walk-out basement or living room and is a high traffic area. Take a look at the picture of the patio door shutter above,  you will notice the handle is on the right side of the door and a cabinet is in the way if you were to install the shutters to open to the right side. This would result in an awkward walk in and out of the door in addition to damaging your shutters and cabinets.

This installation required the use of a Bi-Fold Track System, similar to the way a closet door works.  It allows the entire 4 panels to retract to the left side of the frame without sagging down to the floor.   There is also a regular Bi-Fold installation where 2 panels swing left and 2 panels swing right (most common). Also available is a BI-Pass system (panels slide over each other instead of folding) for this type of instalation. Notice the Divider Rail has a groove cut out to act as a handle for the door to open and close.

Other Design Options

Rooms Dividers are an excellent way to keep that elegant design, but allowing a cost effective durable alternative to a retractable wall. They can also be used as closet doors for lofts or toher areas that would require seperating space. Great when matching existing shutters on the windows, they can even be used on skylight windows. Operated by a simple extension pole.

Now that we have reviewed what goes into designing shutters and decidiing on what best system would suite your needs, I hope you will have an easier time selecting and deciding on your new shutters.

Feel free to contact us directly by sending us a message Here, if you have any questions for selecting your shutters, we would be glad to help. Also, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for upcoming specials and the latest happenings or sign up to our newsletter to take advantage of great savings! .

One of the most overlooked aspects of energy efficiency is the big gapping hole that exposes between 10-15% of your entire your home… your windows.  The most energy efficient windows in the world still cannot compete with the insulation value of your walls and roof; therefore we should all make a conscious effort to give those windows a boost.

Window Coverings greatly improve the insulation value of your windows. Here is a non-technical fact:  Closing your Window Coverings when it is Hot/Cold or when the room is not in use will without question cut down your utility bills. The question you need to ask yourself is: are your blinds doing enough? If you are looking at your window coverings and they are dusty metal Venetians or broken plastic Verticals the simple answer is No.  Any window covering is better then nothing, but there are some that supersede them all.

The most popular insulative shades are the Honeycomb type. The most effective honeycomb shade is made by HunterDouglas and called the Duette Architella . Without going into too much detail (Google Duette Architella and you’ll find a plethora of information) basically the blind has a honeycomb inside its honeycomb creating four layers of traped air that acts as an insulation barrier essentially doubling (or tripling depending on your window) the insulative value of your window.



For years we have been cleaning our wood blinds, or venetians or shutters with a rag or a fluffy duster running along the slats from one end to the other – only to have the dust re-directed making our best cleaning efforts futile.  One of our favorite products is the Swiffer Feather Duster (or similar product).    The electrostatic properties lift the dust out of the blind, locking it in and leaving you spotless blinds with little effort.

For sheer shades like the Hunter Douglas Silhouette, you need to be careful as they are a really delicate product.  You can vacuum* them like drapery or dust them.   You will find that small insects like flies and gnats tend to fly in between the vanes and little black specs throughout the shade. The easiest way to fix this problem is to purchase a can of compressed air (similar to the ones used to clean keyboards).

Most quality fabric window coverings will need to be professionally cleaned every 7-10 years to keep them looking new – or possibly sooner if they become stained or soiled.  Some companies will come to your home, remove the blinds to be ultrasonically cleaned and then re-install the shades in your home.  Other companies can clean the products while they are hanging in your windows.   Some products can actually be cleaned in your bath tub which seems simple but it’s actually a bit of a nuisance, especially if you shades are too big for the tub.  Refer to your owner’s manual to see if the type of blinds you own can be washed this way.

Warning –2 things I don’t recommend: Using a  hair dryer to clean your sheer shades this will work on cold air however if you blow out hot air you will melt the sheer so it is best avoided.  Second is an air compressors, they can rip the shade apart if you are not careful.

*remember to consult your owner’s manual before vacuuming you shades. As you can damage them if you do not use the right setting and attachment.

Here are the facts:

Faux wood blinds are usually made of either synthetic materials or a composite of wood and plastics. Generally a good quality faux wood blind will be hard to distinguish from a real wood blind. Faux wood blinds tend to be more affordable than their Real Wood counterparts especially in the white and off-white colours.  Faux wood blinds are an excellent choice for bathrooms that have a window right next to a shower, as real wood blinds can’t handle too much moisture (warping, paint curling etc.). Faux wood blinds tend to have fewer options, but a good quality faux wood will still carry a lifetime warranty.

Real Wood Blinds are lighter than faux wood and can be made into much larger sizes eliminating the need to have multiple shades on one window. Real Wood Blinds come in many more colours than Faux Wood Blinds and some brands can be custom stained to match your existing furniture. Real Wood Blinds are available in much larger sizes, their slat sizes come in 1’’, 1 3/8’’, 2’’ and 2 5/8’’ sizes and have customizable valances that can be made into speciality shaped windows such as arches or angles.

Overall, both types of blinds have their place in the world of blinds. Depending on your taste and style, perhaps a white faux wood from Hunter Douglas would do just fine.  On the other hand, maybe your custom stained hardwood floor with trim need to match your window coverings and you need to stain the wood to a specific colour or, you might have an arch window that you want to deflect the light coming into your library. The possibilities are endless; hopefully you are now armed with a good understanding of the pros and cons of the different types of blinds.

Helpful tip: As with anything you purchase, be weary of too-good-to-be-true prices. The faux wood blind market is saturated with very low (import) quality plastics that bend and warp within the first year of use. Some of our customers are okay with this, mostly if you are planning on moving or are trying to sell/rent. That being said we @ Sunshade do sell these blinds if desired.

You just got the call that your blinds are in and are ready to be installed. You have set a date and marked your calendar. Now what?

Step 1. Are you living in a condo or apartment? If so, call and book your elevator as soon as you have the time to do so. Our installers are usually in pretty good shape however for safety and efficiency, they do not like hauling 10ft boxes with bags full of tools up 20 story staircases very often. Kindly make sure to book the elevator a couple hours longer than our arrival time so we can get back downstairs with all our garbage and tools.

Step 2. Is there parking available at your residence? This is more important with condos/apartments; however it is nice when you do not have to park on the street; especially in the winter, as we have to go in and out of the van quite a lot with materials.

Step 3. Furniture, we need to be have access to your windows in order to install your products, if you have sofas, bookshelves, beds etc. in the way of the windows, it would be greatly appreciated to have them moved in advance before the installers arrive.

Helpful Tip: If you have ordered shutters with frames, 9 times out of 10 the frames need to be installed on the ground before they are placed in the window.  Therefore, we will require either space in front of each window, or a staging area where we can build the frame and then walk the completed frame into the window for installation.

Step 4. Flowers, trolls, stain glass ornaments. As much as we know they are harmless, they can get in the way of installation and would be safer if removed from the area during installation. We test all of our blinds to ensure they work properly; therefore little trinkets can be damaged or destroyed if they are in the way of the blind raising and lowering during testing.

Step 5. Old shades or temporary shades. If you have old or temporary shades currently installed, we would ask that you remove any old blinds, blankets and brackets before our installers arrive. This service is offered at an additional cost.

Our installers usually face a long day being ready to go at the crack of dawn loading up their trucks, getting all the paperwork ready for the and making trips to the hardware store for extra bits that may need to be replaced halfway through an installation procedure. They really do work hard to ensure that every job looks perfect and they pride themselves on being able to deliver a professional service.

These 5 little steps listed above are a big help in ensuring the installers get your blinds installed in a professional manner and in a timely fashion.

Thank you for taking the time to help our installers better serve you.

Sunshade Blinds & Drapery Management.

Most people would agree that the best way to save money is not to spend it unnecessarily. The old adage, “a penny saved is a penny earned” still rings true today except that the pennies have now become hundreds or perhaps thousands of dollars!

We all realize that ever-increasing energy costs must be brought under control and much has been written about ways to save both energy and money. A great opportunity to save is right there in your living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms … etc.Your windows – or rather your window coverings. The need to upgrade the insulation value of windows, whether by sealing and caulking around older windows or purchasing newer, more energy-efficient models, is well documented. However, even the best windows offer a fraction of the insulation value of the walls. For example, a new home in Ontario must have a minimum insulation of R20 in the wall; the average double-glazed thermo pane window is only R2, one tenth of the wall’s value.

This can be greatly enhanced by the proper choice of window coverings.

On average in the winter, 40% of the heat in a home escapes through the windows. Window coverings with a high R-value can provide much needed insulation and significantly reduce heat loss. Wood and vinyl are insulating materials and fabric shades with metalized or room-darkening linings are also good insulators. Some energy-efficient honeycomb shades afford a winter R-value of 4.8 on double-glazed windows.

Summer shading coefficients measure a window’s ability to protect solar heat passing through the window into a home. It has been estimated that 53% of all heat entering the home comes in through the windows. A window shading with a low shading coefficient is most effective in shading against heat gain, reflecting or absorbing heat and shading the interior.

Where direct sunlight is a problem, the best materials will be metalized or white backings on shades and insulated linings on draperies.

The use of well-designed window coverings can result in substantial savings in heating and cooling costs due directly to the increased insulation values. Of course, the temptation to fiddle with the thermostat is lessened when the room temperature is more consistent, therefore avoiding heating or cooling the entire home, just to make one room more comfortable.

In addition to saving energy dollars, many of today’s window coverings offer a high UV (Ultraviolet light) rating to protect furnishings and flooring from fading and physical damage caused by too much direct sunlight. Imagine the cost of replacing wall-to-wall carpet or a favourite sofa.

A professional window-covering consultant will have the knowledge and experience to design window coverings that are not only attractive, but also versatile, practical and functional.

Charlie Slack, Owner
Sunshade Blinds & Drapery

Platinum Technology is a very effective system; It is powered either by 8 or 12 AA batteries connected underneath the shade or with a dc adapter that plugs directly into your outlet if you have one near the window. It’s operated via remote control with 2 AAA batteries, or if you are like me and tend to lose remotes a lot, there is a wireless wall switch (no wiring just battery powered) available that carries the same technology as a remote control and looks like a wall switch mounted next to your light switch or wherever you may choose.

Besides the fact that this technology is reliable, easy to use, and can be used on almost any HunterDouglas products available such as the HunterDouglas Silhouette and the new HunterDouglas Pirouette, it’s also very affordable. In my opinion comparing it to hardwired systems (hardwired is a topic for another day) these produce the best value for your money. Motorization should not be overlooked as a control option; the days when only the rich and famous could afford are long over. It is becoming more and more mainstream, both with the younger generations that are up on the latest and greatest technology and with the older generations that have difficulty opening and closing the window coverings.

Sun Sensor- This unit detects the amount of solar energy entering a room and sends a wireless signal to the shade telling it to raise or lower. It has both a summer and winter mode.

RF adapter- This neat little product is designed to be plugged directly into your existing lamp outlet (that switch in your house that does nothing, is probably connected to your lamp outlet) when the switch is off it senses the lack of power and closes the shade, when the switch is on it sends a signal to the shade to raise it.  Confused yet? Come in for a demonstration.

LCD Timer – This device can raise and lower and tilt your blinds at times of your choice.

It’s a great little battery powered attachment that is useful for maximum solar control and for security acting like someone is home all the time.