Archive for the ‘Hunter Douglas Blinds’ Category

Cadence by Hunter Douglas

This is about the new Cadence® by Hunter Douglas and can be found in their View™ magazine that is published a few times per year. When the Cadence® was first launched, it redefined the vertical blind market. Hunter Douglas™ patented and proprietated the curved louver with rich, textured fabrics. Hunter Douglas just added new styles and patterns to the Motif™ and for the Impressions™. There are now 5 new styles of fabric with thirty nine color choices for the Motif. The Impressions now has 6 styles of printed and textured vinyl louvers with over forty two colors. You can now buy fabric by the yard to compliment your blinds. The fabrics are available in eleven designer colors to match the Cadence or any Hunter Douglas product. Some of the new options include a wood valance in ten stains and the PermAssure® Safety Wand system which eliminates the chain and cord for enhanced child (and pet) safety.

We just got the new price books from Hunter Douglas. The great news is that most of the items do not have a price increase and they added some cool new features we will be adding to the site. For all the motorized blinds, Hunter just reinstated the wireless wall switch control. For the 2 1/2 inch blinds (alternative and real woods), you can now have the cordless option. For duettes, try out the new continuous cord loop top down, bottom up. Nantucket can now be motorized. Now, discontinuation.  Puressence Applause Honeycomb shades are gone. So are those cool extension poles for skylights. No more small cassettes for the sunscreens. Lastly, no micro pleat backings for the woven woods.

This comes directly from Hunter Douglas. More to choose from. More styles to fit a variety of sizes and shapes of windows, in more fabrics and colors. So you can find the perfect choice for your home. And they’re available at the largest number of professionally-trained dealers and showrooms throughout the country. Innovation and Technology. Almost every major advance in the window fashions industry was delevoped in their workrooms and testing labs. From the invention of honeycomb shades to innovative Silhouette™ window shadings to their newest achievement, Duette Architella™ shades with their superior energy efficiency, Hunter Douglas continues to bring you window coverings that combine the latest in fashion, function, and technology. Lifetime Guarantee. Every single Hunter Douglas window fashion is designed and custom assembled by trained craftsmen right here in the U.S. So they can back every purchase with their exclusive Lifetime Guarantee, ensuring that your window coverings stay around for as long as you do. You have our word on this.

This is more information directly from the Hunter Douglas™ Designing Windows book.
Now, you have the power to change light.
Think how your mood changes when a glaring summer afternoon melts into a soothing sunset or when a rainy morning becomes a sun-soaked afternoon. The secrete is light. Light has the power to change not just what you see…but how you feel. With Hunter Douglas™ window fashions you will be able to master light, shape it and control it. Use it not only as your most versatile and valuable decorating tool, but as a way to create the peaceful and calming atmosphere you want for your surroundings. Of coarse, this unique light controlling power also has its practical side. Turn a south facing beach house into a cool, private retreat. Or convert a brightly lit den into a sleep welcoming guest room. Its endless possibilities are yours to choose from when you choose Hunter Douglas™. Ask any decorator, any photographer, or, for that matter, any real estate agent what makes a room beautiful and desirable and they’ll say it’s all a matter of light. That’s why Hunter Douglas products are especially designed for maximum light management. Proper light control can soften the brilliant blaze of noon. Welcome early morning light without sacrificing your privacy; screen ultraviolet rays to protect valuable fabrics and carpeting. And, most important, lift your spirits, ease your tensions and create the mood you want when you want it.

Express your own personal style.

Formal, cozy, country estate or studio apartment, whatever your decorating preferences and functional needs, Hunter Douglas™ has the right product to help put your stamp of individuality on your rooms and your home. Design versatility is built into every custom window fashions we make, so the Hunter Douglas™ product you choose for your elegant living room will look just as appropriate in your cozy den.

These are comments made by top designers in major cities in the U.S. They are answering the question: Light. It can be a designer’s best friend or biggest challenge and how window coverings by Hunter Douglas solve this?

“Controlling the flow of light into a room requires window treatments that are both stylish, well-built and adjustable to accommodate the light’s changing brightness through the day. I love Hunter Douglas products for their style, quality and diversity. There’s a light-control and privacy option to fit every style, every color and every mood.”

Ms. Griffin, New York

“As the production designer on NBC’s “The Apprentice,” I was presented with shooting in buildings that had walls of glass which flooded the spaces with too much light. Hunter Douglas window fashions were the perfect solution to control the light and add another texture and color in the background.”

Ms. Van Patter, Los Angeles

“I’ve seen the light. I have a lot of jobs in Florida where the light is strong and blazing all winter long. The solutions for covering windows there must be extremely well thought out, innovative and appropriate. Hunter Douglas has an array of products from shutters to sheers that function flawlessly and beautifully control the light in any climate.”

Mr. Donovan, W. Palm Beach

“My goal is to design rooms that serve as refuges. I enjoy the application of draperies for their visual softness, sound absorption and light diffusing properties. The current trend of large screen televisions in the home poses a challenge in controlling light as well as preventing glare. I have found that Silhouette™ window shadings offer the softness of a drapery with the glare-controlling properties of a blind.”

Mr. Handman, Chicago

“Windows are the most exciting part of my design products. I am always excited to explore natural light dancing through the fibers, textures and weaves offered in window treatments. A personal favorite of mine are Silhouette™ Quartette™ window shadings. They are sheer elegance with a view!”

Ms. Younts, Miami

This comes directly from the Hunter Douglas Designing Windows Volume 2.  It talks about the effect colors can play in a room.

The basic vocabulary of white on white.

White wall and white window coverings are the perfect backdrop for today’s eclectic approach to decorating. Hunter Douglas offers a surprisingly wide spectrum of whites whose names tell their stories in the beautiful language of light: Radiant White, Bright White, White Dawn, Classic White, White Satin and dozens more.

For punctuation, an exclamation point of color.

Some rooms can use a bolt of blue at the window, repeated, perhaps, in a pillow on the bed or a print on the wall. Hunter Douglas offers colors that range from subtle to striking. Just a little can go a long way toward enlivening the scene.

Light helps neutral speak in clear tones.

Subtle neutrals take on a new dimension when the light in your room is modulated to enhance them. Earth tones. Sky tones. Pale mineral tones. Each requires its own kind of light for maximum effect. And Hunter Douglas lets you achieve that effect with ease.

The more color, the more drama.

Emerald green, sapphire blue, yes, even ruby red… you can use them, even combine them. Then, let your choice of Hunter Douglas products deliver the precise degree of light to make them glow instead of glare.

All of our Hunter Douglas products can be found at: Hunter Douglas Products.

This is the last of the ongoing series from Hunter Douglas™ “We Make Green Beautiful” promotions.

Out planet gets an enormous amount of energy (solar) from our sun. In the summer, people do not want the dynamic energy entering our houses to become heat. That is why if you live in a hot climate, or anywhere the spring and summer is baking your house, you need a window treatment that will effectively reduce the solar heat gain from the sun.

The Coefficient for Solar Heat Gain

A coefficient from 0-1 is how solar heat gain is measured and that tells us what fraction of the suns energy hitting your window actually makes it into your house. The lower the number, the better for you. A standard window (double paned) will have a heat gain coefficient of around a .76. That means basically that seventy six percent of the solar energy (heat) makes it though and into your house. Most window covering products by Hunter Douglas™ reduce that amount dramatically. For instance, if you add the Luminette™ Privacy Sheers to that opening, that number will drop to as low as a .2 meaning only twenty percent makes it in. Now that’s dramatic. It not only blocks the heat but saves on electricity and money.

Just the opposite in the Winter

In the fall and winter, to bring down the heating energy consumption, you need to take advantage of as much free heat the sun can give you. You need to raise the shades whenever direct sunlight is shining and it doesn’t matter if it is cold out or not. For east windows, do this in the morning. For your west windows, in the afternoon and most of the day for your south windows.

Just out.

• Applause™ Honeycomb Shades- Sunterra™ is now 10% less than Casuelle™ and Legends™, Sunterra is now available in blackouts (we still don’t have these yet).
• New fabrics in the Duette™- Mertage™ and Classic, Continuous Cord Loop (EasyRise™) is now available in a top down, bottom up.
• Nantucket™- Now you can motorize this.

None of these have been offically launced yet but they are some great new options for 2009. We will have them up and ready as soon as they are out.

This comes directly off the Hunter Douglas™ “We Make Green Beautiful” brochure. R-value is the measurement or the resistance to heat flow. A regular wall for a typical house has an R-value of around 19 whereas s typical double paned window only has a value of around a 2. Window covering such as some of the Hunter Douglas Duettes™ can add up to TRIPLE there R-value! This will be huge on your energy bill. If you are in a colder area of the county and you need to have that heater on regularly (more than half the year), you need a window treatment that adds at least 1 point of R-value but the more the better. When you choose a product for its insulating properties, be certain to specify that it be inside mounted and fully recessed in the opening in order to get maximum efficiency. If you can’t mount on the inside of a casement and have to go over the whole thing (outside the window), make plenty of overlap. Cold air between the shade and the glass can too easily go around the sides, edges and bottom which will greatly reduce the effective r-value of that window treatment.

Ah, we are so used to just using the back end that we didn’t notice this. Probably a couple of weeks old. Hunter Douglas™ just totally redesigned their website. www.hunterdouglas.com. The flash based design is much more user friendly and searching for pictures is much easier. Great job guys.

This article comes directly from “We Make Green Beautiful” brochure that we received from Hunter Douglas™. It has a ton of useful information and will keep you posted. They give us great info like this all the time and I wish they would let us know who the authors of this so we can give them credit.

This has happened to all of us. We’re stopped at a traffic light with a long line of cars behind us. Out thoughts wander, our attention drifts. Suddenly a loud honk jolts us back to the moment. We look up to see that the light  has changed, and we sheepishly accelerate- quickly, to make up for the delayed response.

Think of future generations honking.

As a society, we’ve reacted slowly to warning signals about depletion of natural resources, climate change and the quality of life in coming years. Now, clearly, the light is changing to green and it’s time for us to keep moving.

The Benefits of Window Coverings

You probably know that Hunter Douglas™ offers the most extensive selection of window fashions on the market, but you may not realize how much our products can impact energy efficiency. Not only do they help protect against UV damage to furnishings and most are GREENGARD Indoor Air Quality Certified®, Hunter Douglas™ window fashions also add insulation at the window to reduce heating costs, moderate the sun’s heat in summer to reduce cooling costs, and improve the quality of natural daylight to reduce the costs of electrical lighting.
Today, our window fashions are so much more than fashionable. They are tools to save energy, and important contributors to reducing energy use, utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, Hunter Douglas™ window fashions are one of the easiest ways to “go green.”

We have been informed that starting May 1st, 2009, Hunter Douglas™ will longer be making the Alouette™ LightLouvers blind and it will be permanently retired. We asked our fabricator if this was true and the response was that material are no longer being stocked. If you like the Alouette™, order those now while supplies last. Hunter Douglas™ is excellent on customer service and will still provide their awesome warranty until everything is gone and out of the supply. I can’t be sure of the actual date but believe this line came in around 2000 or 2001 so it had a nice run. An interesting alternative is the new Piroutte™. It is nice but still has the sheer that the Alouette™ didn’t.

This article comes directly from Hunter Douglas™ and I thought would be useful. We do not sell a ton of the Provenace™ mainly because of price but the fabric quality is some of the best (if not the best) out there.

They broke down the Provenance book into three categories: bamboo, reeds and grasses. Some are a mix of all three or one or two. They combine a traditional look, natural materials and colors and ultra-modern technology. Most of these are porous and filter the amount of light entering a room for dramatic effects.

 Here are the options:

• 5″ fabric folds when raised and flat when down.
• They have an optional classic natural wood shade cascades fabric down from the front of the head rail which prevents the need for a valance.
• The option band edging will protect the fabric from fraying and will allow more customization.
• You can enjoy added privacy with a light filtering or room darkening backing.

Check out Provenance™ by Hunter Douglas™ for the best woven wood blinds out there.

Hunter Douglas goes Hunter Green

Hunter Douglas™ just started their Hunter Green™ program. Here are the details taken directly from Hunter Douglas™.

Hunter Douglas™ as you know, is the world wide leader in creating innovative, energy-efficient blinds that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are trying to serve a larger purpose along with making homes brighter, more beautiful, more private and more comfortable.

One of the first innovative, energy efficiency improvements Hunter Douglas™ came up with was the Duette™ honeycomb shades. Air contained within the honeycomb cells proved to be an effective insulator. Yes, they invented the honeycomb shade! It keeps the heat inside in the winter and the cold inside in the summer.

A couple of years ago, Hunter Douglas™ improved the honeycomb shade even more with the invention of the Duette Architella™, which takes this energy conservation to a whole new level. The patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design forms 3 air pockets to dramatically reduce heat flow at the window. Fact, if installed in every window of every American home, these shades have the potential to cut our annual energy consumption by 2 1/2% total!! That’s massive just for blinds.

Another thing that is impressive is that Hunter Douglas™ is going to reduce their energy consumption by 15%, water usage by 40% and overall carbon emissions by 20% over the next 3 years.

Some of the projects that Hunter Douglas™ is involved in finacially is supporting the Arbor Day Foundation™ by planting 15,000 new trees and saving over a million feet of rain forest. They also help Habitat for Humanity™ by donating a whopping 100,000 window coverings over the last 15 years.

As you can see, Hunter Douglas™ is doing their part in making the world a better place. They are indeed “Hunter Green™”.

We want to inform you that for the cordless cell shades (honeycomb shades), the head rails are WHITE. They are not color coordinated with the fabric. That’s just the way they are made. The factory will put a metal strip in the head rail which is color coordinated. For the Hunter Douglas™ name brand, they do it slightly different. They will wrap the head rail in fabric. It looks much nicer but the cost can be significant.

We hope everyone is having a very nice new year. We only have one offical sale going on right now but that should change by next week. Our sales reps haven’t sent over next months promos yet and we will probably have them by Monday or Tuesday. So far, only Hunter Douglas™ has sent those over and it is an excellent deal. Free UltraGlide™ option (a $40 value). This is a unique operationg system for the Duette™ honeycomb shades. The string never gets longer! Click here to see all of the Hunter Douglas Duette™ Honeycomb Shades. I will have the other sales posted once I hear back from our reps. Have a great 2009 everyone! It seems just like yesterday for V2K. Remember that?

Last month Hunter Douglas Window Fashions™ announced another price increase for their Country Woods™ wood blinds, EverWood™ Collection and the Modern Precious Metals™ Aluminum Blinds. For the Everwood™, it was the second price increase in less than a year. They sent all the dealers new price guides and now we are to replace them back with the old grids. This is the first time in twelve years that I heard of Hunter Douglas™ receding prices and in my opinion, someone up there (the scarecrow) finally met the wizard before Christmas. No offence to Hunter Douglas™. The quality, innovation, materials, marketing, status etc. etc. of your products are unbeatable in a lot of areas but the bread and butters: woods, metals, faux woods (price wise) are really getting out of touch with the end user, the dealers and the competition. Granted some of the colors, options and materials are superb (no doubt about it) just look at the Everwood™ and you can easily tell it is superior to most out there. But more expensive than actual woods? When did that happen? Just my two cents and thank you, thank you, thank you for not doing this to us and our customers again so soon. Especially in this tough economy.

I hate to say this guys but Hunter Douglas™ is having ANOTHER price increase effective January 6, 2009. From checking out the pricing, it looks like almost a 6% increase across the board. Prices will effect the following products:

• Country Wood™
• EverWoods™
• Modern Precious Metals™

Hunter Douglas Applause Puressence ™ is made of cotton. It is available in three very natural and neutral colors. They are very energy efficient and environmentally friendly. My option is that the Puressence ™ is one of the coolest fabrics on the market today. Another Hunter Douglas ™ awesome innovation. Check out the Puressence ™ at our Applause single cell collection.

Hunter Douglas will be doing end of the year inventory between December 22nd – January 5th.

Hours will be:

• December 22-23, 8AM-5PM
• December 24, 8AM-12
• December 25-26, closed
• December 29-31, 8AM-5PM
• January 1-2, Closed
• January 5, 8AM-5PM
• January 6- back to normal

• Tupi 65- Due in any time
• Coluna 52- December 25
• Tatui 46- December 5
• Elisa Maple 8- November 20th
• Petra 36- November 20th
• Kon Tiki 45- December 30th

Hunter Douglas Brand- Duette and Applause. Free Top Down/Bottom Up.

Comfortex Brand-

• 15% off all cellular shades and free Top Down/Bottom Up.
• $10 off Shangri-La horizontal sheer shades.
• 20% off Woodwinds 2″ composite blinds.
• 10% off Envision roller shades.

Please put your prayers for the people of the Houston area. I am a native Texan, have friends there, family there, our Hunter Douglas supplier is there. It is a great city and the people couldn’t be better. God bless America.

This comes off a brochure I received from Hunter Douglas with a summary on the new Pirouette ™ Window Shadings. Pirouette window shadings combine the personality of a classic fabric shade with the ability to control light in an entirely new way. With a gentle pull of the operating cord, textured fabric in a palette of delightful colors transforms from contoured folds to opened vanes, allowing a softened outside view through the sheer backing.

The revolutionary Invisi-Lift™ system allows the horizontal fabric vanes to float gracefully in the window, while providing precise control of the light in your life. Create harmony throughout your room with three fashionable fabric options. Choose the simple and flirty look of linen, the more elegant yet chic look of satin, or the sleek and stylish look of crepe. With 44 fabric/color combinations, all available with your choice of 4″ or 5″ vane sizes, you can have it all with Pirouette ™ window shadings- versatility in both function and style, and the perfect finishing touch to every room in your home. Hunter Douglas ™ and Pirouette ™ window shadings. Your life, your style. These are very cool check them out.