The Many Shades of Blinds

At C&M, we know our blinds. We love helping our customers determine the best look for their home, or business space. We work with some of the best suppliers in the industry, Shade-O-Matic, Graber, Levelor, Hunter Douglas, Somfy and have created some dramatic results over the years. We thought it would be worthwhile to list the most common blinds and shades on the market.

Motorized Shades
We make no secret of it, we love motorized window shades. Imagine opening every window covering in your home with the touch of a button. The ultimate in convenience, control and sophistication, motorized shades are an impressive addition to any home. Motorized shades are an ideal choice for family rooms, kids’ rooms, playrooms and virtually any room in your home or office.

Roller/Solar Shades
Solar shades offer light-dimming options great for open living spaces and also help protect the room from harmful UV rays. These styles usually roll up instead of using a rope to pull them up. Some roller shades are on rollers and move from side to side instead of up and down.

Sheer Shades
Sheer shades add an understated elegance to any room. This style is a horizontal blind with sheer cloth connecting each blind to the next to offer privacy without taking away from the light of the room. Sheer shades are good for rooms that you want to keep more light in such as kitchens, bathrooms, and 4 season porches.

Wood and Faux Wood Blinds
Another favorite of ours are wood blinds. There is a wide variety of styles of wooden blinds from bamboo to birch or maple. This style brings a nice level of richness to ay room, especially libraries, studies, or offices.

Pleated Shades
Pleated shades have a cloth material that folds as it goes up and unfolds as it comes down. Unlike Roman shades, pleated shades have sharper, pleated edges instead of rounded folds when not fully extended.

Exterior Shades
These shades are great for reducing the interior temperature of your home by blocking out the heat form the sun. They are most common on large windows, porches, or 4 season porches where they can be used with discretion.

Aluminum Blinds
These blinds are durable and offer control over the light and darkness of a room. There are a number of features such as head rails that make them more seamless in the room as well.

Cellular/Honeycomb Shades
When you look at them from the side, these blinds are diamond shaped cells and are generally made out of a solid, lightweight cloth-like material. They come in a wide variety of colors. Some blinds of this style can slide up from the bottom or down from the top, making them a versatile option any room at any time of day. There are also room-darkening and motorized shades–great for a bedroom.

Roman Shades
This style comes in a variety of colours to match just about any décor. Roman shades are made of cloth that is designed to accordion fold as they move up and smooth out as they move down. They are harder to clean than traditional blinds, but some styles can be removed from the window to be washed in the washing machine.

Vertical Blinds
This style is most often seen over patio doors. Vertical blinds are durable, offer good light control, and are easy to clean.

Vertical Blind Alternatives
Vertical blind alternatives are very similar to regular vertical blinds but they are seamless, meaning there are no gaps between the slats so it offers more light control then regular vertical blinds.

These styles can transform any living space into a more comfortable atmosphere. With so many different choices out there, it can be hard to determine the best style for your home or business. Stop by any of our Montreal, Brossard, Ottawa and upcoming, Boisbriand locations to talk to one of our experts.