06 Mar Blind Ambition: Choosing the Right Window Covering

Don’t forget the windows! The right window covering maximizes privacy, insulates against heat, cold and noise, and enhances the room’s overall décor. Although there are different types of window coverings, let’s focus on two of our faves: blinds and shades.

Blinds versus shades

Blinds and shades both make fantastic solo window coverings, but they’re also perfect for layering beneath other treatments like drapes, swags and valances.

Although some people use the phrases interchangeably, blinds and shades aren’t the same window treatment.

Blinds are made from a series of slats, or louvers, that are maneuvered to vary light and privacy levels. You can raise the whole blind up, raise it midway, or keep it drawn, while adjusting the slats to allow some light to come in.

Shades work as one piece or panel; you can raise or lower the shade to any desired height, but there are no slats to adjust. This construction means shades provide superior insulation properties.

Three styles we love

At National Drapery, we offer a huge array of blind and shade options, all in an even wider array of materials and fabrics. (C’mon in to see your options up-close!)

We want to highlight three of the most exciting styles we offer:

Style: Automated shades, by Q Motion

Benefits: The automated shades can be raised and lowered manually or by a handheld device (even your iPhone!). They run on a discreet low-voltage power source or a long-lasting battery, and come in honeycomb or roller-shade styles. Q Motion shades are known for their quiet functionality and sleek, contemporary styling.

Best for:
• Minimalist decor
• Rooms with a great view that you don’t want to distract from with drapery
• Oversize windows
• Walls or banks of windows
• Convenience and safety (no cords, easy to open/close)
 

Style: Roman shades

Benefits: A perennial favourite, Roman shades offer an elegant, tailored look, allowing you to showcase a fabric you love, without overpowering your space. (Although they also look great paired with drapery for a dressier aesthetic). Lowered, they fill (and insulate) the window, raised, they fold into tidy, symmetrical folds.

Best for:
• Small and medium windows
• Bay windows (in a trio)
• Rooms with a great view

Style: Opera shade by Maxxmar

Benefits: Although it’s called a “shade,” this innovative, multi-ply design morphs a slatted blind with a shade for a multitasking take on window covering. Slats (or shade sections) can be controlled separately to customize privacy and light. For example, you can lower the entire Opera Shade, so the window is completely covered, yet close just the slats in the upper portion of the Opera Shade to protect against glare, while leaving the slats in the lower half open, to provide for a view and light entry through the sheer semi-sheer shade layer.

Best for:
• Minimalist decor
• Rooms with a great view that you don’t want to distract from with drapery
• All window sizes
• Walls or banks of windows