 It is critical that buyers of wood and faux wood blinds understand the industry standards for production and quality. It is wise and prudent to have a meeting of the minds as it relates to what is possible in the production of your wood or faux wood blinds - and ultimately leave no unpleasant surprises come installation time.
For instance, color variations generally occur from product samples to actual production runs. It is just a fact, that in any industry, colors change from one lot to another. Also, dye lot coloration and surface texture variations occur between material runs. For example, when wood is painted a pure white, the color if affected by both temperature and humidity. Since component runs could be weeks apart, the temperature and humidity will be different and as such you might see a slight variation. Also, for PVC products, the color depth and texture is not only affected by temperature and humidity, but also by the speed and pressure with which the material is run through the extrusion process. Even with these issues, it is very difficult to see a discernible difference between different runs. The industry responds to complaints of whether the color and texture is within acceptable parameters, by holding the materials two feet apart, and then determining whether one is able to see a discernible difference. Of course, this test must be done with similar light and shadow on each piece. Another issue the industry deals with on wood and faux wood blinds is bow and camber. Bow is the arched up or down shape the slat may take when open or closed. Camber is the curved shape from back to front. There will always be a certain amount of bow or camber in all wood and vinyl slats, but as long as it is within established parameters, the blinds will look great and function properly. The bottom line - as long as you order all the wood or faux wood blinds for a single room at the same time, these variances should never be an issue. With any luck, you are now ready to dive in, fully informed, to beautify your home with affordable and functional wood or faux wood blinds. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!
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The pictures above are from a roller shade project for a Weinerschnitzel restaurant. The East facing windows (4ea) had really old roller shades which were completely unusable and made the restaurant look old. The West facing window (1ea) was completely uncovered and as such the customers and employees were brutalized by the sun every afternoon. The West facing window shown directly on the main order counter for the restaurant.
As you can imagine, this was an untenable situation. However, after replacing the East facing windows with a simple cream colored solar roller fabric with a matching facscia and likewise covering the West window with the same type of roller fabric and fascia, we saw a transformation of their space. The restaurant now looks newer, cleaner, and is far more comfortable for customer and employees. It was a real pleasure to be part of a relatively simple, yet profound, transformation of this standby food establishment. We would love to help you find the right roller shade for your restaurant application. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  Occasionally, shutters are mounted inside a window frame. One method is to mount the shutters with a hanging strip on the rear using the non-mortise wrap around hinge and factory deductions are once again the same as a direct mount shutter. Another option is the side mount hanging strip. For the rear mount hanging strip, the factory will provide a hanging strip for both sides and a light block for the top and bottom. For each panel, two magnets and a wrap around hinge are included. (The hinges are attached to the panel at the factory, however hanging strips, light blocks, and magnets come separately). The diagram below will help you visualize how this shutter application will mount to your window opening. We would love to help you with your shutter project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!   Often, we have wondered why people gravitate to wood and faux wood blinds - almost as a default position. Is it because it is what people know and are comfortable with? Is it because it is the last priority when moving into a home for most people, and as such price trumps all? Is it because people really can not get a sense of lasting value from any window covering option, so they pick the conservative option?
The answer to all of these questions is generally yes - all of the above. Far and away the most popular product line in our market is the wood or faux wood blind. Because of this phenomena, the product has almost become a commodity. In other words, people perceive little difference between brands, so low price drives the purchase decision. Occasionally, a customer will spend a $100 more, if they are comfortable with the reputation of the local company, but press the value proposition to $200 - and even though the quality and service is far greater - the deal gets mushy. Additionally, the online blind retailers, who pay no sales tax and carry no license, coupled with the Chinese manufacturing boom, has placed deflationary pressure on the price points for wood and faux wood blinds. So, how should you, as a consumer, respond to this market dynamic? We strongly recommend that you consider your window coverings as an important part of your lifestyle and design flare - rather then an afterthought. Even with wood and faux wood blinds, the differentiators are very real and the value propositions financially matter over time. The online world would have you believe that their lower overhead means they provide greater value. But in most cases, this is just not the case. It is hard to match the depth of experience and value that someone with years of experience brings to your project. Even for a fairly simple product like faux and wood blinds - experience matters - and is generally worth a lot more than the couple hundred dollars you might save up-front. We would love to help you with your wood or faux wood blind project! Contact us today and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  Should your window covering be flexible with the weather, seasons, or time of day? You can throw flexibility out the window - no pun intended - if you choose window tint, or stationary sun screens for controlling the the sun's discomforting heat and glare. I don't know about you, but I like some control over the natural light in my living and working space. In order to control glare appropriately, I need solar roller shades that are adjustable.
This is where the retractability of solar roller shades is a feature I personally can not live without. It takes my living and working space from one which has "static" light control and transforms it into a space with "dynamic" light control. I can make adjustments based on the movement of the sun, the time of day, the temperature of the day, and the weather of the day. I can make adjustments based on using a computer screen or needing a flood of light for cleaning. So, bottom line, solar roller shades = retractability = control of the light and glare in your life. For me, this is worth the extra money. We would love to help bring the power of solar roller shade retractability into your life. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  As you shop for your plantation shutters, you will find that there are many many different manufacturers, fabricators, and brands. Each boasts the best value for the price. But honestly, are you going to cut into your brand new plantation shutter to see what the wood looks like underneath the paint? No, probably not. In fact, you might only notice that the panel feels heavier than it should, or perhaps many years down the road you might start having problems with warping or separation. Should this happen, then good luck getting the manufacturer to make it right.
I don't say this to scare you, because most plantation shutter "players" are doing their best to be fair and build their business. However, as is true with most things in life, a little education can go a long way in achieving the look and longevity you desire from your plantation shutters. Based on my years of experience, I like the idea of providing wood shutters which are 100% basswood. I prefer knowing that they are build with a combination of state-of-the art computerized equipment and old-world hand craftsmanship. This generally provides the precision and look we are all wanting. The nice thing about shutters which are made from 100% basswood is that they have no fillers, no sawdust, no composites, no plastic wraps, no "engineered wood" no mystery "hardwoods". Basswood is known in the industry to provide a combination of strength and light weight and as such it has become the industry's recognized premium natural material for the manufacture of wood shutters. Bottom line, please kindly consider basswood as a leading option when shopping for a real wood shutter. Of course, we would love to help you with your shutter project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  In previous articles, we have explored the versatility and cost advantages to purchasing wood or faux wood blinds for your home. They are practical and affordable, however, they do get dusty. So, what is the best way to clean them?
Here are a couple of options:
However, both of these options will still leave some dust on the blinds, so if you are wanting a cleaner look, your options become:
We would love to help you with your wood or faux wood blind project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  Have you ever seen a motorized roller shade magically appear from inside a ceiling? It's pretty cool - isn't it? Generally, these sorts of stunts are carefully planned and included in the architectural designs for new builds or significant remodels. So, do you want to take a peak up inside the ceiling and see where all the magic happens? The diagrams below show a 5" and a 5 5/8" extruded aluminum shade pocket - labeling the various parts. The larger shade pocket is used for bigger windows which require a bigger roll to support.   We would love to help you with your ceiling pocket roller shade project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!
 Everyone who considers plantation shutters for their home inevitably faces a key decision - should they opt for real wood shutters or poly shutters? In our product line real wood is slightly less expensive, and since Arizona is such a dry climate real wood shutters work well. Those in moist climates have a tougher choice when it comes to that part of the decision.
So, what is it about a poly shutter that appeals to many consumers? The main advantages of poly shutters include that they are:
However, please know that your ultimate decision between a real wood and poly shutter is affected by a myriad of factors like geographic region, application, cost, setting, design need, and usage. Of course, we would love to help you with your shutter project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters!  As we have mentioned before, we offer many different brands of wood and faux wood blinds, all with slightly different applications and price points. But without a doubt, we prefer to offer the wood and faux wood blinds that use the "California Clip" to hold the valance in place. Unlike other clips, that are plastic and will become brittle overtime and fail, we have never seen a "California Clip" fail. We are not even sure it can.
The California Clip is a hidden, metal valance clip that works by hooking onto the front of the 2" or 2 1/2" faux or wood blind head rail. When ordered with an inside mount blind, the head rail needs to be installed so it projects outside of the window frame slightly, so that the 1/2" return will sit flush to the wall. The ease of install and removal is remarkable. The 1/2" returns give the valance a better look as it provides some depth to the finished look - and years later if you ever need to service your blind - the California clips will not break. A great innovation for the old standby of the window covering industry. So, do yourself a favor and get the blind with the California Clip - you will be glad you did. We would love to help you with your wood or faux wood blind project. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation and thanks for your interest in Latreia Blinds and Shutters! |
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