Prnewsnow Reach the World NOW

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

So many shades of meaning Does your home have a specialuse room Theres...



In ages past, the purpose of a house was clear and simple: keep the elements out and the occupants safe inside. Today's homes - like life itself - have become more complex, with rooms evolving for specialized purposes: to sleep; to eat; to prepare food; to draft emails and craft spreadsheets; to watch movies on 42" plasma screens.





The folks at Smith+Noble (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/home.jsp), the Nation's leading retailer of custom window treatments through catalogs and online, think 24/7 about how to match window coverings with homeowners' needs. Here are a few of their recommendations, based on 20 years experience and eight million treatments sold for homes across America.



Nurseries & Children's Rooms


In addition to the light control and blockout capability you'd like to have in any room made for sleeping, safety must come first in nurseries and kids' rooms.



All of the window fashions sold in America since 2001 - by Smith+Noble and others in the industry - come with built-in cord-safety features that minimize the risks of strangulation for children and pets. This includes permanent tie-down devices and built-in cord stops. But parents should always be on the lookout for loose or looped pull cords, and if the treatment is wand-perated, be sure if the treatment that the wand is positioned high enough to be out of youngsters' reach. In addition, all cord tassels should be designed to break open under pressure, as is the case with all Smith+Noble shades, blinds and curtains.



Smith+Noble also offers a number of affordable enhancements to many of its shades, blinds and curtains that can enhance child safety further: Loop Control is offered on many popular shade and blind styles. This desirable upgrade eliminates dangling lift cords, with the bonus of being able to raise, lower and position your treatment easily and evenly. A cord guide keeps cords neatly in place for added safety, and a clutch stops and holds the shade or blind precisely at any height. Loop Control is included on all Smith+Noble Solar Roller Shades (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Roller%20Shades&nav_cat=-18000), and is available as a very reasonably priced upgrade on Honeycomb Shades (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Honeycomb%20Shades&nav_cat=-17994), Roller Shades, Natural Woven Shades (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Natural%20Woven%20Shades&nav_cat=-17996), Wood Blinds (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Wood%20Blinds&nav_cat=-18706), Durawood Blinds (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Durawood%20Blinds&nav_cat=-18707), Pleated Shades (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Pleated%20Shades&nav_cat=-17999)and Fabric Shades (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_category.jspsch_cat=Fabric%20Shades&nav_cat=-17993). A Cordless Lift System, available on Honeycomb Shades, also replaces dangerous lift cords as you lightly push a handle up or pull down to position your shades.



Another high-tech, sure-fire way to eliminate dangerous cords is by choosing the new Shade Motorization upgrade available on Smith+Noble Fabric Shades, Honeycomb Shades and Roller Shades. With it you can raise and lower your treatment with the push of a remote button or flip of a wall switch, and operate multiple shades at distances of up to 50'.



Media Rooms


The two-fold challenge in media rooms is to minimize both light leaking into the room and ambient outside noise. Though some window treatments, like Wood Blinds and Shutters, do a great job of both light control and sound insulation, specialized linings and material choices can make many shade and curtain styles appropriate for a home theatre. At Smith+Noble, Blockout Lining is available not only for Fabric Shades, Panels and Drapery (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/product_supercategory.jspsch_cat=Curtains%20QQ%20Drapes&nav_cat=-18856)- as you'd expect - but also for Pleated Shades, and even light and airy Natural Woven Shades. Specially crafted Blockout Materials are offered in Honeycomb Shades, and consumers may select both Nightshade and Room Darkening materials in Smith+Noble Roller Shades.



In addition to reducing noise from outside your home theatre, it's important to maximize your room's acoustics so you can fully appreciate a film's musical score, special effects and car crashes. Fabric effectively absorbs sound, reducing unwanted echos and reverberation. That's why theatre walls have historically been draped in fabric, and why ceiling-to-floor Panels or Drapery can be a great addition both acoustically and aesthetically to your media room.



To see how Smith+Noble blinds, shades and curtains look in a variety of room settings, go to their website, smithnoble.com and click the Photo Gallery (http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/photo_gallery_main.jsp)link on the homepage. The Photo Gallery features hundreds of inspiring shots taken in actual homes, and allows you to search by Room, Product or Decorating Style to find the perfect treatment for your needs.



Home Offices


Working at home almost always means creating on a computer and connecting to co-workers and clients online. In other words, you're looking at a screen all day and you need to see that screen clearly, without glare, reflections and shadows. Solar Shades were created to do that job. The high tech materials used in these shades minimize glare while providing maximum protection from UV radiation (which can quickly fade furnishings, carpeting and artwork). The other plus of semi-sheer Solar Shades is that during the day, even when they're lowered, you can see out remarkably well, reminding you that there really is a world outside of your home office.



Other window coverings you could consider for a home office include Wood Blinds and Shutters. Both allow for nearly total light control with their adjustable slats or louvers, with the bonus of exceptional noise insulation. Definitely a plus if your home is close to traffic, or if neighborhood kids use your front yard for their playground. Solar Shades, Blinds and Shutters, as opposed to soft fabric shades or curtains, may also give a psychological lift to home offices, imparting a feeling of clean-lined efficiency rather than a sense of "at home" comfy coziness.



About Smith+Noble


Founded in 1987, Smith+Noble's corporate offices, customer support center and 200+ employees are located an hour east of Los Angeles in Corona, California. In the course of 20 years in business Smith+Noble has custom-crafted over eight million window treatments for America's finest homes and most discerning home owners. The company constantly searches the globe for innovative products and materials, and backs all sales with a Satisfaction Guarantee that's unique in the realm of custom-made products. To assist consumers in selecting the perfect window treatments for their needs, Smith+Noble customer service representatives receive extensive training on the style, operation and installation of every product. Smith+Noble is an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI).






Prnewsnow Reach the World NOW

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Trade | Trade Show | trade show display |




Last 1000 Articles Submitted XML FEEDS FOR ORGANIZED NEWS