Custom window treatments are an easy, affordable addition to every home. They increase property attraction, add extra value, and can increase the sale price for the residential properties. In addition to protecting the premises from unwanted “spectators,” window treatments give the home a warmer feeling.
Window treatments available include blinds (mini, vertical, horizontal, wood), honeycomb shades, shutters, upholstery, and top treatments. If you want to accent your shades and blinds, you may wish to consider swags and jobots (pronounced je-bows), matching bedspreads and valances. Valances are fabric placed at the top of the window, above a window treatment if present, adding height to the window. They provide an elegant finish to any room, with or without window treatments.
§ What fits best: Vertical blinds are often the best solution for sliding glass doors, as the window and blinds both open in the same direction. Similarly, horizontal blinds are best for “up and down” windows.
§ Most popular choice: A big seller is two-inch wood blinds. They come in real wood or faux wood. The real wood is stained to match the color of your favorite wood tone (i.e. pecan, cherry, maple, etc.) and also come in a variety of “whites.” If you have a special color in mind, wood blinds may be painted at the factory to match exactly the color of your choice. Faux wood blinds are better for high humidity locations and also come in faux wood stains, as well as a variety of white-tones.
§ Possible money-saver: Use your window coverings to help keep the cool air in during the summer and fall and out during the winter. Honeycomb shades do this by letting in the light, but keeping the elements outside so the home remains comfortable and energy efficient and your electric and home heating bills are more manageable. Honeycomb shades are available with a pull cord or without (child safety).
§ Let the light in: If you would like to have light enter through the top of the window and keep the bottom of the window covered, the “duofold” shade, also called “bottom up, top down” is right for you. The shade goes up or down, depending on your preference. It comes with cord or cordless and even remote control activation. “Duofold” shades also are available with a room darkening option, which is perfect for bedrooms with early morning sunlight exposure, especially if your bedroom window faces the South and the morning sun wakes you earlier than you would like. Whether room darkening or light filtering (translucent), duofold shades provide you with the highest level of privacy available from a shade.
There are just a few options to consider when updating your home. If you have any questions about what you can do to make your home "market ready", just give me a call at (250) 305-7034 and we can go over the different options you may have.