How Do You Know When It’s Time to Replace Your Window Treatments?
BWS Design • Oct 14, 2016

An obvious defect is one thing — a few broken slats in a blind, a frayed or torn drapery. But what if you’re not sure. Let us help you decide if it may be time to update your current window treatments with a few tips.

A Style Conflict

Maybe you’ve had the same bedroom draperies for several years, but recently, you decided it was time for a change, so you repainted the bedroom, refinished the side tables, got some new modern-looking lamps, and new bedding. Suddenly, those old draperies just don’t look quite right anymore. The color’s wrong. They style is wrong. Maybe a sleek window treatment would work better with your new modern bedroom style.

It’s A Matter of Wasted Energy

Your house isn’t as young as it was, and like most people, you’re looking to save energy any way you can. Some insulated draperies on those north-facing living room windows might not only give the decor a little punch, but will also make the room feel warmer and more comfortable this winter and will save energy too.

High-Tech Appeal and Convenience

The advent of motorized blinds, shades and draperies has made covering walls of windows or super-high windows practical and easy. And the luxury of opening and closing your window treatments from the comfort of the couch or your bed is truly a treat.

They’ve Gone “Above and Beyond” and Look Like It Too

Face it. Everything wears out eventually, and your window treatments are no exception. With all the new styles, patterns, options and special features available in the land of window treatments today, why not give your tired old draperies, curtains or shades the retirement they deserve and give a room — or the whole house — the update it needs. You’ll be amazed at what a difference changing just one element like a window treatment can make in its power to transform the look and feeling of a room.

Your Husband’s Got a New Job — a Night Shift Job

There’s only one way to handle the bedroom of a shift worker — blackout window treatments. It’s a relatively small investment with a really big payoff: the ability to sleep during the day.

You’ve Just Moved and Nothing Fits the Windows or the Style of the House

You saved your good dining room draperies, and your woven wood blinds from the spare bedroom. You’ve tried them all over the house and they’re just don’t fit any of the windows in your new place. It happens to almost every new tenant or homeowner.

Your Personal Style Has Evolved

Hey, life is all about growth and sometimes our style morphs and evolves along with us. What you thought was beautiful five years ago, you may hate today. Start small, but start replacing your window treatments to reflect who you are today.

Just Because

Seriously, you don’t always have to have a valid reason to change your window treatments. Tastes change, things wear out, decor changes, and sometimes you just feel like a change yourself. That’s a perfectly valid reason too.

The beginning of the fall season is full of new things. School has started up again after a long summer hiatus. The leaves are changing color and beginning to fall. You might be starting something new yourself — a yoga class, a new job, a work-at-home career. Change is a good thing, and there’s no reason you need a specific reason to update and redecorate. But if you feel that you really need one and none of the above reasons are good enough, just remember, the holidays are right around the corner and you’ll probably be entertaining. Now that you can justify to yourself without guilt — it’s your pre-holiday gift to yourself.

If you’re in the market for new window treatments, make it a point to check out the superior selection at Just Blinds, proudly serving Central Alabama for 30+ years. Contact us for a free on-site consultation.

Expert Advice by Just Blinds

The Leading Window Treatment Trends of 2024

By Autumn Hooper • 07 Feb, 2024
Each year, styles in window treatments come and go. Trends that were hot last year may carry over to the new interior decor season or may be replaced by something new. In 2024, we are looking at a delightful set of trends in blinds, shades, and curtains that embrace the developing attitudes and popular colors that are already giving the year a unique stylistic personality. At Just Blinds, we are delighted to keep up with the trends, helping homeowners, designers, and property managers to create stunning spaces that align with the latest in window treatment trends. The Hot Trends of 2023 Blinds and Shades Last year in 2023, we saw a great collection of trends, many of which have evolved and strengthened with the new year. 2023 explored the innovations of cell shades and honeycomb shades for the benefits of insulation and light control. Motorization gained a prominant place in both home and office design, and decorators discovered the dynamic possibilities of shades that operate from both the bottom and the top on floor-to-ceiling tracks. Texture saw a real debut with natural colors like wood finishes, linen, dusty rose, and moss green. Though bold patterns also had their day in the sun. The Trending 2024 Window Treatments In 2024, you may recognize a few trends still going strong from the year before, which is good news for those who decorated last year because your style is likely still right on-trend. But we are also seeing new trends developing with elegant enthusiasm. Smart Home Blinds The trend for motorized shades has naturally evolved to favor smart home controls. With a simple voice command, you can take control of all the motorized shades in a room, in your entire home, or set each shade to exactly the height and opacity you desire. Warm Neutrals and Bold Natural Colors Color trends favor a more natural palette. Neutral colors are warmer, even the grays and charcoals have a honey undertone, while natural colors like mossy and forest green are growing stronger in hue paired with a jewelbox of flower petal colors. If you're following the Colors of the Year, you may have also noticed an adoration of ocean blues, and you can match those blues with slightly darker or lighter blinds for beautiful effect. Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Materials Natural materials and textures were popular in 2023, and 2024 takes this trend even further. Blinds made out of recycled materials are now on the rise alongside the growing popularity of blinds made from super-sustainable plants like bamboo, hemp, jute, and grass cloth. These offer natural colors, dynamic textures, and the delight of eco-friendly design. Gauzy Sheer Elegance Sheer curtains and semi-sheer blinds are also in fashion; a classic style that has been floating near the top of popularity for literal centuries. Sheer curtains and blinds maintain privacy while allowing sunlight into the room in a gently diffused glow. They also layer excellently with more robust window treatments. Creative Window Treatment Layering Speaking of layering, we are seeing an enthusiastic embrace of creatively layered styles. Wooden shutters, gauzy curtains, and black-out blinds are among the most popular layers, but decorators are getting creative with how they choose to to layer their window treatments, using both multiple fabrics and structures at the same time. Find the Blinds that Best Suit Your Needs How can you choose fantastic and on-trend blinds that perfectly suit your design needs? Fortunately, the diversity of this year's trends leave room for almost any personal sense of style and the individual needs of each room's windows. Start with the size of your windows and your room's existing color palette. Decide if you want to match, accent, or contrast the colors of the room. Then choose the opacity, privacy, and level of motorized control you desire. This should guide you toward a specific selection that will work well for your room. From there, it's a matter of specific features and your personal sense of style. Reach Out for Expert and On-Trend Advice If you are getting ready to decorate a room and want the perfect window treatments for 2024, we are only a phonecall or a visit away. Give us a call for expert advice in the right blinds or shades for each window in your home. Our on-trend window treatment experts will be glad to help tailor your window treatment design to your personal tastes, the latest trends, and the style of each of your rooms.

Beat the Heat: Best Choices to Keep The Interior of Your Home Cool

20 Jul, 2023
Is your AC bill keeping you down this summer? Is your home too hot? Window treatments can help cool your home, but you need to choose the right ones and use them correctly. Not all window coverings are made equal. Here are some of the best options to help keep your home comfortable and reduce costs this summer: Cellular or honeycomb shades. These are specifically designed to provide a high level of insulation that keeps the heat out of your home. They also don't block the view when completely drawn. As a bonus, you can get them in a wide variety of colors and patterns to match your home and in both top-down and bottom-up configurations. Drapery. Old-fashioned curtains can be surprisingly effective. Choose a medium color and have us add a white plastic backing to reflect heat out of your home. You can also use drapes to block some of the heat without excluding much light, allowing you to enjoy natural light flowing through your drapes. Fabric Roman shades. These are a distinctive option that really dresses up a room, and if you choose the kind with several layers they will definitely help keep the heat out. We have light filtering and blackout options and everything in between. Why Should You Use These Types of Shades or Blinds? The two reasons are to save money and help protect the environment. Good shades keep your home cooler and this means your air conditioning systems don't have to work as hard and use as much energy. In the northern hemisphere, it's most important to have heat-reducing treatments on your southern windows and you can allow more light in through windows that face north. Both cellular and Roman shades can also be motorized and even put on timers to close the shades when you are not there and then let light in when you return. The small amount of energy used by motorized shades is much less than that lost through naked windows. All of these shades can also add to the aesthetics of your room. Cellular shades are great to add a pop of color or a subtle pattern. Both drapery and Roman shades give a soft feel to your windows that then spreads to the rest of your room. What is the Best Choice? The best choice of the three depends on your personal aesthetics. Our designers can help you make the right choice. If you want motorized shades, cellular shades are the lightest and thus use the least energy, and can roll all the way up and down, leaving your windows completely unrestricted. Roman shades are more visible, but can be used to add fabric and color to a room. Many people still love the look of traditional window drapes. Note that you can also combine shades and drapes for the effect you want, both in terms of reducing heat loss and in terms of aesthetics. How Much Can I Actually Save? The amount you save depends on the kind of window covering you use and how much thermal gain your house typically experiences. The larger your windows, in general, the larger the benefit, especially south-facing windows. For example, medium-colored draperies with a white plastic backing can reduce heat gain by as much as 33% for that window. Most window treatments, though, reduce overall heat gain by about 10%. This can significantly reduce your bills, by $100 to $200 a month during the summer. Using the right window treatment can make your home more comfortable in the summer and save money while preserving the environment. For advise on which window treatments to choose for your home and to see our selection of blinds and shades, contact Just Blinds today.
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