Selecting the Ideal Window Coverings
Selecting the Ideal Window Coverings for your cherished home or business usually involves addressing one or more major goals.
Lighting
The first is light control. If controlling light is your goal, it usually involves blocking light in the morning while sleeping, watching television, reducing radiant heating, or protecting furniture, carpets, and wood floors from the bleaching power of the sun.
Insulation
The second common goal is insulation. Windows let light pour through, which is often a favorable condition, but they notoriously do not insulate well against cold air, especially older windows. Window coverings can do a great deal to enhance insulation during the colder seasons and reduce radiant heating during the warm seasons. According to the Department of Energy, 30% of a home’s heating energy is lost through windows. U.S. Department of Energy
Privacy
The third frequent goal is privacy. This goal hardly needs to be clarified. Simply stated, we need to be able to dress and conduct other aspects of life without an audience.
Style
Finally, the fourth and perhaps the most popular goal is style, including color, pattern, and even function. Rightfully so, we want our window coverings to beautify our home on the inside and from the street. This goal is likely where most of us spend the most time when selecting window coverings. We want to coordinate with paint, flooring, and furniture, and we want the breathtaking décor.
Keys to Affordability
Very often, selecting the ideal window coverings can collide with budget. Custom window coverings represent a substantial investment in one’s home. It has been said, that on average a homeowner can expect to pay about 1% of the total value of their home on custom window coverings.
When selecting the ideal window coverings, the keys to affordability are prioritizing and frugal shopping. Prioritizing may mean selecting the rooms or windows in your home that are most in need of covering, and often it is for one or more of the goals stated earlier. Bedrooms for example are often high on the priority list since they often demand privacy and light control.
Windows located in places where privacy and light control are not critical may get delayed in favor of bedrooms and family meeting areas. Much of this is also related to security and ensuring your family is not on display.
Searching for the best products at the best price takes a little effort, but it can pay off substantially. The window covering industry has dozens of manufacturers, but they are not all the same, and their products and commitment to consumers vary greatly. When shopping, you want to find a seller that shows and offers several enduring and reputable brands. Do not assume that you are seeing the most reliable or most favorably priced products a seller has to offer, ask to see several brands of your favorite product. Additionally, do not assume a product that costs more is more reliable or better made.
Manufactures warranty is important, make sure your seller is willing to support you when one of your products needs to be repaired or replaced under warranty. Manufacturers are often much more supportive of those selling their products than they are to consumers.
Window Covering Options
There are of course numerous options when selecting the ideal window coverings for your cherished home or business. One very popular option continues to be wood and faux wood blinds. They control light well, offer privacy and match well with fabric valances and draperies. Their cousin, the aluminum blind, is still available but is not as predominant as they once were. They do but remain a staple in the industry due to their low cost and reliability.
Shades make up a good portion of the window covering industry. Some of the more popular shade products are roller shades, solar shades, cellular shades, natural shades, and finally roman shades. Each of these products have features that may make them the perfect window covering for you and your style.
Discussing window coverings without mentioning shutters and draperies would just be careless. We have found that these two window coverings spark the most polarizing of opinions. We love them at Made in the Shade of Northern Virgina and think that either of these options create décor unlike any of the earlier mentioned options.
Made in the Shade of Northern Virginia
Regardless of your window covering goals, your budget, or which product you love, Made in the Shade of Northern Virginia can help with selecting the ideal window coverings that meet all of your goals. We predominately serve Prince William County, Fairfax County, and Loudoun County in Northern Virginia. Give us a call at 703-330-6487 or look us up on the web at Made in the Shade NoVA. We take all the time you need to choose your perfect window coverings, all from the comfort of your own home.
