For years, Window Treats customers here in New Jersey have loved the vast selection of window fashions that Hunter Douglas offers. With numerous colors, fabrics, and styles to choose from, there’s a window treatment to fit any décor and any home. And Hunter Douglas continues to produce new options, including their new Sonnette™ cellular roller shades. To see this or any other Hunter Douglas option in person, speak with a trained specialist today. [Read More…]
Like Your View? Keep It!
Silhouette® Window Shadings & Luminette® Privacy Sheers
At Window Treats serving Holmdel, we know that many of our customers are reluctant to treat certain windows because they love their view and don’t want to lose it. However, it’s important to cover all windows—treatments can provide UV protection and energy efficiency, and they offer great light and privacy control. And what’s even better is that Hunter Douglas has numerous solutions for ensuring that you maintain your view. To see some of the options in action, speak with one of our representatives today. [Read More…]
Using Natural Light for a Beautiful and Functional Home
Have you ever walked into a room and felt instantly uplifted? Has a bright kitchen filled you with unexpected energy, or has a cozy living room put you at ease? Good spatial layout, color schemes, and furniture can impact the mood of a space, but natural light can also have a huge influence on the energy of a room. Here, we’ll explain three ways lighting can influence the beauty of your living space, and make suggestions for how you can incorporate natural light into your home.
The Benefits of Strategic Natural Light
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- Creating the Illusion of SpaceA room full of light is not a full room; in fact, a bright, well-lit space feels much larger and airier than a dark one. Walls painted in light colors can help reflect natural inbound daylight so it “bounces” around the room. Feelings of spaciousness and energy are ideal for kitchens where your spend mornings and make meals and can be a good option for entryways or high-traffic living rooms.
- Highlighting Key Elements
Windows, skylights and even light fixtures cast light in specific directions, especially when shaded. Pay attention to where light is directed– whatever the brilliance falls on will naturally draw a visitor’s eye. For example, placing a favorite piece of wall art or statement furniture opposite a window will highlight its presence and amplify its colors.
- Visibility and Health
While strategic lighting can make a space more beautiful, it can also make a space more functional. After all, a beautiful reading nook with bookshelves and fancy pillows is useless if it is not bright enough to read! Interestingly, light quantity and quality in certain rooms can also impact your health. An overly-bright bedroom can hijack your sleep, and dark, dreary office with a vivid computer screen can induce vision complications and headaches.
How to Achieve Great Natural Lighting Indoors
Luckily, there are a few ways to make sure the light in your home is both attractive and good for your health. Here are just a few.
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- If Building or Remodelling, Focus on WindowsWindows placed in strategic locations can transform a room. Place windows in the south for greater winter sunlight, east for morning light and west for evening brilliance. Northern windows produce steady, lower-level light without glare and too much additional heat. Don’t rule out skylights as a method of streaming in even more natural, full-spectrum illumination.
- Consider Installing Custom Window Treatments
Another way to transform how light enters your room is through shutters, blinds, and curtains. Automated, motorized blinds offer a new, tech-savvy way to have more control over the lighting in your home. Window treatments can be operated from your phone with a variety of customization opportunities. If you want to be awakened by gentle light, for example, you can program motorized window blinds in your bedroom to open at specific times. Or, if you’re settling down for a movie, you can close the blinds from your phone, reducing TV glare without even getting off the couch.
Natural light control is essential to good interior design, and for a happy and healthy home. Using strategic window placements, and custom window treatments, you can make your space “lit!”
Can Motorized Blinds Improve Your Health?
Most often, families choose to buy motorized window blinds for the sake of convenience or even to improve the safety of their pets or children. Alternatively, they may make the switch to motorized blinds to improve the aesthetic quality of their homes or to increase their personal satisfaction with their surroundings. But did you know that motorized shades and window blinds might actually improve your health, too? Let’s take a closer look about how adding motorization to your window treatments can make you healthier.
You’ll get a more restful sleep
While many of us realize we should be getting anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep per night, the reality is that we often operate on much less shut-eye than that. Unfortunately, that can have a negative effect on our physical health, our productivity levels, and our overall mood. When we lie awake for hours scrolling through our phones or thinking about work we have to complete, we’re interrupting our body’s natural sleep patterns. But you might not realize that automated window blinds can help you to reset them.
Because you’re able to set a specific schedule for your shades, you’ll, therefore, create a routine and help your body prepare for sleep. When you take the work out of shade adjustment and are able to block out obtrusive lighting from other sources outside your home automatically, you’ll be able to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. You can then adjust to this routine, enjoy a deeper and more restful sleep, and wake up feeling ready to take on the day. And since sleep gives your body time to heal, you can improve your personal health while you get your beauty rest.
You’ll prevent heat loss
According to the National Resources Defense Council, windows and doors account for around one-third of your home’s total thermal loss. In the winter, that can be a real problem. Not only can this cause your energy bills to skyrocket, but it can also make your home feel a lot less cozy. And when you feel constantly chilled when you’re indoors, you might be more likely to come down with a cold or a cough and shiver the night away.
We already know that using your shades, blinds, and drapes properly can allow sunlight into your home during the warmest parts of the day and keep heat in once the sun goes down. However, making these adjustments manually leaves a lot of room for error. It’s easy to forget to close the drapes or curtains to trap heat inside, an action you may regret later on in the evening. But when you’ve already installed motorization into your window treatments, you won’t ever have to worry about that. You can set a schedule for these treatments so that your home maintains a comfortable temperature from day to night. This can save you money on heating, of course, but it could also improve your overall immunity or allow you to fight off seasonal illnesses that much more quickly. No one wants to feel freezing when they’re fighting off a cold in the middle of winter! When you feel cozy and comfortable, your body will be able to do its job and keep you from getting sick.
You’ll be less stressed
You might not think the thought of adjusting your blinds or shades could bring on much stress. But it’s just one more task to add on to your daily duties. And if you’re already settled in bed or are working under a deadline, it’s not a chore you’re going to want to do. On top of that, if you’re concerned about your mounting energy bills or are worried about nosy neighbors looking in, making these adjustments may be more important than you originally thought.
In general, automation and motorization are meant to improve our lives and eliminate unnecessary tasks. Reducing your stress levels wherever and whenever possible can improve your physical and mental well-being significantly. This can allow you to actually feel at ease at home, enjoy time with your family, and relax. And that’s definitely good for your health.
As you can see, adding motorization to your window treatments can improve your overall well-being. To find out more about our products, please contact us today.
What Should You Do With Old Window Treatments?
Many Ways To Recycle Blinds
Getting new window treatments is exciting—you get a new look in your room, as well as the other functionality you were looking for, like light and privacy control or energy efficiency. But as exciting as the new is, there’s still the issue of how to deal with the old. At Window Treats serving Holmdel, we like to offer our customers some eco-friendly ways to handle old window fashions. [Read More…]
