We had been putting off in-home showings for the window coverings for months now and finally bit the bullet (those temporary shades are looking quite ratty). It seems, that even with measurements of the windows, many vendors won't give you any idea of a price until you've had an in-home consultation. And one would think being on home turf is a good thing, but it's not. You start to feel guilty making the salesperson make another trip and spend more of their time if you're not planning to buy. But I guess that's what they're intended to do.
Thankfully, the company we went with, Affordable Home Coverings, had a very pleasant salesman. Although he did a rather hard sell at the end (we told him we had another appointment for next week set up) and we did end up buying (partly because the last time I had talked to the Hunter Douglas lady, the other appointment, she wasn't really all that nice). But it was slightly cheaper than both Mandy and I expected, so we'll have to see how the blinds look in a few weeks!The blinds we selected were a line of shades from Kathy Ireland (yes, THAT Kathy Ireland). I always find it amusing how certain people like the Olsen twins and Kathy Ireland have managed to turn their show-business career into multi-billion empires in completely unrelated fields. But maybe that's what she always wanted, even back when she was doing all those swimsuit modeling jobs. Window treatments were always her true passion!
Anyways, we wanted some insulation but still lots of light coming through so decided to go with the honeycomb or double-cellular shades. Many of the styles they have are blackout blinds with occlusive interior linings so that all light is blocked, that seems so counterproductive to have that over windows! And of course, we also got the cordless lift that I've been so particular about. So no more cords!Our shades should look much like the picture to the right, but not white. We chose three different colors; a dark brown for the kitchen, a sagebrush green for the living/dining room, and an off white for the bedrooms. I think it should look great! Can't wait to actually post real pictures here instead of just stock photography!!
