December 23, 2013

Window Treatment Wednesday: Home Atmosphere

Long-Vue from the Sienna Honeycomb Collection

How do you want your home to feel? Warm and cozy? Polished and put together? Contemporary? Traditional? Once we know what we want for our home’s tone, we can put together components that support the desired atmosphere. You might not realize it, but window treatments not only improve our home’s privacy, energy efficiency and UV blockage, but they affect how our homes feel, too.

According to Hirshfield’s Shannon Scarrella, a window coverings expert, window treatments help create a certain mood in a room, as furniture, paint and accessories do. “Wood blinds tend to lend a cozier feel—think about your cabin up north—as do natural shades,” says Scarrella. “You can also create a cozy atmosphere with draperies in fabrics that are neutrals and have certain textures.”

For a more professional, polished feel, Scarrella recommends higher-end products, which can send a message of luxury and wellbeing. “They can be a symbol that [the homeowner] has made it and can afford nicer finishes. The Hunter Douglas Alustra Collection is an example—it has metal upgrades and exclusive fabrics and features.”

For contemporary homes, good choices include roller shades, skyline panels, and grommet-style draperies. Many fabrics have a complementary feel, whether that’s a clean white material or one with bold graphics.

Then there’s the other end of the spectrum. “When it comes to traditional options, I think of Roman shades, draperies, sheers or Hunter Douglas’ Silhouette and Luminette,” says Scarrella. “Other good options are damasks and drapes with stripes or paisley patterns.”

Scarrella recommends that homeowners choose window treatments that coordinate with the rest of the home, create a cohesive feel and work with homeowners’ lives. “At the end of the day, window treatments are a finishing touch to a room,” she says. “They can bring a room together, provide color or pattern where needed and serve many functions, such as keeping in warmth in the winter or providing UV protection for sunny windows. They can offer privacy in bathrooms and bedrooms or block light for people with jobs that require them to sleep during the day.”

Window coverings have multiple purposes, from functional to aesthetic. The ideal choice for your home will work on all fronts, giving you the function you need while reinforcing the atmosphere that you want for your home.

Since Frank and Elizabeth Hirshfield opened their first store in 1894, it has been our mission to do the best job possible meeting customer needs and solving customer problems. Hirshfield’s. People and products you can trust.

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I have come to rely on the staff at Hirshfield’s Design Resource for their fabulous customer service and variety of products. The service is always friendly, timely and professional.

As a designer, their advice on window treatments is forever appreciated, and they are always able to show me something new in the displays and samples. They provide quick and accurate estimates, measurements and suggestions when I am struggling with a budget. The final product and installation has been nothing but flawless on every project.

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Want to give a shout out to Madi. Madi took a pretty awful experience and made it right for us. We had ordered cordless blinds and over half of them did not work right or hang right. Madi helped us return all the blinds and reordered a new product for us which we are very happy with. Madi was persistent in helping us get the issues we experience resolved.

She is always so warm and friendly and definitely puts her customers first. Thanks Madi you are a gem! Also want to add that my overall experience with Hirshfield's in St. Cloud has been an excellent experience. They made things right and put their customers first!

Kim Kaluza

Greg is amazing! We have worked with him throughout the years on both existing homes and new builds and we could not be happier. One of the things I appreciate about Greg is that he gets us to really think about how we will use our space, not just now but in the future when the kids get older. This has honestly has saved us from making some pretty big design mistakes. Finding durable fabrics and pieces is important to us while we have a preschooler running around, yet on the other hand, our teens have a different use for the space.

He is able to make it all work together seamlessly by understanding the space and its function. He has a fresh and distinctive feel to his work and builds in a variety of styles. I HIGHLY recommend working with Greg out of the gate, you will not be sorry. I honestly don't know what we do without his help;)

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