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HOW TO SELECT A WINDOW COVERING
~ A Shopper's Guide ~

Selecting window coverings is one of the most complicated decorating decisions homeowners face, as there are many practical and aesthetic considerations. According to the National Association of Home Builders' "Housing Facts, Figures & Trends 2004" report, a typical, newly built 2,272 square-foot house has an average of 19 windows. So most homeowners must multiply this decision by 19!
Experts at the nation's leading window covering company, Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, offer the following guide to help you select custom window coverings that will provide the best practical performance and add pleasing decorative qualities to every room in your house. Here are the questions you need to ask, and better yet, the answers:

Practical Considerations

What are your needs for privacy?
A general rule of thumb is that if you can see out through closed treatments during the day, others can see in at night. Hunter Douglas has a range of products that offer options ranging from sheer to privacy and all the degrees in between. Silhouette® window shadings, which feature fabric vanes suspended between sheer fabric panels, rotate for varying degrees of privacy and light control allow you to see your view and at the same time provide privacy. It comes in a light-dimming Bon Soir fabric for areas where more room darkening is desired. Luminette® Privacy Sheers, the vertical version of Silhouette shadings featuring a sheer fabric facing with vertical fabric vanes attached to the rear for privacy and light control, has an Evening Star room-darkening vane option.
For some the ability to close a blind, shade, shutter, shading, privacy sheer or drapery, especially at night, offers both shelter and comfort. Hunter Douglas recently introduced a
window covering showcasing 2 ¾"-wide fabric louvers with a elliptical, cellular shape that
rotate 180 degrees in either direction and raise and lower like a shade. The headrail and bottom rail are also elliptical in shape and pivot with the louvers to virtually disappear. When the louvers are fully open, the view is crystal clear, when closed, privacy is complete. Alouette LightLouvers are offered in two opacities - the translucent Clair and room-darkening Clair de Lune. For an even more sheltering look, Alouette louvers may be layered with draperies that may be pulled shut at night.

What are your needs for light control?
Many window coverings go up and down and make all stops in between. Duette® honeycomb shades, Brilliance® pleated shades, Jubilance® Roman shades and Provenance® woven woods offer the added option of being lowered from the top down, thus allowing light to enter a room while still providing privacy and offering maximum light control. And there is now a Top-Down / Bottom-Up and TiltAnywhere option for the popular Silhouette window shadings which allows you to operate the shadings from the top down, or the bottom up or in combination and tilt the product when it is in any position.
Products with either vertical or horizontal louvers, vanes or slats such as Country Woods® Collection wood blinds, Heritance® hardwood shutters, Palm Beach Custom Shutters, Silhouette shadings, the new Alouette LightLouvers, Luminette sheers and Cadence Soft Vertical Blinds allow you to redirect the light to change the complexion of a room by rotating or tilting the louvers.
Of course, how much light control you need depends what your room will be used for. For media rooms, Duette honeycomb shades in opaque fabrics with an aluminized polyester core that provides total room darkening are a good choice. These shades are available with PowerRise® battery powered remote control motorization, which can be integrated into home automation systems. Remembrance® window shades in opaque fabrics area also now offered with radio frequency-controlled hardwire motorization and can be very effective for media rooms.

Which direction does your window face? And what are your needs for UV-ray protection and energy efficiency?
North-facing windows bring in the most even and consistent light. It is also the coldest exposure, so for energy conservation these windows are often treated with insulated shades - such as Duette® honeycomb shades, which trap air in the honeycomb cells, and Country Woods Collection wood blinds - or lined draperies and cornices. Duette honeycomb shades come in single, double and triple honeycomb layers and a multitude of fabric and hardware options. The Duette triple honeycomb shade is the most energy efficient nationally branded window covering on the market.
South-facing windows receive sunlight year-round, casting a warm, golden glow on interiors. Heat and UV rays in this consistent light will cause the most damage, so, choose products that can protect fabric and furniture from the sun's harmful rays. The right window covering can block up to 99 percent of UV rays. Look for a "% UV blockage" rating. The higher a product's rating, the better the home's interior is protected from UV rays. For example, Duette honeycomb shades can block up to 99.9 percent of UV rays. Remembrance® window shades in opaque fabrics, Vignette® window shadings - an updated Roman shade with gently contoured fabric folds that roll up into a sleek headrail - Heritance hardwood shutters and Duette shades in opaque fabrics are all good choices.
East-facing windows admit the most balanced or full-spectrum light, however, its brightness and clarity may render it warm, especially in the morning. Window treatments with two layers that diffuse light, such as Alouette LightLouvers with it is cellular louvers, Silhouette window shadings with companion Luminette Privacy Sheers and Duette honeycomb shades are good choices here.
If your windows face west they are exposed to the hottest light and also the haziest because by day's end, there are so many impurities in the atmosphere. Many of the same treatments as south-facing windows are good selections here. Products like Silhouette window shadings and Luminette sheers can also provide UV protection while still allowing a view.

Is noise a problem?
If your windows face a crowded street, sound can be a problem, especially at night. It's good to know that fabric window coverings can provide a solution. Alouette LightLouvers, for instance, with its 2 ¾"-wide fabric louvers with an elliptical shape absorb almost half of all reflected sound, as
do Luminette sheers. Duette honeycomb shades with the triple layer of honeycomb cells absorb almost three quarters of all reflected sound.

Do your windows open and, if so, do you open them often?
Some windows open up, some out and some in. Other slide from side to side. For window or glass doors that slide open and shut Hunter Douglas vertical blinds or a vertical covering like Luminette sheers work well. Duette honeycomb shades with the Vertiglide® hardware system is another wonderful style option because the honeycomb fabric is oriented vertically with the shade operating sideways. When open, it folds back to a mere six inches, no matter how wide the treatment. If the window is used for ventilation it is best to have treatment that stacks off the window so that incoming breezes will not rattle or damage it.

Is the window covering child-safe?
Particularly if you have young children or pets at home safety is important. In 1993, Hunter Douglas introduced the Break-Thru® Safety Tassel for horizontal blinds, leading the industry in addressing the safety concerns posed by window covering cords. Since that time the company has continually introduced new and improved technologies that enhance the safety of Hunter Douglas products and family homes.
Among the safety innovations: the PermAssure® Safety Wand, a fiberglass wand that is a single control replacing both the cord and the chain on vertical blinds; cordless, wireless PowerRise motorization; the UltraGlide® patented lifting system on Duette shades and Silhouette shadings, which features a single, retractable cord that is easily kept out of the way of children; and the LiteRise® Touch System, a cordless lift system that allows shades or blinds to be raised and lowered with touch of a finger.

What about hard-to-reach windows?
For very large and hard-to-reach windows, such as skylights and clerestory windows, motorization is a necessity, and in rooms where there is an entire wall of windows and in bedrooms where it allows controlling the window covering without leaving your bed, it is a great
convenience. Hunter Douglas offers motorization on many of its window coverings.
Luminette® with PowerGlide® remote control motorization both traverses the sheers and rotates the fabric vanes. Duette honeycomb shades and Silhouette window shadings are available with PowerRise® motorization and a Silhouette with PowerRise retrofit kit allows manually operated shadings to be motorized. New PowerTilt® remote control motorization that tilts blinds open or closed by remote control is available on Country Woods Collection wood blinds, Hunter Douglas Alternative Wood Blinds and Shapes and Modern Precious Metals� aluminum blinds.

Aesthetic Considerations

What are the proportions of the room?
The window treatment should be considered within the overall scale of the interior in terms of both height and size to maintain proper proportions. If, for example, the window is small in relation to the rest of the room, you may want to extend the covering to the edge of the window molding to make the window seem larger. For a large window with a beautiful view you may want a simple covering, like Silhouette shadings, Luminette sheers or Alouette louvers that will enable you to control light without obscuring the views. For a window with an interesting architectural frame, place the covering within the frame so as not to obscure it. Also, for a room with a low ceiling, remember that vertical lines can enhance the height of a room. Cadence Soft Vertical Blinds with a patented curved louver profile for the softness of a drapery can add height as can Luminette Privacy Sheers.
What colors do you prefer?
Color intensifies as you increase areas of coverage. A small amount of bright red might be suitable for a decorative tape or trim, but overwhelming in an entire window treatment. To visually expand a window or room choose soft, light or cool colors such as lemon yellow, seafoam-green or sky blue. Another hint: Coordinate the window coverings with the wall color, as low contrasts will keep the eye moving around the room. Reverse the technique to make the window or room appear smaller and cozier by using dark, warm colors and high contrast between the window and wall. Also remember what your window looks like from the outside. Many Hunter Douglas window coverings have neutral white backings for a consistent from the exterior.

How does pattern work at the window?
Always consider the effect pattern at the window will have on the whole room. Are there other patterns in the decoration? Will they complement each other or create chaos? Pattern, like
color, can be surprisingly intense in large quantities, so proceed with caution.

Considering Texture?
The rich subtlety of texture is increasingly appreciated in home decoration. Textures can be both casual (rough, nubbly or earthy) or formal (smooth, elegant fabrics). Texture is particularly important at the window where light penetrates the fabric or material. Always put the sample to be used in an application up to the window to judge the effect of light coming through it, as the texture will alter the diffusion of the light. In answer to the designer and
consumer demand for texture, Hunter Douglas has added several new appealing textures to its popular Duette honeycomb shades, including Batiste, a linen-like woven fabric with the durability of a non-woven in two styles. Luminette sheers just introduced some new sheers fabrics, including Sheer Linen, Summer Breeze with "barely there" checks and Abstractions with a contemporary, fluid pattern.

For optimum function and pleasing aesthetics Hunter Douglas continues to lead the field with new introductions every year that anticipate consumers' needs.

Duette® Honeycomb Shades
Hunter Douglas Duette® honeycomb shades combine soft, seamless fabrics with crisp even pleats that hold their shape indefinitely.  The Duette Originals Collection™ provides you with a choice of single, double or triple honeycomb shades and a wide variety of options. 

Choose top-down/bottom up and open your shades from the top, bottom, or both.  Or, if you have an arch window that needs to be covered, select Duette® EasyView™, the movable arch system.   If you have large windows to cover, Duette UltraGlide™ provides a vertical alternative.

The Originals Collection of Duette is available in three specialty fabrics - sheer, semi-sheer and triple honeycomb.  The triple honeycomb fabric is composed of three layers of honeycomb cells for triple the light control, sound absorption and heat and cold resistance.  It’s our most energy efficient fabric and available in a versatile selection of colors.

Duette® Architella™ Honycomb Shades ~ NEW!  The Architella Collection from Duette honeycomb shades feature a patented "honeycomb within a honeycomb" construction to trap more insulating air.  It's also one beautiful shade, with more luminious color, brilliant opaques and a softer touch.  Choose either the light-filtering semi-opaque fabrics or the room-darkening eclipse fabric in one of two pleat sizes, the versatile 3/4" or the larger 1 1/4".  Ask about Duette Architella shades and other energy-efficient window treatments from Hunter Douglas when you schedule your Free Shop @ Home Appointment.

Applause® Honeycomb Shades ~ Lots of light, not so much, just a glimpse, or none at all.  These light control variations are easy to achieve with Applause® shades.  The translucent nature of Affinity® and Legends™ gives you the light you want with the privacy you need.  The Applause blackout fabric blocks 99% of all exterior light for maximum privacy.

Brilliance® Pleated Shades
The privacy/view dual fabric system allows you to enjoy two fabric panels in one shade.  For example, a sheer fabric can let the light in above, while a semi-opaque or room darkening fabric maintains privacy below.  Both fabrics are controlled by moving center and bottom rails.  It’s two window coverings in one.

Vignette® Window Shadings
Vignette combines the beauty of draperies and the practical advantages of a window shade into one unique tailored format.  Vignette Window Shadings are made of looped, overlapping fabric folds, which provide an intriguing look to any decor and extra insulation to any room.  New for Vignette, it is now offered in the versatile Top-Down/Bottom-Up lifting system.  This exciting feature makes the Vignette product line more appealing to consumers than ever before.

The fabrics developed for Vignette® window shadings are 100% polyester and come in four different types: a Satin Weave, a Basket Weave, a Linen Weave, and a Seersucker.  All fabrics are available for purchase by the yard (72” wide) to use as a swag or other top treatment and allow coordination of your window shadings with other custom furnishings.

Silhouette® Window Shadings
Sunlight is essential to any home. For its warmth. Its charm. Its cheerfulness. It is an extremely important decorating element. And one you should not sacrifice simply because you need privacy and light control.

Silhouette® window shadings offer the perfect solution. Two sheer fabric facings with fabric vanes suspended between them. When the vanes are open, the view outside is preserved, and your home's natural light is gently filtered. Closed, the fabric vanes allow you privacy while maintaining the soft, elegant style Silhouette window shadings create. Silhouette shadings are available in a variety of fabrics, colors, and 2", 3" and 4" vane sizes.

Silhouette combines the major advantages of draperies, shades, and blinds into a single design.

Pirouette® Window Shadings ~ Create harmony in every room with Pirouette window shadings, an innovative product that combines the personality of a classic fabric shade with the ability to control light in an entirely new way.  The amazing design of the Piroutette shadings delivers unmatched versalitity.  Then they're not retracted in the headrail, the fabric vanes can be flattened for complete closure, and the shading provides a smooth finish to any window.  Slightly raise the vanes for a gentle contoured look while maintaining privacy.  Or fully raise the vanes to provide a clear view to the outside.

Every Pirouette fabric (including room darkening) and color is available in both the 4" Petite and 5" Grande vane sizes, and in widths and heights up to 120".  In addition, a standard fabric-covered headrail and bottom rail create a unified look from top to bottom.

Nantucket™ Window Shadings
The natural beauty and relaxed calm of Nantucket Island was the inspiration behind these remarkable shadings.  Nantucket™ shadings, a collection of Silhouette® window shadings, are available in a choice of four fabrics and thirty-six color choices in a 2 1/2” vane size.  And, for those of you looking to subdue the light, Nantucket is available with a room darkening option.  Nantucket window shadings create more than a distinctive appearance, they create a mood.

Luminette® Privacy Sheers
Change the mood of your room by choosing Luminette Privacy Sheers®.  Its sheer, drapery-like covering has a vertical design, especially suited for larger, rectangular windows.  When fully open, you’ll enjoy a subdued view of the outdoors.  When closed, its sheer fabric vanes give you complete privacy.  Luminette makes a statement in casual and formal rooms alike.  It’s even available with a room-darkening option, Evening Star™, and you can order extra fabric for beautifully coordinated rooms.

Counterparts®
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a single window fashion looked great on every window?  Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.  That’s why Hunter Douglas created the Counterparts® program.  It helps you to mix and match vertical and horizontal window applications using Luminette Privacy Sheers® and Silhouette® window shadings. 

Your room will look completely coordinated and uniformly illuminated because Counterparts offers the fabric pairings that look best together.  There are five distinct color groupings to choose from:  white, off-white, ecru, beige and blush. You can even select any Luminette fabric and order it by the yard to complete the look of your room.

Alternative Wood Blinds - EverWood ®
There's nothing quite like the rich, warm lustrous look of wood blinds. But many times homeowners are uncomfortable selecting wood blinds for rooms where the temperature or humidity may be high or where blinds are exposed to the ultraviolet rays of direct sunlight.  This is why Hunter Douglas developed EverWood® alternative wood blinds. These blinds will not fade, warp or crack. Which means they're not only beautiful enough for the library, they're practical enough for the kitchen.  Hunter Douglas Alternative Wood Blinds are practical, affordable and elegant.

Country Woods® Wood Blinds
Nothing appeals to our sense of natural beauty quite like wood. For warmth, durability, and versatility, wood is the natural choice for almost any decor. Like fine furniture, wood blinds reflect a lasting level of quality and craftsmanship in a superior window covering. Hunter Douglas Country Woods® Classics™ are the finest offerings of wood blinds available on the market.

The scope of their selection - colors, slat sizes, tapes and decorative trims, cornices - is equaled only by the natural beauty of their top quality hardwoods, which are precision-crafted and finished to exacting standards. These woods provide the optimum balance of strength, lightness of weight, and stain acceptance. One-inch and two-inch slat sizes are available in a wide selection of stained and painted wood finishes.

Skyline™ Gliding Window Panels - The modern solution for large and small window expanses, Skyline Gliding Window Panels provide a clean, sleek and contemporary look designed to maximize any view.  The full collection of 187 fabrics includes 30 that coordinate with Designer Screen Shades fabric.  Each panel is finished with an interlocking bottom weight which adds stability, smooth operation and easy gliding without tangling. 

Provenance™ Woven Wood Shades
Provenance™ Woven Wood Shades bring nature indoors.  With carefully selected bamboos, reeds, grasses and jutes, Hunter Douglas combines nature with technology – and the outcome is casual elegance.  From rustic to tortoise, muted or intense, Provenance makes creating your own island paradise a breeze.  Textures abound and options are endless.  Welcome to a new, natural world of window coverings – pure and simple.

Remembrance® & Designer Screen Window Shades
Lighten up or retreat into your own private world.  Remembrance® window shades come in sheer, semi-sheer, semi-opaque and room-darkening fabrics to give you the light control you prefer.  A wide choice of colors, hem styles, fabric trims and decorative pulls provide options for style.

Designer Screen Shades has 10 fabrics and 103 colors with various openness factors and opacity levels.

Roman Shades
The timeless beauty of Roman shades makes them a perfect addition to almost any room.  Graceful and luxurious, yet wonderfully functional, these shades are available in a wide range of colors, fabrics, and textures.  Fabric choices range from formal to casual.  The best news…..Roman shades feature an exclusive gravity-feed cord lock and pulley system which means that your shades will open and close smoothly every time.

Palm Beach™ Custom Shutters
Palm Beach™ custom shutters combine the best of both worlds: attractive good looks and low maintenance. This enables you to enjoy the elegant appearance of shutters in any interior space-without worrying about warping, fading, chipping, or excessive wear.

Palm Beach shutters come in two louver sizes and two unique styles. Lantana™ is our patented gear-driven model and Palmetto™ offers the classic look of a tilt bar system. Both styles feature sleek lines, smooth operation, and our exclusive equidistant louver spacing.

In addition, Palm Beach custom shutters are available in a variety of configurations for the perfect look. Three basic systems, framed or unframed, are available:

• Standard hinged panel system 
• Bi-Fold track system 
• Bi-Pass track system

Optional configurations within these systems include: double hung windows; cafe windows; bay and bow windows; French doors; and patio doors.

Platinum Technology PowerRise®, PowerGlide® and PowerTilt™
Everybody deserves a little pampering now and then.  So why not indulge in PowerRise®?  It’s available on Silhouette®, Duette®, Vignette®, Luminette®, Country Woods®, Brilliance® Pleated Shadings, EverWood® and Modern Precious Metals® products.  A discrete infrared eye triggers the battery-operated motor that raises and lowers the window treatment.  Or new radio frequency for superior performance.  Just point your remote and push the button to activate it.  There are no cords or wiring.  It’s easy to install.  And its Memory Stop feature allows you to customize the exact distance the shade will raise.  So all you have to do is sit back and let PowerRise do the work for you. 

LiteRise® Touch System
LiteRise® allows you to raise and lower your shades and blinds with just the touch of a finger.  Your window fashions will open and close evenly every time, and can be stopped at any position along the way.  And, because there are no pull cords to become tangled in, kids and pets stay safe.  The LiteRise Touch System is available on select Hunter Douglas aluminum blinds, Duette® honeycomb shades, Brilliance® pleated shades, EverWoods® and Country Woods® wood blinds.

Aluminum Horizontal Blinds
Hunter Douglas aluminum horizontal blinds are a smart decorating choice for a lot of reasons.  For starters, their durable, spring-tempered slats bounce back even with rough handling.  These blinds are also decorative and are available in a wide variety of colors, textures, and finishes.  They also come with special features like de-Light™ which hides cord holes completely for impressive light-blocking action, and a hidden control system that eliminates the cord altogether and lets you raise and lower your blinds with just the touch of a finger.  So, if it’s options you want, look to Hunter Douglas aluminum horizontal blinds.

Custom Vertical Blinds
Hunter Douglas vertical blinds combine beauty, easy maintenance and excellent light control with a rich variety of textures, colors and patterns.  They’re perfect for French doors, patio doors, bay windows, room dividers, large walls……anywhere in your home.  You can select from a variety of vinyls, fabrics, and aluminum slats in various finishes, light and privacy levels, and inserted or free hanging fabric styles.