Window Treatments. Everything you wanted to know about blinds,
shades, and shutters but were afraid to ask.
Ever shopped online for blinds, shades, or shutters and were confused by all the different products and prices?
This page should help. We are currently working on Window Shades 101 and Plantation Shutters 101 to help with your
plantation shutters or window shade decisions.
Grab and Go Blinds vs. Custom made Blinds
Grab & Go window treatments are simply a name given to pre-cut window
treatments that you buy off the shelf. They are made to common, generic window sizes.
Because all windows are not exactly the same, dimensions for grab & go window blinds have to fit windows in certain size ranges.
Grab and go window treatments do not fit as well as custom blinds. The widths of a grab and go's must be shorter to
accommodate as many windows as possible.
The blind's length also has to fit several different sizes and quite often must be shortened. Grab & go blinds are usually the lowest
priced out there. The lower price is due to the use of lower quality hardware
and materials. Grab & go window treatments has a product life expectancy of
around 2 years.
Custom blinds are made to measure. Each window is measured for it's width and height to the nearest 1/8" and the blind is built to
fit the opening. These window treatments are made with better materials and hardware. The come from well known companies such as Hunter Douglas, Levolor,
Graber and Bali. They are usually warranted for as long as you own the home.
The material choices are PVC blinds, wood composite blinds, and real
wood blinds.
Click here for more metal blinds information
Mini blinds are made in several slat widths, 1/2", 1", 2". The slats of this blind are made from several different gauges (thickness).
Some of the Grab and go mini blinds use plastic slats to further lower
their cost. The higher the gauge the better.
Venetian blinds is a large category in blinds. The original Venetian blinds were made with wide curved metal slats much like a mini slat. Venetian blinds are made from plastics, woods, and combinations
of both. They are made in different slat widths. Shapes can be curved, flat or elliptical.
There are 3 basic types of venetians: PVC blinds, Composite blinds, and wood blinds.
Click here for more Faux Wood Blinds Information
Faux wood window treatments are made of a solid or foamed poly vinyl chloride plastic. That's right, the same stuff milk bottles are made of.
The blind slat's surface can be smooth or embossed. Color selection is limited. PVC blinds are starting price point in this category. They are very durable, UV resistant, waterproof, and easy to clean.
One draw-back is the
weight of the slats. PVC slats are heavier than wood and with large windows, can make raising the
window treatment a little difficult.
The large building centers offer a PVC window blind that is a cross over between the grab & go blind and custom made window treatment.
These are "cut as you wait". You take the measurements in and they cut your blind at the store. These PVC blinds are cheap and you
get what you pay for. The slats are PVC, but so is everything else like the head rail (normally metal), tilt mechanism (normally metal), barrels
(metal best) and etc. Customers are more often than not are dissatisfied with this type of PVC blind and there is no warranty.
Composite blinds are made from a combination of wood
and plastic. Composite Slats are also a newer material being used for the
window covering. The blind slat's
surface is a smooth poly-coating or a solid composite material. Composite blinds are priced in the mid range. They are very durable, UV resistant, water resistant,
less likely to warp than wood and easy to clean. One draw-back is the weight of the slats. Composite blinds slats are
lighter than PVC blinds.
Click
here for Wood Blinds Information
The wood slats are made from American hardwoods (usually Basswood). The blind slat's
surface is either painted or stained. The color selection of this discount
window blinds is quite large with several different whites and the most popular
hardwood stain colors. If you are wanting to match a cabinet or trim stain, wood blinds are your best bet. Wood blinds are the most expensive blinds
in this category. All wood slats can warp and may color fade over long periods of time. Wood blind slats are the lightest material and work well
for large windows.
