Month: June 2019

Window shutters for the interior of your home come in several different styles. Each style has benefits that you can use to upgrade the décor of your home and to provide more insulation, increased control over natural lighting, and enhanced privacy.

Café style window shutters are interior window shutters that cover only the bottom half of windows. These window shutters get their name from their popularity in cafes in Europe and throughout the United States. They are a good choice for allowing a lot of natural light into rooms, while ensuring privacy is maintained. The top half of the window can either be left unadorned or you can add a window shade or curtain, which you can close at night for full privacy.

The café window shutter panels can be opened or closed, but if your intent is to keep the panels closed all the time, with the slats tilted slightly, then wide café window shutters are your best option, since they will give the inside of the room a spacious and more open feel. If you want to keep the café window shutters open during the day, then a narrow panel may be a better choice.

Tier on tier window shutters, which are also known as double hung window shutters, consist of a set of shutters on the top half on windows and a set of shutters on the lower half of windows. Each set of shutters can be opened independently from each other. Tier on tier window shutters give you a lot of control over the amount of natural light that is allowed into rooms and they offer a lot of privacy.

If you have, for example, a den or dining room that is facing a heavy-traveled road, you can keep the lower set of window shutters closed for privacy, with the slats tilted, and open the upper set of window shutters to let natural light into the room.

For tier on tier window shutters, the best option is narrow panels that are hinged together. This allows you to open the tier on tier window shutters so that they bi-fold onto each other neatly when you open them and the view of the window is not obscured.

Tier on tier window shutters are often used for 135-degree bay windows because they don’t obstruct the view outside. If you plan to keep the top and bottom window shutters closed the majority of the time, then full height window shutters are a better option than tier on tier window shutters.

Full height window shutters consist of a panel that cover the whole window. Plantation window shutters are an example of full height window shutters. The panel opens as a single piece from top to bottom. You can choose a few very wide full height window shutters or several narrow full height window shutters that hinged together to cover your windows.

Full height window shutters allow a lot of light control and give you a lot of privacy. They create a classic, clean look that improves the curb appeal of your home and increases its value.

If you intend to keep full height window shutters closed much of the time, then wider panels are the best option, since they will allow more light into a room. Most full height window shutters have a middle rail that separates the top portion of slats from the bottom portion. This lets you open the top half of slats at one angle while keeping the bottom half of slats closed or open at a different angle.

If you’d like to learn about different styles of window shutters, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.

Roman window shades are named because they originated in Rome. The original purpose of Roman window shades was to provide shade for the wealthiest spectators when they attended events in the city’s public stadiums and amphitheaters.

The Mediterranean sun could burn hot during parts of the year, so Rome’s well-to-do citizens were able to evade its oppressive heat and glare by sitting under large, elaborate awning made of cloth. The awnings were raised and lowered using a system of pulleys and ropes. This is a design feature that prevails in other forms in today’s Roman window shades.

Of all the types of window shades that are available, Roman window shades are the most difficult to make. A lot of human effort is expended to ensure that each Roman window shade works perfectly. Imperfections anywhere in the creation process of Roman shades are virtually impossible to fix, which means that the windows shades have to be recreated from scratch.

Roman window shades, unlike other types of window shades, require some initial work to get them to fold in the right places when they are first installed. With time, the thick fabric will naturally fall into place at the correct position as the fabric adjusts to being folded and unfolded.

Whether you want your window shades mounted on the inside of the window frame or on the outside of the window frame, Roman window shades work well either way. If you want the trim of your window frame to accent the Roman window shades, then mounting the window shades inside the frame is a good option. If you have a small window and want to make it look bigger, then mounting the Roman window shade on the outside of the window frame will accomplish this.

Roman window shades have a lot of different features. Because they are made out of fabric, the variety of colors and textures that available are virtually unlimited. Roman window shades are also available with top down/bottom up, room-darkening, cordless, and pleated options.

When choosing pleated Roman window shades, you have several different types of pleats to choose from.

One type of pleat style is flat. A flat pleat Roman window shade requires you to do very little styling or adjusting of the fabric to have it fold properly in a neat stack at the bottom of the window shade.

Another type of pleat style for Roman window shades is the butterfly (also known as tulip, swag tail, or Venice) pleat. A butterfly pleat Roman window shade has two gathered seams at the top of the shade that, when raised, cause the shade to gather at the bottom with a slightly longer edge on the right and the left of the window shade with a rounded middle part.

The third type of pleat style that is available for Roman window shades is a relaxed pleat. Relaxed Roman window shades don’t have any rigid supports built into the shades, so the fabric sags softly into folds when the window shade is raised, creating a slight curve at the bottom of the shade. Relaxed Roman window shades are also known as “soft smiley” shades for this unique way in which they fold when they are raised.

For more information about roman window shades, you talk with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.

Window coverings are a great way to add additional insulation to your home and make your home even more energy efficient. However, window coverings that work well in the drier climate of the Southwest may not work as well in the more humid climate of the South.

Different types of window coverings work best in areas of the country where sunshine is abundant throughout the year and where it is not, as well as where temperatures are moderate all year and where extreme temperatures exist throughout the year.

If you live in a climate that is dry, sunny, and warm, your most pressing need will be for window coverings that help reduce solar gain (the amount of heat that enters through windows), glare from sunlight, and the effect of ultraviolet (UV) waves (which can fade furniture, carpet, and wood in your home over time).

One of the best kinds of window coverings to meet these needs in dry, sunny, and warm environment are solar shades. Solar shades give you the ability to have abundant natural light in your home, while reducing UV rays and solar gain.

Another type of window covering that works well in this type of climate are sheer shades. Sheer shades also maximize natural light coming into your home, while reducing UV rays by up to 99%.

If you live in a climate that is cool and rainy most of the year, you’ll want window coverings for your home that help reduce heat loss from the home (so that cold air stays out, while warm air stays in).

Roman shades are an excellent window covering choice for climates that tend to be cool and rainy. Roman shades are thick and heavy, so they’ll keep drafts and cold air out while keeping warm air in. This will help reduce power bills during really cold weather and keep your home comfortable no matter what is going on, weather-wise, outside. Wood blinds are also a very option for cool and rainy climates. They fit snuggly into window frames, ensuring that no cold drafts can come into your home, which will make your heating unit run more and make your energy costs greater.

For climates that are sunny and rainy, humidity is the window covering need that needs to be addressed. Since moisture can cause some window coverings to be susceptible to mildew, warping, and fading over time, you need to choose window coverings that are designed to work well in humid climates.

One type of window covering that can protect against the effects of high humidity and UV rays are faux wood blinds. These blinds are made with synthetic materials, yet they look and feel like real wood blinds. Since real wood blinds are particularly prone to warping, fading, and mildewing, faux wood blinds are an excellent alternative choice that gives your home the look of natural wood without the worry of the elements destroying it.

Aluminum blinds are also a good window covering choice for humid climates. Designed to withstand almost any kind of weather, aluminum blinds block out harmful UV rays and protect your privacy. They are easy to maintain, and are a popular blinds choice where rainy and sunny weather is normal throughout the year.

For more information about window coverings that work best in your climate, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.