UV Protection for the Home

Just as UV rays can damage skin, they can also damage furniture, flooring, and more when they come through the window. Of the three main culprits, UVA and UVB rays cause 45% percent of the damage, while heat/infrared radiation causes 25% percent and visible light causes 25% percent. Most glass windows in homes filter out UVB radiation, but UVA and infrared radiation can still sneak through, which is why the room tends to heat up on a sunny day.

While there are a few things homeowners can do to protect their home from UV rays, installing window treatments is probably the easiest. Window treatments help to block these rays when lowered, lessening the temperature of the room, and reducing fading of furniture and flooring.

To help homeowners protect their home and its contents, Hunter Douglas designs most of their window treatments to filter out 75% of the sun’s harmful UV rays when installed over double-glazed glass windows. Some blinds can even protect up to 99% when they are fully lowered with their slats, vanes, or louvers in a closed position.

Most people want sunlight to lighten up the room, and with most window treatments from Hunter Douglas, that is still possible even when blocking harmful rays. Many of their window coverings are designed to still allow light to filter in, giving the room a soft glow.

Don’t sacrifice natural light for UV protection and vice versa. Check out the large selection of light-filtering, UV-protecting window treatments at Window Coverings of Idaho. With so many styles, colors, and materials, everyone can find the perfect fit for their home.

Window Treatments for Office Spaces

Finding the right office window treatment can be tricky. There are a few factors to consider before making your selection including:

• The amount of natural light that comes into the office
• Glare on computers or other electronics
• The amount of privacy needed
• Direction the windows are facing
• Personal preferences

Natural Light and Glaring

It is important in a professional setting to have adequate lighting, but it is always nice to utilize more natural lighting than artificial lighting. Natural lighting is easier on the eyes, and can help improve workplace productivity. Invite the natural light in, but keep the option to limit it to reduce glaring with honeycomb shades and cellular shades especially during the brightest part of the day.

Privacy and Window Placement

The direction the windows face can determine when the sun shines through the windows, and the amount of privacy needed. Top-down, bottom-up shades allow the user to position the shades to block out the glaring sun during certain parts of the day, or limit who can see inside the windows. Many of the Hunter Douglas shades available from Window Coverings of Idaho offer this function.

Personal Preference

Sometimes personal preference plays the most important role in selecting window coverings. With a huge selection to choose from, and the option for custom designs, Window Coverings of Idaho can find something to fit everyone’s personal preference.

When choosing new window treatments for your office, custom Hunter Douglas window coverings allow more options, a better fit aesthetically, and the perfect balance of natural lighting. Talk to the team at Window Coverings of Idaho about creating custom window coverings for your office today.

Decorating a Sunroom

Sunrooms make for a gorgeous space to entertain or just relax with a cup of coffee each morning. The sunroom needs to make people feel like they are outside, yet still connected to the rest of the home. How it is decorated can have an impact on these impressions.

Before decorating, read these tips:

Painting

The paint choice or choices should consider the natural light that comes into the room. Whites and yellows are common in sunrooms for their cheeriness and how they work with the light. For those wanting something different, most bright colors work well.

Furniture

Make the sunroom flow into the rest of the house with furniture choices. Anything used should complement the style of the home. Popular materials for sunroom furniture are wicker, rattan, and other natural materials. Be sure to use fabrics that won’t fade as fast from the sunlight.

Window Treatments

Although the idea is to let in as much natural sunlight as possible, sometimes that isn’t ideal during extreme temperatures. Window treatments are still necessary in sunrooms. To blend in with the feeling of the room, opt for woven shades made with natural materials, wooden blinds or shutters, or roller shades. These window treatments will allow light to come in but offer the option to block it when needed. The right window treatments also help keep fabrics from fading as quickly.

For help choosing the perfect window treatments for the sunroom, talk to Window Coverings of Idaho. Visit the website to see our large selection of window treatments and more home decorating tips.

Uses and Advantages of Roller Shades

For a modern and clean look, roller shades are the perfect window treatment choice in any home. Hunter Douglas offers roller shades in hundreds of fabric choices to fit any aesthetic. These versatile shades have many benefits, some of which include:

1. Simplicity

Made with just a single piece of flat fabric, window coverings don’t get simpler than a roller shade. They are easy to adjust as well. They portray a sense of neatness in a room with their crisp, clean lines.

2. Sun Screen

Roller shades can be made with many different types of fabrics so they can be sheer or opaque. Either way, Hunter Douglas roller shades protect furniture and more from fading with at least 75% protection from harmful UV rays.

3. Keep the View

The Designer Screen Shades from Hunter Douglas come in varying levels of opacity. This allows for light to be filtered in and the view to remain visible while still protecting the interior from harmful UV rays.

With so many options available in fabrics and opacity, roller shades can be used in a variety of ways throughout the home or office. Some great uses for rollers shades are:

• Kitchen

Larger, heavier window treatments are impractical for the kitchen. Roller shades fit well in smaller windows like those in the kitchen. Roller shades that are more sheer are a great option in the kitchen to allow for natural light.

• Bathroom

Bathrooms need privacy, but also natural light. Roller shades can easily be adjusted for more privacy in the bathroom and can fit the awkward window sizes often found in bathrooms.

• Patio/Sunroom

The main function of a patio or sunroom is to enjoy the light and view. However, sometimes it is desirable to partially or completely block the sun to for temperature and light control. The Designer Screen Shades are perfect for these rooms.

Check out the designer roller shades by Hunter Douglas that can be sheer, opaque, solid, or even printed. There are so many options to choose from.

Summer Color Trends for 2017

Summer is a great time to update home décor and include some new colors to bring a fresh feeling into the home. Each summer brings new color trends and it’s time to see what 2017 has in store. Here are some new color trends to inspire a summer home makeover:

1. Yellow

Not everyone is a fan of the cheery tone, but it can be used to brighten up any room. Yellow pairs well with neutral grey tones. All different shades of yellow from pale to dark mustard can be used in furniture, wall colors, or window coverings to bring a pop of sunshine into a space.

2. Pastel Pink

Pink isn’t just for little girls’ rooms anymore. Many are using it as a neutral color in rooms to accentuate the natural light that filters in. If pink sounds a little daunting, try starting with small pink accent pieces before working up to larger pink pieces like window coverings or furniture.

3. Dusky Blue

This more somber tone of blue mimics the ocean, making a calm feeling wash over the room. It pairs well with white and light grey accents. A great idea is using white, sheer window treatments to filter in light beautifully over dusky blue walls.

4. Earthy Greens

An olive or earthy green can be sophisticated and calming at the same time. It brings a peaceful feeling without being too dark or dingy. Try matching olive throw pillows with a beige couch or chair.

5. Dark Grey

Cool tones have been popular for the last few years, but a darker grey is making its comeback in 2017. It can be a solemn shade, but brings with it a richness that brings the room up a notch.

Try incorporating these 2017 summer color trends with new window treatments from Window Coverings of Idaho. They have window treatments in a variety of colors. Visit the Window Coverings of Idaho website to see more decorating tips and tricks.

Hypoallergenic Bedding

When people think of allergies they tend to think of pollen, cats, or dogs but in reality, many allergens have nothing to do with pet dander or plants. One of the major causes of allergy issues can be found in bedding. This is due to dust mites. Dust mites can trigger many health issues for people without the person even knowing it.

It’s estimated that 20 million Americans are allergic to dust mites. People who have respiratory conditions can have particularly bad reactions to dust mites and their waste. Even those who don’t have asthma or other respiratory ailments can wake up congested, and not well rested.

To rid the bed of dust mites and get some relief, try investing in hypoallergenic bedding. This type of bedding is designed to be allergen-resistant making it hard for dust mites to inhabit it. Hypoallergenic bedding can be in the form of sheets, pillow cases, duvet and mattress covers, mattresses, and even box springs. Hypoallergenic bedding also gives relief to other allergy sufferers.

Hypoallergenic bedding can be made from these three materials:

• Silk

Silk is completely dust-mite resistant due to its tighter fabric weave.

• Wool

Stay warm during colder nights and dust-mite free with a blend of alpaca and sheep wool.

• Cotton

Specialized blends are produced to be just as effective and soft as silk.

Getting a good night’s rest and waking up feeling refreshed is important. If dust mites are inhabiting the bedding and making that impossible, it might be time to switch to hypoallergenic bedding. It could improve sleeping, reduce allergies, and boost overall well being.

Talk to Window Coverings of Idaho to find custom, hypoallergenic bedding that also matches the room’s décor and window coverings.