by William Watson

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your home take care of things for you, automatically, without you having to lift a finger? You bet it would. That is the promise of home automation. There are many different systems, especially in larger homes, that can benefit from being integrated. Some of these systems include security alarm, HVAC, audio / video, and lighting. Home automation integrates these systems together, enabling them to function more efficiently, improve functionality, conserve resources and enhance your lifestyle.

That’s the name of the game; an enhanced lifestyle. Everyone can benefit from a better life and modern electronic systems can help provide it. In addition, as the cost of resources continues to rise and the price of electronics continues to fall, home automation systems will prove to be even more cost effective. The combination of the modern consumer’s thirst for convenience and increasing economic advantages will propel home automation more into the mainstream.

So, what are some of the fun things a home automation system can do for you? Here are some common applications:

7) Skylights automatically close in response to rain and/or wind.
If upstairs windows are open, the heat in those rooms is disabled to avoid wasting energy and a message is displayed on the home’s touch panels to alert you.

9) Weather information can be displayed on the home’s touch panels. If the wind speed increases to beyond 50mph, protective shutters can be activated over the windows.

10) Motorized window treatments can be lowered automatically in response to direct sunlight. This prevents fading of valuable furniture, carpets and artwork. It also reduces interior heating, reducing AC expenditures.

11) You phone from your car while returning from a ski trip to ensure your hot tub is warmed up and ready to jump in immediately upon your return.

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by testiclay20507

Roman shades are a great way to add a simple and elegant treatment to your windows. Roman shades can be made from many materials in many different styles and work much like a blind. They site bunched up at the top of your window when not in use and then can be lowered down to cover the window when you want privacy.

Because of their ability to let full sun into the room during the day while blocking peoples view into the room at night, roman shades are a perfect window treatment for the kitchen. You can use roman shades in conjunction with drapes or curtains if youd like but they also look great by themselves.

There are different types of roman shades, and depending on your kitchen style you might want to explore one or more of these styles of blinds.

Bamboo

Bamboo roman shades are great for a kitchen that has s tropical or plantation style. They also work well in a modern kitchen or with caf style dcor. Most bamboo shades are made with thin canes of bamboo that have been whittled and dried then stitched together to form a shade. These shades add texture to the room and can add a nice look even when they are down as the opaque nature of the shade lets subtle light through.

Fabric

Fabric roman shades can be found to go with almost every kitchen style. You can get a plain fabric, a print or even a toile roman shade for a shabby chic Paris apartment look. If you buy fabric roman shades be sure to get a pattern and color that match with your overall kitchen dcor. Fabric roman shades are a single panel of material that has a string running down both sides of the length. The string is pulled and the shade is gathered up. There are different styles of gather or pucker you can have depending on if you want a fancy or plan look.

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by today.comDepending on its use, fabrics can bring unique moods to a room. Heavy, rich-colored and textured fabrics usually bring a more formal, ornate feel to a room, while sheer fabrics used in windows, made to hang over bare walls, or even just thrown over the back of a couch or an ottoman bring a fun, flirty feel to a room.

The following are some fabulous ideas to incorporate fabric in different places in the home

Window Treatments

A window positioned anywhere in a room provides a dramatic statement, a focal point, or may even provide an opportunity to bring the outdoors inside the room. With window treatments, fabrics may be used in curtains and window valances.

In order to provide a dramatic statement in a room via the window treatment, you can make use of two extreme types of fabrics, either heavy, rich-colored fabrics, or sheer draperies: or possibly a combination of both. Heavy, rich-colored fabrics make a dramatic statement with their strong colors and eye-catching patterns (like damasks, flower prints, stripes, etc.). Sheer draperies, on the other hand, bring a light, sunny feeling to the room by letting in just enough sunlight, yet allowing for a light and flirty curtain solution.

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 by NewYork Coalition

Blinds to dress your windows are great options for a new and classy look.
At some point, the look of your home can get to you. It either looks too old or has been around so long and you just aren’t feeling it. Change, that’s what you need. You can give an old room a facelift by updating its look. There are many ways that you can do this effectively and one simple way is by updating your  window treatments. There are many different types of window treatments available on the market today; however, blinds have proven to be very easy to utilize and their maintenance is quite minimal.

One of the best things about home improvement projects is that you have this new chance to let facets of your personality show. Your involvement in the whole decoration process can be as personal as you’d like, meaning you do all the work yourself, or you can hire on a specific contractor to make the changes for you. Either way, your redecorating vision and creativity will only be limited by how much you’d be willing to shell out to bring new life into an old room.

Home decoration projects involve the whole process of imagining what a finished room will look like, looking around for inspiration – and perhaps saving a picture or two of styles that catch your fancy – and jotting all these thoughts on paper. Why this is a good idea: You’ll feel like wanting to put everything you see right into one project and all the great stuff you’ll eventually find can be overwhelming. After you’ve got the basic features you’d like a room to stand out for, coordinate colors, décor and your furnishings to suit the new room’s personality.

One thing that can make a room look coordinated and balanced is the use of blinds for your windows. Contrary to the cheap, old fashioned style some claim blinds contribute, the types manufactured today are strong in structure, diversified in design and elegant in feature. Your newly decorated room can use a touch of class offered by the right kind. Consider these options:

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by Karla Van Huysen.com

If you’re thinking about new window treatments, venetian blinds are the ideal choice. Venetian blinds and a simple top valance are all you need for every window in your home.

Venetian blinds offer many advantages over other options for window treatments. Even quality venetian blinds are very affordable, especially compared to expensive drapes or curtains. They come in a variety of styles and colors, and they are very easy to install. All you need is a screwdriver. The hardware required to install them always comes with venetian blinds.

Another advantage is how easy venetian blinds are to clean. A damp cloth can be used to dust them off once a week. If necessary, you can even remove them for easy cleaning. They are much easier to clean than drapes or curtains that require special care, and they do not hold odors or allergens like cloth window treatments do.

Venetian blinds allow you to enjoy just the right amount of sunlight. It is much harder to control lighting with drapes or curtains than it is with venetian blinds. You can open blinds partially, or raise them to let full sunlight fill your room. Properly installed venetian blinds can be closed for complete privacy at night.

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by flooringdiva

There are plenty of styles you could go with, just depends on which one most strikes your fancy! Since I don’t know which style you prefer or what your decorating style is, I’ll just have to make a list of some popular styles and give yo the run down on the features:

Cellular (or Honeycomb) shades- They come in many fabric thicknesses and you can choose how light or how dark you want the room to be. In addition to that, you can get top down/bottom up added depending on your width. This would allow you to have the lower part of the shade down for privacy and lower the top of the blind to let light in. This option also comes corded or cordless.

Horizontal slatted blinds- The 2″ wood and faux wood plantation blinds are very popular right now. Since this is on the second floor if you tilt your shades open a little, you will get light coming in, but all of your privacy will be maintained. Also the wider 2″ openings allow greater light and a wider view to be seen during the day. Traditional 1″ mini blinds would do the same as the 2″ only you wouldn’t get as much sunlight coming through when the slates were open, because only half as much light comes in.

Roman Shades- If your bedroom has a more formal look to it try a nice looped roman shade. They come in a variety of fabrics and light blocking abilities. They also come with top down/bottom up capabilites. Levolor is the only company that allows cordless top down/bottom up. And Hunter Douglas comes in Vignettes which dust themselves when you raise and lower them.

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by Andrews Heritage

If you walk into a home improvement store, one of the first things you will see is a wall of different types and different colors of shades for your windows. These are used to help cool a room by keeping out the sun’s rays. Today, shades are used for decoration and home renovation.

There are several different types of shades you can purchase. The more common ones are the Roman shades, the Bamboo shades, and the Roller shades. These shades usually fit inside your window and help to keep the sunlight out in the summer. In the winter, the shades can help keep the heat in your house. The shades can provide privacy while your window is open as well. These shades are made out of many different material including wood, metal, and plastic.

Roman shades have a cord that you pull up or let down to have the shade fold up or come down in sections. Roman shades will gather up in large pleat like sections when pulled up. These shades can be made out of wood, bamboo, or fabric. This allows the consumer to match colors with his own decorative style. Some of the fabrics can be dyed a certain color. For an even better match, bring a sample of what you are trying to match. They are used for a classic look and have a unique folding style to match and dress up any window with their elegance.

Bamboo shades usually come in many different color shades. The three most popular are brown, natural which is an off white, and tea colored. These types of shades are also woven with wood or rattan and can include grass, jute, and/or reeds to add more decoration.

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by resttime92258 

When we consider window treatments there are many, many possibilities to choose from. The main thing besides the actual width and height of the window in relation to the room is the dcor. Is the window going to be the visual focal point of the room? Or is it going to blend with the dcor and be non- obtrusive.

Of course when approaching a window treatment we keep the style we are going for in mind. Are you going to start off with blinds or shades? When choosing blinds or shades for your window treatment, you have to consider the element of light and privacy. Do you want to fill the room with light or keep it relatively dark? Today you can get fabric shades to match the dcor and the fabric of the room with light and privacy control capabilities. If your window is wider than high you may want to go with vertical blinds as opposed to horizontal or Venetian Blinds. You can get Vertical blinds in UV light controlled fabric as well.

Another thing to consider is if you live in a house think about the house’s architecture as well. How does the window treatments look from the outside of the house looking in? For a historic designed house a more traditional or Victorian window treatment may look better than vertical blinds. Lace Swags or Valances may compliment a Fabric Shade instead. If you have a cabin or oriental style house, wood woven shades or bamboo blinds might do the trick for you.

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By Mel Fabrikant 

 Revered Award Committee Acknowledges Company’s Achievements

Hunter Douglas, the nation’s leading custom window fashions manufacturer, is proud to announce that the company has been awarded three prestigious GOOD DESIGN™ Awards. This year’s awards include new enhancements for the Alustra® Collection, Duette® Architella™ honeycomb shades and Modern Precious Metals® Reveal™ with MagnaView™ aluminum blinds.

 The GOOD DESIGN Awards are one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious design competitions. They are hosted by the Chicago Athenaeum, a distinguished cultural institution and one of the few museums of architecture and design in the United States. Founded in 1950 by Edgar J. Kaufmann, Jr., former curator of the Museum of Modern Art, with the participation of Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, George Nelson and Russel Wright and other pioneers of American and modern design, the GOOD DESIGN program bestows international recognition upon designers and manufacturers for advancing new and innovative product concepts and originality and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered standard product design. This year, the GOOD DESIGN Awards were judged by a jury of design professionals including architects, designers and authorities in the design world. There were hundreds of entries from all over the world, which contributed to the international importance of the historic award.

“We are especially honored to be recognized by such an esteemed institution as the Chicago Athenaeum,” said Donna Lobosco, Director of Brand Communications for Hunter Douglas. “At Hunter Douglas we strive to continually pioneer design innovations that improve style, function and convenience at the window, and to receive these awards is a privilege.” Hunter Douglas was the only window fashions company to receive this notable award.

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 by Cheryl Allen

Take a step back. Look at your windows and ask yourself: What do you see?  It’s a question that many consumers overlook when decorating, according to interior designers.  And that’s a shame, because window coverings are more important than ever, says Bruce Knott, director of communications for Grace McNamara Inc. in St. Paul, Minn., which produces the annual trade show, International Window Coverings Expo.

“Besides adding to the overall decor of the room, people are realizing that window coverings are ‘green,’ in that they help reduce heating costs or air-conditioning costs because of their insulating value,” Knott says.  It’s important to consider design as well as function, says Cecelia Hardee, owner of Arranged by Design in Greenville, S.C. “Homes today have, on average, 40 windows-plus, whereas it used to be 15 or 20,” Hardee says.

And in some cases, windows are entire walls. “People are wanting to have all this light coming in and wanting these great views.”  But planning is key.  If you’re building a new home, she says, plan window treatments during the construction phase. Many consumers “just throw blinds up because they don’t know what else to do. That’s a mistake.”

But even if you’re just redecorating your current home, you need to give window treatments some thought.  “They’re not just there for show. When it comes to window coverings, they want to think about privacy, light control or are they trying to preserve a view,” Hardee says.  “There’s a lot of function out there in window coverings and a lot of options people never had before. So it doesn’t have to be cookie cutter.”

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