September 2020 - McNeill Palm

Rooms Where Window Shutters Shine

September 28, 2020 by McNeill Palm Team

When you’re looking at window shutters in Miramar Beach, FL as part of a whole house window treatments replacement project, you can certainly choose to have window shutters installed in every room in your home.

With a wide range of material choices, styles, and colors, there is certainly a window shutter that can meet your needs, no matter which room in your home it’s installed in. However, you may, like many homeowners, want to mix and match the types of window coverings in your home, with window shutters being one window treatment among several.

So, which rooms in your home will shine because you have window shutters installed in them?

One type of room where window shutters work really well is bedrooms. Window shutters come in many different styles. Two styles are very popular for bedrooms.

Plantation window shutters are a great option for bedrooms because of their full-window panels and their wide louvers. When both the panels and the louvers of plantation window shutters are closed, you can be assured of complete darkness and complete privacy in the bedrooms of your home. This means better sleep and increased security.

However, during the daytime, when the sun is out and you want bedrooms filled with natural light, plantation window shutters give you control on just how much light is allowed in. You can either open both panels of the plantation window shutters and bathe your bedrooms in natural light, or you can keep the panels closed and adjust the louvers for varying degrees of light.

Plantation window shutters are great for bedrooms as well because they provide excellent ventilation on nice days when the weather is just right, and you want fresh air to flow through your home. You can simply open the bedroom windows, close the panels of the plantation window shutters, and tilt the louvers to let those soft breezes fresh and cool down the inside of your home.

Another type of window shutter that works well in bedrooms is tier on tier window shutters. Tier on tier window shutters consist of a set of panels on the top half of the window and a set of panels on the lower half of the window, which operate independently of each other.

Tier on tier window shutters give you a great range of light control and privacy options. For the most amount of natural light, you can open both sets of panels. For more privacy with some natural light, you can open just the top set of panels and leave the bottom set of panels closed.

For even more privacy with some light filtering, you can leave both sets of panels closed and adjust the louvers to allow natural light in. For complete privacy, you can close both sets of panels and close all the louvers.

Another room in your home where window shutters will shine is in your family room. Your family room is where you and your family go to relax and unwind when you come together at the end of a weekday or when you have some down time on the weekend.

Plantation window shutters are a perfect window treatment for family rooms because they add a casual, yet cozy and warm accent to a room designed to promote relaxation and fun. Plantation window shutters provide perfect light control options for digital devices or other media, but when they’re open, they can enhance the mood of your family room.

If you’d like learn more about window shutters in Miramar Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm.

Window Blinds: Repair or Replace?

September 21, 2020 by McNeill Palm Team

Window blinds in Miramar Beach, FL are a great investment for your home. They are a versatile and durable window treatments choice that will work well in every room of your home. However, window blinds, like everything else, won’t last forever.

As window blinds age, they can begin to suffer damage like bends and breaks, and they may not function as well or properly like they did when you first had them installed. However, once window blinds reach the point where damage surfaces or operational issues emerge, then you face the question of whether to repair them or replace them.

There are some general guidelines that should be able to help you make that decision about your window blinds.

First, if your window blinds are not very old, then you likely should opt to repair them. Window blinds, in general, have a life span of about seven to eight years with normal usage. So, if you had your window blinds installed within the past five years, unless the damage or operational issues are severe, you should probably opt for having them repaired.

If you decide to have your window blinds repaired, however, you should have a window coverings professional do the repairs instead of trying to do them yourself.

Window coverings professionals have the knowledge, the tools, and the parts to do repairs properly and extend the life of your window blinds. You, on the other hand, might not have everything you need to take care of the repairs, which could result in more damage or more serious operational issues.

You should think about replacing your window blinds if they are more than five years old or if you have several window blinds in your home that are damaged or are not operating correctly. Trying to repair older window blinds – especially in multiples – may be costly short delay to having to replace them.

Save the money on costly repairs and use it instead to invest in new window blinds that you don’t have to worry about. You’d be surprised at how fast technological advances to make window blinds more durable and long-lasting happen, so the window blinds you buy today will much better than the ones you purchased several years ago.

Additionally, because your new window blinds are professionally installed, you can be assured that they will operate properly for a long time.

Another reason that you might opt to have your window blinds repaired instead of replaced is because you love the way they look. This is especially true for window blinds that may have been manufactured in a particular style that is hard to find or no longer available.

However, even if you decide to have the window blinds you love repaired, you should have a window coverings professional do the repairs. This is especially true for much older window blinds because they will have more resources to find the parts that are needed for the repairs.

Window blinds don’t have to be old, damaged, or not operating correctly for you to want to replace them. If you’re doing a major remodel or renovation of your home, you may decide to replace your window blinds as part of the remodel or renovation.

However, one easy way to spruce up your home’s décor without undertaking a large remodeling or renovation project is to invest money in cosmetic changes like interior and exterior painting and replacing window blinds. Hire professionals to paint your home and install new window blinds to transform your home for a fraction of the cost of a complete remodel or renovation.

If you’d like to learn more about window blinds in Miramar Beach, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm.

Shopping for Window Coverings

September 14, 2020 by McNeill Palm Team

Shopping for a window covering in Miramar Beach, FL for every window in your home can be an exciting adventure in transforming and updating the look of your home. Window coverings are the most overlooked, in many cases, feature in homes. Yet, they play a critical role in the lighting, the security, the privacy, and the energy efficiency of your home.

Therefore, when you’re shopping for new window coverings, there are several things that you should keep in mind so that when your new window coverings are installed, you’ve got the right ones for every window in your home.

The first thing to consider when you’re shopping for new window coverings is what you’ve budgeted to spend on the whole project. Be sure to have a realistic and affordable budget for all the window coverings in your home before you ever step foot in a window covering company.

When you have a budget before you start shopping, you can communicate that to your window covering company representative so that they can work with you to find the right window coverings for your home, while staying within the budget that you’ve set.

The next consideration when you are shopping for new window coverings is your personal taste. What styles of window coverings appeal to you? What materials do you like? How do you envision them working within the existing décor of your home or within the new décor that you are creating in your home.

From window shutters, window blinds, and window shades, your choice of window coverings is almost infinite. There are different flavors of each of these styles of window coverings, made in several types of materials, and available in a variety of colors.

If there is a primary style of window covering that you’d like to use throughout your home, then narrow the selection down to material it is manufactured with and color(s). If you want to mix and match different kinds of window covering styles in your home, go shopping with the knowledge of exactly what style, material, and color of window covering you want for each window in your home.

This way, you can communicate your preferences to your window covering company representative, and, working within your budget, they can present you with appropriate choices.

Not all window covering companies are the same. While you may shop at several different window covering companies in your initial foray into working on this project, eventually you will choose the one that you trust most in helping you with your selections, installing your window coverings properly, and backing up their service warranties after the installation.

But what should you look for in a window covering company that will build your trust in them?

First, look for knowledge and expertise from the window covering company employees. Window coverings have seen a lot of technological advances in the last several decades, and you want employees who have the training and understanding to explain how the window coverings work and how they can be integrated into your home.

Next, look for attention to detail. This can include making sure that all your personal taste specifications are met, making sure that accurate measurements are done on each window in your home, and making sure that your window coverings are installed perfectly – the first time.

Finally, look for great customer service. No matter whether you are meeting with company employees for the first time or you have questions after installation, customer service should be exemplary.

If you’d like learn more about shopping for a window covering in Miramar Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm.