<p>;)
Using that term makes me feel like Martha Stewart when she admonishes someone for drinking out of the “original container”.</p>
<p>I am redoing all of our windows. We currently have mini- blinds in living rm/dining room at the front of the house & since they are “dusty rose” & we just painted the exterior butterscotch, it is a good time to get something new. Since i can get better deals if i do more windows, I’m thinking of doing the other rooms too, and where to go but CC! ( I know - I will look on GardenWeb too, but I thought I would come here first)</p>
<p>We have a century + old craftsman cottage with double hung windows ( most actually aren’t original, we had vinyl double panes installed about 25 years ago, before I knew that most could be restored).
I am looking at Roman shades for the front rooms that face south, probably in a color thatis close to the window color, which is beigeish. I wanted something with more insulation for the bedrooms, so I was considering the double-cell honeycomb shades. </p>
<p>I’ve also decided to spring for the top down- bottom up option, but couldn’t decide if all the shades should be cordless or just the bedrooms. ( we don’t have small kids, but we might have grand kids someday!)</p>
<p>Reading all the reviews of brands is confusing however, so I came to those i can trust.
:)</p>
<p>I like Roman shades - they can be lined with white fabric on the street side, then whatever fabric/color you wish in the room. I have the honeycomb shades in the garage. Not a big fan of them in the house because they don’t look quite right with a traditional decor, but I do like that they let in light, yet are private if the lights are on in the garage. Even if you opt for corded - the cords can be contained in cassette, so there’s no choking hazard.</p>
<p>Honeycomb brand we have is Hunter Douglas - had them installed by my decorator. They’ve held up for 12+ years, and I recently had wooden slat shades also by Hunter Douglas installed in a bathroom which seem to be good quality.</p>
<p>We have wood blinds on all the windows that face the street except in our dining room but those are never down so it doesn’t matter. I prefer to have things look right on the inside of the house :D. We have the top down/bottom up shades in our master bathroom and our kitchen. The kitchen ones were here when we moved, not sure why they put them in, never use the top down feature. I use the top down feature on the bathroom ones all the time. I have them pulled down about 1/4 way from the top all the time. It lets light in without everyone being able to see in.</p>
<p>I had roman shades in our Craftsman house and honestly, I hated them. They were bulky and not all that easy to use–however that was almost 18 years ago so they have probably improved since then.</p>
<p>We have blackout double cellulars in our bedroom–LOVE those!!!</p>
<p>I don’t have any opinions on where to shop, but it I think it can be quite informational to do some price/option checking on the American Blinds website. </p>
<p>(I also love looking at Smith and Noble for ideas)</p>
<p>We made a mistake in our bedroom by not getting the blackout liner on the double honeycombs.</p>
<p>I have Hunter Douglas double-cell honeycomb shades in all the rooms in the first floor except for the kitchen and the 2nd floor master suite and bathroom. I installed a different brand from Smith & Noble for the other bedrooms because it was cheaper and it was okay. I like the top-down, bottom-up style mainly because of the top-down feature where you can bring sunlight into a room, gaze at the view outside or see the stars at night (just like SteveMA suggested but mine are ½ down from the top) and walk around the house without being seen by people standing outside except for our bobbing heads. </p>
<p>You can soften the stark effect of the honeycomb shades by installing a decorative, fabric cornice board on top of the window with matching floor-to-ceiling, two-way drapes. </p>
<p>If I remember correctly the blackout liner will actually block out all light from outside. I wanted privacy while walking around the house but I didn’t want to block all light completely because I prefer bright rooms. I think you want to have the blackout liner for a home theater room but for the other rooms I just close the drapes if I want to darken the room. </p>
<p>You might look to consider plantation shutters too. I think the shutters will look lovely in your cottage.</p>
<p>emerald - if I could make a suggestion, check out blindschalet.com</p>
<p>they are completely custom made to fit and are absolutely wonderful… and their prices for custom usually beat out my local stores for standard! You can order samples of whatever style and color you want online for free and they will send them to you… so you can hold them up to wherever you want them and decide what looks best for you… the samples are about 4 inches long. </p>
<p>I have the faux wood, as well as the up down honeycomb shades. they all look great!</p>
<p>I’ve used blindsgalore.com. Same deal. You have to measure yourself very carefully though and you either have to install yourself or hire someone to install. Lots cheaper than the local stores, even HD.</p>
<p>I’ve decided to go with shutters for the living & dining room windows.
I already have some that fit one of the bedrooms and I like the clacking sound and ability to paint them.
Plus I don’t have to deal with blinds or shades that don’t want to roll up or down for me.
My nemesis!</p>
<p>We have the honeycomb from Hunter Douglas in most of the main floor and I put in Cornices that match the window frames and moldings. I like a really simple window, probably because we have rather pretty views outside most of our windows and I’m just not a curtain kind of person. I tend to get more worked up over area rugs, upholstery, etc and like the windows to be more architectural than decorative.</p>
<p>I very much admire shutters but we have too many windows for it to have been affordable. Love the idea of the shutters in an A&C home. Great choice!</p>
<p>We have regular honeycomb shades in the front and wood blinds in the back on the first floor.</p>
<p>I have the black out shades that are also top down bottom up in my bedroom. I love having the room pitch black when I sleep, but then lifting the blackout part to sheer honeycomb shades for the day. After 11 years though, one of my sets has broken strings. I need to figure out how to restring them myself or find a place that can do it. </p>
<p>Any recommendations for where to get verticals? I’ll check out blindsgalore, but I’d love to have someone else come in and measure & install for me!</p>
<p>Try Blinds To Go. They have stores, will do measurements (I think) though it’s not set up that way. You go in, figure it out with a clerk and the blinds are made in a few days. Their main factory is in Quebec. </p>
<p>We’ve bought nicely made wooden blinds for very reasonable prices from them.</p>