Hard Window Treatments

• Natural woven shade slats areconstructed primarily of grasses, raffia, bamboo or jute. Woven shades can be combined with a soft window treatment or they can stand alone. They softly filter the light and provide a warm feeling to the room.
  
  
• Horizontal blinds are available in varying slat widths to fit most windows. The latest trend in blind width is the easy-to-operate 2" blind that gives the appearance of plantation shutters. They can be constructed of wood, aluminum, vinyl, or other synthetic materials made to look like stained or painted wood.
  
  
• Vertical blinds are a good choice for sliding glass doors. Vertical blinds offer the ability to reveal all the glass with the stack back completely off the window. The blinds can also be rotated to control light and maintain privacy. Vertical blinds are available in aluminum, vinyl, or fabric to coordinate with your room.
  
  

  Vertical Blinds	Shutters

• Shutters provide a crisp, architectural appearance that can enhance the room's mouldings while providing excellent light control. The 2" louver, also referred to as a "plantation" shutter, is the most trendy.
  
  

• Cellular Shades

  Pleated, roller or cellular shades are simple to raise and lower. Shades look elegant when down and practically disappear when raised. They can easily be combined with soft window treatments for a classy appearance.
  

All of the hardware for hard window treatments is included in the package along with specific hanging instructions.

If drafty windows are a problem, Roman and cellular shades are available with insulating liners to keep cold and heat out, potentially reducing your utility bills. A new item available is window wallpaper. The wallpaper clings directly to your glass window. The covering has a translucent finish that provides privacy and provides summer and winter insulation to also help reduce your utility bill.

Before purchasing window treatments, measure each window with a steel measuring tape. Do not assume that all of the windows are the same size. Remember, covering more of the window space is better than not covering enough. There are a lot of choices involved in selecting the window treatments best suited for your room. The main thing to keep in mind is what you ultimately want from new window treatments.

Images provided by Levolor.