Product Showcase – Roller Shades

If you grew up in the 1970’s and 1980’s you may well remember the old vinyl roller shade that flung off the wall in your numerous efforts to open it, nearly springing off into your face!  While the product name of roller shades has not changed, the product certainly has.  With today’s ever-changing window coverings the roller shade is increasingly popular due to its beautiful fabrics, simplicity and easy operation.  Let’s consider a few factors to see if a roller shade is an option you may want to consider:

1. Simplicity of Design – the roller shade is an uncomplicated concept with fabric rolling onto the roller tube. In today’s classic streamlined homes, the roller shade offers a clean understated appearance if you want it to blend, or perhaps you prefer a fun pattern to accentuate your personality.  There are so many textures, colors and patterns available in the designer roller that there is sure to be a pattern or texture that meets your interior style.  Plus, the single layer of fabric allows for easy maintenance and cleaning – minimal cleaning is required.

2. Naturally Pet and Child Safe – Roller shades have a few options to consider when making your selection. The basic operating system is the standard beaded chain that is attached to a cord tensioner or chain guide at the bottom.  This remains a popular option due to its price point and the continuous loop in the beaded chain makes it adhere to the child and pet safety standards, which are now legislated and becoming more and more stringent.   Other options for operation include  LiteRise® by Hunter Douglas, or a cordless option, which eliminates the chain and allows you to operate the shade from the bottom bar.  Hunter Douglas offers the ultraglide retractable cord in the roller shade which is a single cord that is pumped to operate the shade, making it a popular child safe option, especially in those high windows that are hard to reach.  PowerView® motorization is a very popular option, allowing the consumer to operate the blind with the touch of a button from their remote, device or wall switch.

Custom Roller Blinds

3. Solar Shade or Roller Shade?  A roller shade can also offer the option of a solar fabric which allows some view through to the outside.  You can balance your view through with privacy based on the openness of the weave – the tighter the weave the more private your interior will be.  However, please keep in mind, that if you can see out during the day, people from the outside can see the exact same detail looking in to your home when the light is on at night.   This is a common request that consumers will ask – they want the shades where they can see out but people can’t see in.  Although the solar shades are private during the day, the opposite is true at night.  If you do require privacy it is best to consider a fabric that is transparent or private over an open weave solar shade.

4. Room darkening fabrics – Roller shades have always had their room darkening vinyl options available. Fortunately, now we can choose from multitudes of colors, textures and patterns in the roller shade collections that offer the fabric as room darkening.  However, due to the nature of roller shades and the clutch system you will always have a fabric gap on the sides.  These will allow a significant amount of light in at the sides which is highlighted on the opaque fabrics.  And that beam of light can be a deterrent to those needing room darkening for day time sleeping such as for shift workers and children. If you are needing room darkening consider mounting the shade differently, or look at other options such as the Honeycomb shade.

For experience and knowledge about the right custom window coverings for your Cochrane & Calgary home, contact Kirstin today!