Hunter Douglas | Home Makeover Diva

Provenance Woven Wood Vertical Drapery

02.14.2015 by Amanda Hartley //

Today I saw a new type of window treatment from Hunter Douglas that was so different from what I expected, I just have to share it with everyone here! It’s called Provenance Woven Wood Vertical Drapery. That’s right, I said woven wood and vertical drapery in the same sentence. It looks like woven wood but it has the waves one expects from drapery. And because it’s woven wood it is very textural. I know it sounds impossible and maybe even a little strange, but it is definitely something you have to see to believe. Below I have listed some of the pros and cons of the woven wood shades so you can get an idea of whether they are right for you and your space.

Pros of a woven wood vertical drapery:

Coordinating is a breeze – One big plus for Provenance Woven Wood Vertical Drapery by Hunter Douglas is that it coordinates with their woven wood horizontal line. This is especially great if you like the look of woven wood but have a sliding glass door or set of french doors in the same room. Now you can coordinate between the two without sacrificing function. This is something that can prove otherwise difficult, considering how large the stack height on a regular horizontal woven wood shade would be for a window as tall as a sliding glass door.

Perfect for big windows – With a max width of 194 inches and a height up to 96 inches, vertical drapery can be a perfect fit for larger windows.

Breathe easy – The provenance collection is Greenguard indoor air quality certified. Which means that it emits little to no VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

Nature made imperfections – As with all products made of natural materials each shade will look slightly different. Which means they will have a unique look to them and natural materials offer a great texture and feel to any room.

Hunter Douglas’s Lifetime Warranty – Regardless of the type of window treatment you purchase from Hunter Douglas, you can expect the same great lifetime warranty. While this warranty is similar to other window treatment companies, this one is covering any manufacturers defects for the amount of time you own the shade. This is something they offer above and beyond the competition is a 7 year warranty on all operational cords. The industry standard is only 3 years.

Cons of a woven wood vertical drapery:

Get out your wallet – Provenance woven wood vertical drapery is not cheap. Nor are any of the styles of window treatments from Hunter Douglas.

Not for home theaters or bedrooms – This drapery doesn’t come in a true opaque material option. It comes close, and will offer a room darkening effect. But it will not offer a blackout shade. The Provenance line may be better suited for areas where protection from the sun is desired, while keeping the view open and airy.

Nature made imperfections – As with all products made of natural materials, each shade will look slightly different. This means that you have to expect that the color will vary from shade to shade, as well as the thickness of the material. If you’re looking for an exact match to the sample, this will not be the case with this woven wood vertical drapery. As you can tell, since I also listed this con as a pro, in my view this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it is something to be aware of, especially if your design plan for you room does not allow for any shade variations.

As you can see there are both good points and bad points to consider when looking at Provence Woven Wood Vertical Drapery by Hunter Douglas. While they are a great new product, they may not be for every taste or every budget. But they are definitely worth considering for anyone who loves woven wood shades and natural materials. I recommend including this option in any of your upcoming window treatment shopping trips.

Hunter Douglas Silhouettes

03.10.2011 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Patricia writes;

Dear diva, what type of window treatments can I put on oversized windows? They’re both extra wide and extra tall. That and I need something that will protect my furniture because it’s in my formal living room. Thank you

When it comes to finding oversized window treatments, you’ve only got a few options. Because you mentioned they were going in a formal living room, I’m going to assume that the window treatments need to be elegant. If that is the case, I’d suggest going with Hunter Douglas Silhouettes. These window treatments will continue the elegant theme, while giving you protection from the sun’s harmful rays. These window shades can be in the “open” position, while still letting in light and preserving your view all without the worry of fading your furniture.

Hunter Douglas Silhouettes are a unique window treatment because it’s like having a roller shade and a blind, rolled up in one. You have the option to have the shade open completely by rolling it up into its valance and letting light in or having it fully closed by pulling the shade down and blocking most of the light out like a roller shade. The blind function comes when you’ve got the shade fully lowered. You pull the cord just a tad more and instead of the vanes blocking out light, they open up much like the vanes on a mini blind and let light in.

The vanes on the Silhouettes shades come in 2″, 3″ or 4″ wide. These are all great because the wider apart the vanes are from each other the more of your view you maintain while the blinds are lowered but in the open position. Compared to a 1″ mini blind a 2″ shade of any kind dramatically increases the amount of light that is let in and the ease of being able to see outside unobstructed. At or 3″ or 4″ wide the blinds hardly obscure the light being let in or the view. Hunter Douglas Silhouettes are available up to 144″ wide and 126″ in height.

If you need blinds that are even bigger than that, you may want to consider either doing multiple shades in one window or looking at honeycomb shades. A lot of companies make honeycomb or cellular shades in wider widths, but the widest I’ve seen come from Hunter Douglas specifically. The Duette line of honeycomb shades come in widths up to 174″ and heights up to 192″. This is truly impressive, especially when paired with Hunter Douglas’s great warranty. On blinds this large and expensive it’s good to know that the company backs the strings for 7 years and the rest of the components for a lifetime.

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe (diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog

Hunter Douglas Cellular Shades

03.01.2011 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Betty writes:

I need new window treatments and my friends keep telling me to get Hunter Douglas cellular shades. They say they are the best but don’t really say why. Why should I choose Hunter Douglas over other brands, what’s the real deal here? I’d appreciate any help here.

Betty, sometimes people are just brand loyal. We all do that with one thing or another, so some of what your friends are saying could be based on that. Truth be known, there are a lot of good window treatments companies out there. This means that no matter which company you choose you’d be getting a good product. However, Hunter Douglas does offer some perks that not all the other companies offer.

First of all, they offer a longer warranty on the strings inside your cellular shades. Most companies are still operating on a three year string warranty. What this means is that the cord that raises and lowers your shades break for any reason within the first three years of ownership you can simply take your blinds back to the place of purchase or ship the blinds back to the manufacturer and they will repair them free of cost.

Considering most string incidents occur within the first three years and are caused by raising the shade incorrectly this is a good warranty to have. It’s even better with Hunter Douglas because they warranty their strings for seven years. On top of that, if the strings break after the seven years, they’ll either ship you a restringing kit so you can fix them yourself or you can send them back to the company and pay around $40 for them to do it for you. This is something that most companies just don’t do.

Second, Hunter Douglas offers more options for their blinds. Nothing is more frustrating as a designer than finally figuring out that fabric or color of window treatment that fits in seamlessly with your design only to find out the company does not offer all the options you need. With Hunter Douglas you’ll find that features like cordless top down/bottom up are available in wider widths and that you can also find more styles and sizes with remote controls. From a designer standpoint Hunter Douglas just makes things easier.

Lastly, Hunter Douglas is the leader in energy efficiency for window treatments. In that last round of tax rebates for energy efficient products, Hunter Douglas was the only window treatment company that was on the list. In fact, Hunter Douglas cellular shades are on a current Federal Tax Credit program that gives you up to $500. The two styles that qualify are the Alustra Duette Architella and the Duette Architella honeycomb shades. The cellular shades boost up to a 50% reduction in energy loss, which comes from the “honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb-design.”

So you see, despite the brand loyalty, Hunter Douglas does offer a lot of compelling reason to purchase their cellular shades over another brand. Just remember that all of these features do come at a cost. As Hunter Douglas also is one of the priciest window treatment companies out there. Many believe that the product is worth the extra money though and that you will get every penny out of them.

Eco Friendly Woven Wood Shades

02.22.2011 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Tammy asks:

Diva, I’m perplexed. I have decided that I want either cellular shades or woven wood shades. The problem is I don’t understand the benefits of one vs the another? I’m leaning towards woven wood because that is the one I’ve heard is more eco friendly, is that true?

When it comes to deciding between two styles of anything, I think the best approach is to break each category down and look at the features each one offers. In this instance, using this method will work well in helping you to see why someone would opt for each type of eco friendly shade.

So here’s what you need to know about cellular shades. First of all, they’re one of the best types of shades for energy efficiency. This means that from an eco friendly standpoint, they help conserve energy. This is not an instantaneous event, however. Cellular shades do this over time by helping to reduce your heating or cooling costs. It’s also important to mention that most cellular shades are not made of “green” materials like you’ll find with the eco friendly woven wood shades. When it comes to cellular shades though, you can look for the GREENGUARD label to find blinds that emit low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

Recently I spent some time at the GREENGUARD website and discovered out of what I consider the three top window treatment companies out there, only one of them has a variety of products that are GREENGUARD certified. That brand happens to be Hunter Douglas. So if you want to conserve energy as well as save money on your heating and cooling costs, and you want an eco friendly shade that emit’s low VOCs, I’d suggest going with one of Hunter Douglas’s cellular shades. One last important fact about cellular shades is that they’re not all created equally and do not all conserve the same amount of energy. How good each shade is will depend on the fabric type and cell size.

Now another product you’ll find GREENGUARD ratings on are woven wood shades from Hunter Douglas. Here you get to combine the low VOC ratings with actual eco friendly materials. When it comes to eco friendly woven wood shades though, it’s important to know that most woven wood shades are made from renewable resources like grass, bamboo, jute and wood. And at risk of sounding like a broken record here, they’re not all created equally — remember this. The more eco friendly versions of these shades will be made from a grass or bamboo because those materials have a faster growth period. Bamboo for example, has a maturity timeline of only 3-7 years. While wood is still considered a renewable resource it has a slower growth period, at roughly 30-70 years.

Most people believe that woven wood shades are more eco friendly than cellular shades, but I think it just depends on what factors you are considering to be the most important. If helping to insulate your windows over time and reducing energy loss is more important than the materials themselves to you, then I’d go with cellular shades. However if you are more concerned about the material and the manufacturing process instead, then woven wood shades are just the ticket for you. Just make sure you aren’t forgetting your style preference in this virtual debate. Why? Because even the “eco friendliest” shades in the world may or may not work with your own particular design style. While it boils down to what features you need, what your own personal style and what’s important to you still matter!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog.

Vignette Traditional Shades

10.23.2010 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Amelia writes:

I need some help with the upcoming winter. Here fairly soon, we are going to be seeing snow. And this means I will have to tolerate the usual East Coast cold winters and dark, gloomy days. Even when the sun is sort of shining, I want window coverings that give the interior of my home a bright, summer-like feeling. Is there anything out there in the window covering world that might be able to provide me with any of this?

Amelia, today is your lucky day. After doing some thinking, I remembered a particular shade that fits most windows that I believe will foot the bill nicely. Might I suggest, Vignette Traditional Shades. A roman shade to be precise, Vignette Traditional Shades are attractive and very easy to use. Available in 94 combinations, going with Vignette Traditional Shades has a lot going for it. Here is a feature list for you to consider.

– Clean and contemporary. Best suited for contemporary home environments, Vignette Traditional Shades are made with high quality fabrics that put them into a class all their own in contrast to other roman shades available on the market.

– Light control. Because not everyone wants blackout shades or roman shades that let in too much light, Hunter Douglas Vignette Traditional Shades are available in three light control choices to meet your needs.

– Up or down, you’re in control. With a choice of two corded options and one cordless, you can select the design that is best for you. Retractable cord, continuous loop or just plain cordless.

– Let the motor do the work. Wired and wireless motorized shade control options are available. This is perfect when using shades that might otherwise be considered out of reach by hand.

– Better R-value for your windows. Remember asking about a shade that would make the place feel “more summer-like” during the cold winter months? How about a shade that does this by preventing the heat from escaping while allowing in just enough light to make the room feel inviting?

And there you have it. While you will be tasked with finding the right color to match your room decor, the really hard stuff is already done for you. And because of the way this roman shade handles light while maintaining the room’s ambiance, I think you will agree that Hunter Douglas Vignette Traditional Shade are a smart choice when trying to brighten up a cold winter.

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog