Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” So, how can we apply this idea to your wood or faux wood blind decor choice?

When looking for new window coverings you quickly realize that trends come and go. What is trendy today may look outdated a few years down the road. However, you have a better chance of attaining true sophistication and style when you keep it simple.

Choosing the right blinds or shades for your windows can become complex and we have seen complexity go terribly wrong.  Thankfully, these were not projects which we sold, but rather were projects we needed to fix or provided install services for.  Keeping it simple doesn't mean keeping it boring, rather it means knowing the general look you enjoy and then pulling it together.

Additionally, keeping it simple doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate fun color into your project. It does mean, however, that you should be aware of how that color affects the feel of the room. Color is great, but once it becomes an overly complex palette, you have probably gone off the rails.

In the spirit of keeping it simple, wood and faux wood blinds are timeless.  Often, subtle whites are clean and fresh and bring the sophistication of simplicity.  But, if your walls or cabinets are already white, then contrast with wood grains or colors provides a simple but sophisticated pop.

You get the idea.  If you can find that sweet spot between boring and complex, you might just find the sophisticated look that is uniquely found in well imagined simplicity.

We hope this information helps. Maybe you are ready for some new wood or faux blinds for your space in which case we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Our fabricators offer very generous warranty coverage on the wood blinds we offer.  However, there are some items which are not warranty related but are rather inherent in the way the product operates.  We have learned that by being extreme in our education of product attributes, we are better able to help people make the right decision for their window covering objectives.

We actually have a reputation for recommending other product lines which we do not carry, if it would better meet the needs of our client.  We just like helping people with our year of experience and letting the sales fall as they may - and, we know there are probably a million reasons why that is not the right way to grow a business - but it makes us happy.

Anyway, please kindly know this as it relates to dye lots.  Dye lots may differ from one run to another. Therefore, if color consistency is critical, please note on your order form that the blinds will be in the same room. This will ensure that all blinds manufactured for those windows will be assembled from materials that are within the same dye-lot batch. Because our wood blinds are made from Basswood, there will be variations in color, stain and grain. These are characteristics of real wood and are considered acceptable quality. Additionally, certain stains will absorb very differently with wood. Red stains, like cherry wood and mahogany, tend to be inconsistent. This is an inherent feature of the interaction between the stain and the wood and is not seen as a defect and not covered under the warranty.

We hope this information helps. Maybe you are ready for some new wood blinds for your space in which case we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Our fabricators offer very generous warranty coverage on the wood blinds we offer.  However, there are some items which are not warranty related but are rather inherent in the way the product operates.  We have learned that by being extreme in our education of product attributes, we are better able to help people make the right decision for their window covering objectives.

We actually have a reputation for recommending other product lines which we do not carry, if it would better meet the needs of our client.  We just like helping people with our year of experience and letting the sales fall as they may - and, we know there are probably a million reasons why that is not the right way to grow a business - but it makes us happy.

Anyway, please kindly know this as it relates to light control.  Inside mount, horizontal blinds in the fully-closed position will let light in on the sides (light bleed).  Inside mount, vertical blinds in the fully-closed position will also have light bleed on the sides and on the bottom.  Outside mount blinds will have light bleed around the blinds.  Slatted blinds will have light bleed between the slats and through the route holes.  In addition, due to the nature of slatted blinds, the slats will close tighter at the top than the bottom. This will be most noticeable in longer blinds.  Also, horizontal blinds ordered as multiple blinds on a single headrail will have a 1/4” gap between the blinds.

We hope this information helps. Maybe you are ready for some new wood blinds for your space in which case we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Recently, we had the privilege of providing some stained basswood blinds for a corporate client.  This client had beautiful offices with stained wood cased side light windows next to their office doors.  The wood casing around the windows was a rich cherry wood color.

The need for some privacy control arose because of potentially sensitive personnel meetings.  This was especially critical for the human resources department.  We were able to find a high quality stained wood blind that fit the space perfectly and enhanced the beautiful wood cased windows.

This was a fun little project with a great result.  Maybe you are ready for some new wood blinds for your office space in which case we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Last week we offered some tips for cleaning your REAL wood blinds.  You can access that blog post here.

This week we want to discuss cleaning FAUX wood blinds.  Please be aware faux wood blinds can melt, so if you leave them outdoors in direct sunlight for any reason, and the temperature climbs high enough, you faux wood blind will warp - and it could be significant - so be careful.

If you look online for advise of how to clean your faux wood blinds, you will find videos of people putting their blinds in the bathtub, hosing them down in the backyard, and spraying all sorts of cleaning agents on them.  Now, to be sure faux wood blinds are fairly tough and will hold up under lots of abuse before giving out, but most of these practices will void your manufacturer's warranty.

Keep in mind, this only applies to your FAUX wood blind not your REAL wood blind.  So with that said, here is the manufacturer approved methods for cleaning your wood blind. 

Your blind can be cleaned in place or you can take it down. By tilting the slats down, but not quite closed, you’ll be able to clean most of the top surface of each slat.  Your blind can be cleaned by wiping it with a soft cloth, feather duster, dusting mitt or by using the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. You may use a soft, lightly dampened cloth to clean your blind.

Do not use solvents or any type of abrasive to clean the blind. This will cause damage to the blind, which is not
covered under your warranty.

Of course, maybe you are ready for some new faux wood blinds in which case we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.