Sleek and Stylish Modern Roller Shades

For many folks, the words roller shades brings to mind the image of those plain white vinyl shades that hung in Grandma's house years ago. You know the kind... they were boring, yellowed and cracked with age, but seemed to serve their purpose in blocking sunlight years ago.

Modern roller shades have now become more sleek and stylish. Companies like Hunter Douglas have updated this classic shade to include design inspirations, such as attractive fabric choices, light-filtering translucency options, operational upgrades, and decorative accents to hide the necessary hardware.

Our Designer Roller Shades book arrived recently. This sample book is fabulous. We are excited to be able to offer these great shades from Hunter Douglas and have already placed orders for some which will soon be installed in several lovely local residences!



Here are some of the advantages of these shades:

1. This brand has unmatched fabric selection, featuring 3 times as many choices as most of their competitors.
2. With innovative technology and stylish accessories, these roller shades can stand alone or be used as an under-treatment.
3. The fabric choices are all organized by opacity, offering different levels of light control and privacy.
4. Customizable options for the top and bottom of the shades allow the client to make design decisions, such as concealing the fabric roll and lift mechanisms, and whether or not to add a shaped bottom hemline
5. Hunter Douglas even offers a cordless option, making this a great choice for children's rooms!

In addition to a wide array of solid fabric choices, these roller shades also offer several print styles. Here are just two photos of the many styles that are available:

Terrace / Mod Charcoal (left)

and

Metro / Hudson (right)

Call,  (or email), us today to preview the samples in the current book and find out how functional, stylish and affordable roller shades can be in your home!
(847) 446-5730
BernardInt@att.net

Lower Energy Costs with Window Coverings

 In today's economy, folks worldwide are now looking for ways to reduce expenses and go "green" in many aspects of their life. Residences, especially, are being thoroughly inspected and often upgraded to include innovative ideas for lighting, walls, roofs, and appliances. Did you know that you can also lower energy costs with window coverings?

Draperies, blinds and shades are an investment. Not only do window coverings offer aesthetic value to your living space, with the right application, they can minimize energy costs by filtering sunlight, blocking drafts and assisting to retain room temperature.

Today's blog post will share with you just one of the solutions offered by Bernard Interiors, through leading manufacturer, Hunter Douglas. A favorite with clients, the Duette Architella is a honeycomb style shade, which boasts several attractive features.

(This photo is courtesy of Hunter Douglas.)

Ranked among the most energy-efficient window coverings on the market, Duette Architella shades filter sunlight during the heat of the day, blocking furniture and floors from sun damage and stabilizing room temperature, in addition to providing an insulating barrier from the cold during the winter months. Owner testimonials say that you can feel the difference in the room after these shades are installed.

Architella fabrics reduce energy consumption and are Greenguard certified. Hunter Douglas estimates that this shade reduces energy loss at up to 50% at the window.

They're attractive, too! Duette shades are made with elegant woven fabric and may be purchased in 3/4" or 1 1/4" cell sizes, and offer both semi-opaque and opaque styles. Currently there are 6 color choices offered. The Royale Textured selection offers stylish Duotone Technology, which allows you to choose the beauty of a woven, colored shade for the inside of your home, (for design purposes), with a white street-side color, (to showcase uniformity from the outdoor view).

Hunter Douglas also offers several choices in how to raise and lower the Duette Architella shades. These systems are equally famous for their ease of use, and are recommended based upon the consumer's personal style and needs. They are:

• Standard cord lock
• Ultra-Glide - a retractable cord
• Easy-Rise - a continuous loop cord, set on a clutch system
• Lite-Rise - cordless and operated with a touch of your hand
• Power-Rise - battery-operated remote control

Lastly, Hunter Douglas believes that the most popular colors for window coverings are white, cream and beige. Along those lines of thought, they created Counterparts The Whole House Solution, which allows you to select coordinating Hunter Douglas products in 5 different product lines, making it simple to find the perfect solution for every window in your home, matching colors, but having the luxury of adding different textures or styles, all with Hunter Douglas' standard quality craftsmanship and energy efficiency.

When you're ready to lower your energy costs with window coverings, remember that Bernard Interiors is an authorized Hunter Douglas dealer.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Reach us via telephone, at (847) 446-5730.