Window Treatments Blog

Simple, attractive, affordable

I am not a member of what our past President George W. Bush coined the “ownership society.” I, like more and more people, pay rent to a landlord.  In fact, I have never owned a home.  This is not a bad thing, especially in light recent economic times.  The home I currently live in, fortunately, has decent window treatments.  It is part of what makes living there a pleasure.  The owners invested in decent custom shades and blinds in all the important rooms and non-custom blinds in the less important rooms e.g., the laundry room.

Rental homes need decent window blinds too.  Based on my own experience, I believe the perception is that custom window treatments are unaffordable; a luxury that doesn’t fit into the economic reality of owning a home or renting a home (or apartment).  But good window treatments really help make a house more livable and attractive.  From a renter’s perspective this is important.  I also believe it should be important from the homeowner’s perspective too – happy renters mean loyal tenants and that means less turnover.  Additionally, enhanced enjoyment and pride of one’s living quarters usually equates to greater care (read:  less damage & more stewardship).

This article will give advice to homeowners and renters alike on the best blinds and shades that will look great and not break the budget.  To get started let’s get two things out of the way:

First,  no more uber-cheap blinds from big box stores – these blinds are poorly made in third world countries with little or no regard to the environment, quality materials, labor or safety standards.  For example, millions of IKEA blinds were recently recalled (June, 2010) because a child was strangled in the cords. These blinds are made in far flung countries because the labor is so cheap.  These recalls seem to happen about once a year and always involves cheap blinds like these. 

Second, the best blinds and shades are custom, that is they are made-to-order to the exact measurements of a window. But quality, custom blinds do not have to be expensive.  And, they have the dual benefit of fitting better, working better and lasting a lot longer.  The bottom line is, spend a little more now for a product that you won’t have to replace for years and years.  Lastly, the best place to buy blinds is online, period.  Take advantage of online retailers low overhead and save yourself a lot of money.

Without further ado, here are my recommendations:

Window blinds:  the most affordable can be summed up in two words – vinyl blinds.  I know that vinyl blinds are normally associated with cheap blinds but, the right ones can look quite stylish.  There are vinyl mini blinds, faux wood blinds (made from either vinyl or composite wood, the cheapest are vinyl), vinyl vertical blinds and plantation shutters.  My top pick for affordable custom window treatments that will look nice and stand up to years of use are faux wood blinds with vinyl slats.  These are very affordable and will give your home or apartment the upscale look of wood blinds.  For example, Blindsgalore offers a quality house brand of faux woods with 2″ slats that is very affordable – a 36″ x 48″ faux wood blind is only about $37.00…  For sliding glass doors consider vinyl vertical blinds with textured vanes.  This helps set them apart from the ubiquitous smooth vinyl vanes found in too many rental homes.  For an even more upscale look consider fabric vertical blinds, they’ll add warmth to the room.

Window shades:  There are actually more choices in the category of shades than blinds.  There are roller shades, pleated shades, cellular shades, roman shades, solar shades, woven wood shades and sheer shades.  Again, these don’t have to be expensive.  My recommendation is to go with a house brand from an online retailer, these are often made by the same name brand companies.  When considering window shades, keep in mind that many of the shades listed above come with different opacities (how much light is transmitted through the fabric).  For bedrooms, consider opaque fabrics for room darkening.  For rooms with lots of natural light, consider sheer or semi-sheer to preserve all that light.  The best low-cost options in the shades category are pleated shades, single cell cellular shades, fabric roller shades (you don’t want vinyl shades) and roman shades.  Another price example from Blindsgalore’s BG Bargains line are cellular shades - a 36″ x 48″ cellular shade with standard cord lift is about $51.  These cheap cellular shades (cheap yes. low quality- no) will also add insulation to the window which will help lower heating and cooling costs – over time, they’ll pay for themselves.