Vane Styles for Vertical Shades

Q: I'm looking to get vertical blinds for my big bay window and want to know what my options are. Can you tell me the different vane styles available for vertical blinds? Thanks

A: Most vertical blinds are available as PVC, fabric, and some combination of the two. PVC vanes, much like their vinyl cousins, are rigid, block the light, and often cause a little noise when jostled. They're easy to maintain, however, and come in all sorts of colors.

Weighted fabric vanes also come in a wide variety of colors and textures and are a very quiet alternative to straight PVC. Based on your choice in fabric, you can get a room-darkening vertical blind or a light-filtering set. The best feature of fabric vanes is that they're very soft on both the eyes and the ears.

While straight PVC vanes are rigid and can resemble traditional vinyl vanes, you can certainly mix a rigid center with a textured fabric outer layer to get the best in privacy, light control, and style. These vertical shades combine the best of both features!

Trims and Edges for Roller Shades

Q: I'm planning on putting roller shades in my condo but wanted to dress them up a bit. Can you tell me a little more about trim options?

A: Of course! While you can dress up roller shades by choosing different fabric options, you can also choose different trims and shapes for the bottom edge. Most roller shades come standard with a flat (horizon) hem but Hunter Douglas lets you spruce up your roller shades by offering seven other hem styles: Horizon with trim, half moon, scallops and shells, breakers, wave, broken scallop and seagull. Each of these hem styles also comes with trim options that resemble the decorative trims on expensive curtains or pillows.

If you want a more modern design, I'd recommend the more contemporary decorative tape trims. These follow the same horizontal style as traditional roller shades but have nice clean lines that fit a more modern style. They look great on big windows and work really well in almost any space. Hunter Douglas does a great job of giving you lots of options for colors, fabrics, and light filtering, too!