Window coverings are really anything that covers your window. Most people think of window blinds or shades, plantation shutters, or even drapes. But the fact of the matter is that even an old sheet hanging over your window, is a window covering. I’m not advocating the use of old sheets to cover your windows; I’m just saying that your idea of what should be covering your window is not necessarily the only option.
Solar Shades vs. Wood Blinds
I recently changed the window coverings in my home office. Recently being this past weekend. I can save you reading the rest of this by telling you the end result. My wife was right. But you already knew that. The interesting thing about it is the details. My home office is a nice size room, and two of the walls face outside, and include 4 French doors each. And actually, two of the French doors are faux French doors. I had hung motorized lift solar shades on the windows. They had a handy remote, with which I used to raise them and lower them. The shades were beautiful, and although the privacy factor was less than 100%, they blocked harmful UV rays, and there was the “cool” factor. I mean any time anyone was over, I found the need to raise or lower the shades, and always got the desired response of “wow”.
So my really cool solar roller shades, due to the motorization, had some issues. Although these issues were not a deal killer for me, my wife pointed out the deficiencies in their operation. These shades never seemed to go up or down at the same speed. These window shades were battery operated, and it seemed like there was always one or two shades, out of the eight, that had to have the batteries replaced, which is no easy feat. Oh, and on two of the roller shades, I couldn’t get the battery case to fit behind the head rail, leaving the battery case exposed.
My thinking had been that the solar roller shades were the window covering that made the most sense for the room. Now that I have replaced them, I can easily see that my inclination towards window shades, specifically roller shades, and even more specifically solar shades, was not the best solution. So, I decided on the 1″ basswood, real wood blinds to cover the windows of my French doors, and faux French doors.
I love them! The solar shades provided limited privacy. The basswood blinds give total privacy. The solar shades blocked harmful UV rays, but only when they were in the lowered position. The 1” wood blinds have a tilt rod, and I can tilt against the rays of the sun, and still have the ability to clearly see out through the slats. The roller shades had motorization, which eliminates cords, and is really cool. The wood blinds, well, never mind. They do not have motorized lift, but they don’t have to be raised. Just tilt the slats where you want them. The wood blinds look amazing, and I have to admit that they actually enrich the look of the room.
Both the shades and the blinds are great window coverings, and they both can be found at www.selectblinds.com, where you can find all of your window covering needs.
