Window blinds and window shades offer a couple of obvious benefits to any home. While window shades offer a better energy efficiency insulating factor, both window blinds and window shades afford you with a level of privacy, and enhance your home décor.
Energy efficiency may be a consideration when shopping for window coverings, but that is not normally the primary concern. If insulation for energy saving was the main consideration, nothing beats a window shade like an army blanket. But who wants an army blanket covering their window?
Now I’m not belittling the benefit of energy efficiency. We all want to see the heating bill shrink occasionally, and I could expound on the benefits of energy efficient window shades at length. Or you can see a great variety of window shades that insulate your windows with us at SelectBlinds. That will give me the opportunity to share an additional benefit of window blinds and window shades that most of us never even think about.
Window blinds and window shades are a great way to preserve the life of your home furnishings. In particular I am referring to furniture, area rugs, and carpeting. Most people don’t realize the harmful effects of UV rays that come through the window, whether opened or closed, and the impact that those rays have on your belongings.
Picture a beautiful oriental area rug on the floor of your living room. Contrary to what the name suggests, most people live more in other rooms, and the living room gets used only around holiday time. Privacy is not a big issue in the living room, so you have beautiful window shades or window blinds on the windows, but since privacy is not a concern, you leave those window shades opened at all times. You see that oriental area rug almost every day. The sun is beating through the window, and unbeknown-st to you, it is gradually fading the colors of that rug. One day you do a major house cleaning, you move the sofa, and you are just shocked to see the difference in the colors of the exposed area of the rug versus the part covered by the sofa. I think you see where I’m headed here. Window blinds and window shades add life to your home furnishings.
Window shades offer a better insulation factor than window blinds. Window shades are made from soft fabrics, and can be custom made to include liners that add light control and additional insulation. Window shades are traditionally either up, letting light in, or down, blocking light, but also blocking the view.
Window blinds are made of horizontal or vertical slats. Real wood blinds can really enrich the feel of a room, but fall short of the insulating factor offered by window shades. Horizontal window blinds do offer the ability to be in the lowered position, and allow for a view. In fact, horizontal window blinds can be tilted to reflect the sun away from the floor and furniture, while still giving you a fairly open view to the outside.
Hope this was useful information for everyone!
