How To Pick The Best Window Shades For Your Apartment
If you live in a New Jersey apartment or condo, you may not get as much natural light as you would prefer. When choosing between all the different window shades for your home, you'll want to consider how much light filtering and privacy you need for each specific room.
Girard Interiors is a local window shade company who often helps clients just like you to choose the best shades for their home. We'd like to share our experience with the few tips below to hopefully help you choose the right ones.
Pleated Shades vs. Honeycomb Shades
Pleated shades are not the same as honeycomb shades. The honeycomb shades look similar but have two layers of fabric that are shaped into a honeycomb pattern. The open area between the layers will help with heat transference, so this is a good insulating choice.
When choosing pleated shades, get the motorized shades which have a track system on the sides of the window. This keeps them in place and helps to keep them from getting damaged.
Motorized Window Shades
Motorized window shades are a really great investment even if you rent a condo or apartment. They simply make your life easier and offer you a way to close or open the window shades while you're away from home.
The only basic difference in construction is the track system and the small wireless operating system that is installed with the window shades.
Roman Shades
Roman shades are available in a huge range of fabrics, so you aren't just stuck with the drape look anymore. Modern Roman shades are tucked cleanly into soft fabric folds and are available in sheer to thick woven fabrics.
They do offer more privacy and light control, so place them on sunny windows, skylights, or sunny sliding glass doors.
Sheer Shades
Sheer shades are perfect for letting in just enough natural light and privacy. There are a thousand different sheer fabrics you can choose from for your window shades, so style choices is not a problem.
One of the best features in sheer shades for NJ condos and apartments is:
Adjustable fabric vanes – An adjustable fabric vane is sandwiched between two sheer fabrics. They look like louvers but are actually a strip of material that you can tilt to adjust the light and privacy. Get sheer window shades with adjustable vanes in both horizontal and vertical styles.
Woven Roller Shades
You can get woven wood roller shades or woven fabric shades, both an excellent choice for maximum privacy and light blockage. Woven wood shades bring a natural warmth to any room, but woven shades give you options in beautiful designer fabrics.
Put them on a motorized track system and they can easily block out most of the light for a day sleeper. Consider roller shades that have liners to help block the light.