Silhouette Shades With Extra Special Savings

For a limited time Hunter Douglas, the manufacturer of Silhouette window shadings, is offering a special savings to anyone who purchases the shades from now through May 31, 2007. You will save $50 per Silhouette window shading on up to five shades for a total savings of $250.

Featuring fabric vanes suspended between two sheer fabric facings, Silhouette window shadings give you total light control and privacy. The shades completely disappear into the headrail when fully raised and are now available in 2", 3" and 4" vanes. Sizes available are up to 120" in width and up to 120" in height. They can be made to fit arches, angles, circles, sliding glass doors and french doors. The shades can be battery powered or electrically powered with remote or switch controls. They easily clean www.winsbysungard.com and provide excellent UV protection. They are at the high end of the price field for window coverings, but are worth it. We have had them in our living room windows for about 5 years and they still look like new. I highly recommend these shades to anyone who desires a soft look to their window, with the ability to have complete privacy yet maintain a view. Look up our website for further information www.drapesandmore.com

Shutters - Popular Window Covering Alternative

Wood shutters have been a popular window covering for a long time; however, it's only been a few years since the new polysatin shutters have been on the market. These shutters will not crack, warp, chip or shrink. They are UV resistant and unaffected by temperature or humidity changes. Color throughout their structure keeps them looking new for as long as you own them. These shutters will never need sanding, repainting or staining and they can be cleaned easily with a soft cloth and soap and water.

They are also flame resistant and I've heard several stories where wild-fires have occurred where homes, with these shutters installed in the windows along with stucco siding and tile roofs, have helped keep the house from being burned while their neighbor's homes were lost to the flames.

They can be ordered in 2-3/8" and 3-3/8" louver sizes and they come with several styles of frames. You can get them with the standard tilt bar in front or have it installed on the backside of the shutter panel, or you can order them without tilt bars at all for a clean unobstructed look. Personally I prefer the wider louver size as it increases the view and light that will enter the room when you have the louvers open. We have them in our Master Bath over a large soaking tub, they are perfect for this application as well as kitchens and children's rooms. For more information check out www.hunterdouglas.com or my website at www.drapesandmore.com.

Remodeling - What a Mess!

Not only have we been remodeling our shop and warehouse, but we are in the middle of remodeling our kitchen at home. There is simply no where to go to get away from the mess of stuff everywhere and dust. Where does this dust come from? Why do we surround ourselves with so much stuff? No matter how much we are trying to keep our lives under control everything just seems to have a life of its own and it keeps growing.

The kitchen remodel is the result of a small fire that was caused by our microwave oven. No kidding, it just started itself on fire without even being in use! Imagine walking into the room and seeing it filled with black smoke and flames shooting from the microwave and cascading down the front of the oven to the floor. The local firemen that came to make sure our house wouldn't burn to the ground said that they had never encountered a fire source like this. They said that we were LUCKY to have been at home when the fire started or we would have lost the entire house. Our insurance carrier has sent the microwave oven to a fire specialty company to try and find out why it suddenly burst into flames.

We have just about finished our business remodel and will soon have a sale. We will have all instock items on sale from 30% to 70% off: Howard Miller grandfather, wall, mantel and alarm clocks, lamps, accessories, occassional tables, some window blinds, shutters and draperies, etc. that are in stock. Visit our website at www.drapesandmore.com. Our in-store sale will start on March 29 thru March 31, 2007. We look forward to your visit!

Washable Fabrics for the Kitchen

Recently I had a client ask me the following question: "Why haven't we been able to find washable fabrics for our kitchen?"

Answer: Yes, you can find them! Fortunately this problem can be solved using fabrics manufactured by ADO. Every fabric that this company makes is machine washable so no matter how dirty it gets in a kitchen environment, it can be washed and look good as new. They also have fabrics that actually remove odors from the air. When you're cooking it is wonderful to have the aroma in the air, but the next morning the last thing that you want to smell is last night's meal in your kitchen.

ADO also fabricates many products that are washable: draperies, curtains, bedding and roman shades are among many other items. As an example, they can make a roman shade so that it can be easily removed, washed and then rehung damp on the rod. Their fabrics should never be put into the dryer. I have two ADO sheer drapery panels, made out of two different fabric styles, in my own home that can be taken down, washed and rehung to dry. They dry without wrinkling and look like new every time I've washed them. Call us if you have a need for beautifully made machine washable products for your windows.

2007 Residential Window Film Tax Credit

The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 allows consumers to apply for tax credits based on energy-efficient improvements made to their homes between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. Window film has recently been added to the list of qualifying products. Consumers who have purchased certain types of Sun-Gard, Elite and Glass-Gard window films may now apply for a tax credit. The tax credit is not applicable to commercial property.

The federal government has developed standards to determine which window films qualify in each climate zone. Visit website at www.filmtechnologies.com to obtain the list of films that qualify in your climate zone. Homeowners can receive a credit equal to 10% of the cost of the window film up to $500. Installation labor charges are not eligible.

Not only can Sun-Gard, Elite and Glass-Gard window films lower your tax bill, but they can also reduce your energy bill. In the summer months, heat entering a home through glass doors and windows can increase your energy bill by 40%. Window film has been proven to reduce heat gain in a home by up to 78% - thus reducing the load put on an AC unit to keep a home cool. The less your AC unit has to run, the more you save on your energy bill each month. For more information about solar films visit www.winsbysungard.com.

Know Design History of Tiffany Lamps

Just read a very interesting on-line article in "This Week in Home Decor", written by Jim Carper; this publication is a trade publication that discusses current topics for the design trade. The subject of his comments were about Tiffany lamp designs, as follows:

"Louis Comfort Tiffany was not the sole designer of his stained-glass lamps, according to a just opened exhibit at the New York Historical Society (www.nyhistory.org). It was a woman - Clara Driscoll - who created the Wisteria, Dragonfly and Poppy lampshades, as well as inkwells, desk sets and tea screens. Driscoll supervised a design department of 35 women until she had to leave in 1909 when she remarried. (Married women were not allowed to work in the studio.) If word had gotten out that Driscoll had designed some of the company's most famous lamps, "Tiffany would have died", co-curator Martin Eidelberg told the New York Times. The exhibit, "A New Light on Tiffany", runs through May 28, (2007)."

How wonderful that times have changed for women in business! However, this exhibit looks like one not to miss if you love these beautiful Tiffany lamps.

NEW WINDOW COVERING PRODUCT:

Skyline Gliding Window Panels

Introducing Skyline Gliding Window Panels. Sleek modern fabric panels that provide contemporary styling and enhance light in a room while maximizing the view. Skyline Gliding Window Panels will set a new standard in modern window fashions providing a sophisticated look to match today's urban design influence.

Wow, that's a mouth full. We have had the pleasure of being part of the beta test of this product recently introduced by Hunter Douglas since July, 2006. We've had it hanging on our patio door in the busiest part of our house. The shade is made up of fabric panels, mostly open weave sun screen products, that slide on a single rod. The bottom panels interlock and are weighted for ease of operation. The fabric offers five styles of fabric; screen, sheer, semi-opaque, opaque and naturals and woven grass. The best part about this new shade is that it can cover large expanses of window sizes - up to 384" wide and heights up to 168". These sizes are tremendous!

The hardware comes in eight designer finishes that coordinate with each fabric. You can have a choice of operating systems, cord pulls or wand controls. They are operable in one way stack or split stack orientation. You can even use this product as a room divider. These shades will offer the perfect solution for both large and small window expanses.