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…]
Avoiding Winter Window Woes: How to Make Your Energy Bills Less ‘Pane’-ful
Winter is on its way, which makes many families worry about how high their energy bills might climb in the coming months. While there are a lot of things you can do to cut down on unnecessary energy use and make the most of what you’ve got, there’s arguably no better way to accomplish both goals than to focus on your windows. In today’s post, we’ll discuss some top tips for keeping your energy bills low with just a few simple changes to your routine and to your home.
Opt For Efficiency
You probably already know that energy-efficient appliances can help you save in several ways. Not only will they make it easier to go green, but they’ll also keep more green in your pocket once the bill arrives. The same principle applies with your home’s windows. Energy efficient windows and even storm windows can help keep the warm air in and the cold air out, particularly if you’re living in an older home that’s prone to draftiness. If you can’t commit to replacing all of your existing windows, you may want to opt for sealing any cracks or replacing the oldest and most worn-out in the bunch.
Change Up Your Habits
In winter, you’ll want to do everything you can to work with your HVAC system and the natural light, rather than against them. That may mean being a bit more diligent about when you open your blinds for windows and when you close them, especially as the days get shorter. South-facing window shades should be kept open during the day and should be closed at night. Of course, there are easier ways to accomplish this — but we’ll expand on that in a bit.
‘Treat’ Yourself
According to the Attachments Energy Rating Council, window attachments (including window treatments) can improve the performance of your windows and reduce your household’s energy use by up to 13%. That’s no small feat, particularly if you’re spending a lot to keep your home comfortable in winter. Your shades, draperies, and blinds for windows should fit tightly, which means you may want to investigate custom options to ensure they’re sized correctly. You may also want to explore thermal window treatments to boost your energy-saving efforts even more.
Get Your Motor Running
Finally, why not take the guesswork out of energy efficiency by opting for motorized window shades? It’s a far easier way to make certain you’re taking full advantage of daylight hours and don’t forget to shut your blinds once it gets dark in the evenings. With motorized blinds for windows, you’ll automatically make your home consistently comfortable and can save some money on your heating bills. What more could you possibly ask for this winter?
To learn more about how our motorized blinds for windows can improve your energy efficiency and the aesthetic value of your home, please contact us today.
Hunter Douglas Season of Style Savings Event
At Window Treats serving Holmdel area, we’re always excited to offer our customers additional savings on the already great value they get with Hunter Douglas window fashions. That’s why we’re happy to tell everyone about the 2018 Season of Style Savings Event that’s going on right now. If you’re interested in learning more, read on, and then speak with one of our consultants today!
Act Fast…Ends December 10th
This promotion is going on only through December 10, so you need to act fast to earn your rebates. Some of the most popular Hunter Douglas window fashions, including Vignette® Modern Roman Shades, Sonnette™ Cellular Roller Shades, Pirouette® Shadings, Silhouette® Shadings, Luminette® Privacy Sheers, and Duette® Honeycomb Shades, are eligible to earn a $100 rebate. Simply purchase the required minimum of the product, and if you purchase more, you can earn incremental rebates as well. Be aware that some restrictions apply, so be sure to get all of the details before you buy.
Meet the Products
Hunter Douglas products offer numerous features and benefits; you can’t go wrong. However, the products up for the rebate deal are some of the most popular, and for good reason. For example:
- Vignette® Modern Roman Shades. Offered in numerous styles, fabrics, and fold sizes, these shades are the perfect alternative to the traditional Roman shade. Consider the new Duolite® option to get two opacities in one shade.
- Pirouette® Shadings. Its softly contoured vanes can be closed for complete privacy or opened to let light in, and the shades offer excellent UV protection with the vanes either opened or closed.
- Luminette® Privacy Sheers. With a sheer fabric facing, Luminette offers vanes that let you control light and privacy in the room.
Lift Systems
Don’t forget about the lift system for your new purchase. One of the most overlooked options when selecting window treatments is the operating system. If your windows are high and hard to reach, consider PowerView® Motorization. If you have children or just don’t like the look of cords, consider LiteRise®. We have a wide variety of operating choices for you to select from.
Season of Style Savings Event in the Middletown, Holmdel New Jersey Area
Window Treats, Inc., is a service-oriented business specializing in custom blinds, shades, shutters, draperies, top treatments and window treatment motorization options.
We serve residential and commercial customers throughout New Jersey including Middletown, Holmdel, Rumson, Colts Neck, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Long Branch, Elberon, Deal, Shrewsbury, Allenhurst, Spring Lake, Jersey Shore, and all of Monmouth County, NJ.
A World of Color
Designer Screen Shades
At Window Treats serving Holmdel, we know that many of our customers feel overwhelmed when they try to introduce new color to their homes. That’s why we’re always happy to help share tips and tricks to finding and using the colors they love. One way to learn about new colors is to follow the chosen Color of the Year. Read on to learn more!
Past Colors of the Year
Each year, the Pantone Color Institute predicts what will be the trending color for the year. “The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today,” noted Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. Here are some of the colors that were popular in years past:
- Character-Inspired. In 2015, for the first time ever, Pantone color system based a color on a movie franchise: Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me. They used their playful yellow to coin “Minion” Yellow, a color designed to lift our moods and environment.
- 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity. In 2016, the Color Institute offered up not just one but TWO trending forecasted colors. Rose Quartz and Serenity, known for their calm and peaceful approach, were forecasted to replicate how we would want to feel in the following months.
- 2017: Greenery. Reminiscent of the first day of spring, this yellow-green, snow pea color “is the color of hopefulness and of our connection to nature.”
- 2018: Ultra Violet. Provocative, visionary, and a symbol of unconventionality, Ultra Violet has always been considered a mystical or spiritual color.
Color Tips
Remember that you can add as little or as much color as you’d like—in anything from wall paint to window treatments to throw pillows. But choose your color wisely. As you can see from the list above, trends come and go. If you find that you’ve fallen in love with a past color of the year, don’t be afraid to use it even today. It’s your home, and you need to choose colors you’ll love to see day in and day out.
Color Choices in the Middletown, Holmdel New Jersey Area
Window Treats, Inc., is a service-oriented business specializing in custom blinds, shades, shutters, draperies, top treatments and window treatment motorization options.
We serve residential and commercial customers throughout New Jersey including Middletown, Holmdel, Rumson, Colts Neck, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Long Branch, Elberon, Deal, Shrewsbury, Allenhurst, Spring Lake, Jersey Shore, and all of Monmouth County, NJ.
Vertical Window Treatment Options for Window Walls Sliding Glass Doors
Hunter Douglas Vertical Window Fashions Collection
Offering great natural light and views to the outdoors, large glass expanses such as window walls and sliding glass doors deserve window treatments that enhance their benefits. That’s why Hunter Douglas makes vertical blinds that are as beautiful as they are functional—they come in countless colors, materials, and textures and offer room-darkening options as well as protection from UV rays and privacy. To see the full line of options available, speak with a trained professional at Window Treats serving Middletown today. [Read more…]
About Roller and Screen Shades
Designer Screen Shade
Designer roller and screen shades from Hunter Douglas can add style to any room. They offer numerous benefits, and combine both form and function. At Window Treats serving Holmdel, our customers often choose roller and screen shades as the best solution for beauty and design. If you’ve been looking for new window treatments for your home, speak consult with one of our specialists to determine whether roller and screen shades might be right for your needs. [Read more…]
How Automated Blinds Can Help You Save Energy and Money This Winter
Although fall has just begun, temperatures are falling fast. There’s no time like the present to look even further ahead to winter. Although it may not be the most pleasant of thoughts, the reality is that the ground will soon freeze and you’ll be able to see your breath when you’re out in the open air. When we’re indoors, we rely heavily on our heating system to make our home comfortable. Unfortunately, that can have some negative consequences, like sky-high energy bills and a deviation from our dedication to a green lifestyle. However, having automated window blinds may help solve some of those issues by supporting your HVAC system. Here’s how.
Mainly, it’s important to note that motorized blinds will keep the heat inside. If you want to make your home more comfortable and save some money, you need to rely on furnishings to keep the heat indoors. Draperies alone can actually reduce room heat loss by 10% during the wintertime, as heat tends to escape through those windows. But if you forget to shut the blinds at the optimal time of day, you won’t be able to retain the heat or save energy in the process.
Automated window blinds make that process a cinch. You can program them to adjust at specific times of the day to ensure the heat stays in when you need it most. Since wintertime brings about shorter daylight hours, this feature comes in extremely handy. By utilizing the features of your motorized window blinds, you can set it and forget it — and your heating system won’t have to work nearly as hard. Ultimately, that means you’ll end up saving money each month and your HVAC system will last longer (another source of savings for the long term).
When you use automated window blinds, you won’t have to consciously consider how you’re going to save money every month. Instead, you can rely on these automatic adjustments to save you time, money, and energy. In the warmer months, these same features can ensure you don’t spend too much on your air conditioning bills. But this winter, you can keep your home warm and cozy while reducing your reliance on your home heating system.
To find out more about how our blinds can help you save money and energy while keeping your home more comfortable, please contact us today.
We Help Businesses Too
Hunter Douglas Roller Shades
Although most people only think of window treatments for homes, in actuality, it’s just as important for businesses to have window treatments too. Whether you’re the owner of a small business or an office manager at a large company, at Window Treats serving Holmdel, we’ll happily help you find the right product for the windows in your building. Speak with one of our window treatment specialists 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.
