Exterior Blinds – Decorative Window Shutters for your Home

Exterior blinds have a lot of advantages over their interior counterpart. Don’t

you hate it when the window blinds sag on some furniture? Or how droll they look as they hang above the windows? With exterior blinds, you have more freedom to design your rooms. At the same time, they give you more protection against the sun. This equates to less room heat, which also means more energy cost savings.

Exterior shutters are available in a variety of materials. These include natural materials like wood, fabric, and aluminum as well as eco-friendly synthetic polymers. Woven wood blinds are the most classic ones you can find. Almost everybody loves the natural color of wood. However, most people prefer faux wood blinds. They don’t have the vulnerability of decaying due to weather elements and pests. Roller blinds often utilize polymer fabrics and films. They can reflect solar heat more effectively than other materials. Polymers are also used for other types of blinds that have specialized shapes, which would be difficult to achieve with aluminum and wood.

Many specialized blinds have designs that not only filter sunlight but filter even the wind. Aside from the traditional strips, there are also honeycomb and pleated Roman designs. The segmented parts of these kinds of blinds allow enough air to pass through while the sunlight passes through the slits. However, roller blinds are more popular when it comes to ambience control.

Steve’s Blinds and Wallpaper offers a lot of exclusive options for just that purpose. They particularly specialize on roller shades and solar shades. The durable vinyl mesh, which blocks 80% of the sunlight, is not only effective in darkening a room. It also performs well in filtering the air coming into your home. You can even match it with your house’s color with their wide selection of swatches. They also offer other products like cellular shades, cellular vertical, faux wood, wood blinds, woven wood, vertical blinds, mini blinds, window shadings, Roman shades, pleated shades, sheer vertical, faux shutters and wood shutters.

While you can purchase blinds with standard measures, your windows probably are anything but standard. Nothing looks lousier than blinds that are too short or too long. The same goes for the width. Just imagine using rectangular blinds on a circular window. Fortunately, you can easily find companies that offer custom made blinds. Hunter Douglas is one of the top companies and most innovative when it comes to blinds. They are so good that you just need to send them a picture of your home, and they can give you tips and suggestions.

They even have arch window treatment solutions, which is a challenge for most companies. Their motorized product line boasts of their very own Platinum™ Technology remote control systems. These allow you to control any of your motorized blinds with the contemporary-styled Platinum™ wall-switch. Among their products are the Silhouette® window shadings, the Heritance® hardwood shutters, and the Duette® Architella® honeycomb shades. They even carry the elegant Alustra® Collection for those interested in window fashion.

Who said exterior window shades are limited to windows? You should enjoy the fresh air without the glaring sunlight. Put some blinds on your patios, porches, balconies, and even on pavilions to serve as awnings. This provides you with some comfortable shade as you lounge outside your home. You can simply roll them down during the day and pull them back at night.

Exterior blinds are easy to install. First off, you need to measure the height and width. Get any measuring instrument. This can be anything from a foot-long ruler, a yard stick, or a tape measure. If you have chalks, crayons, or pencils, you can use them to make marks. Never use ballpoint or marker pens, though. Once you’ve marked the appropriate spots for the screws, you need a drill. Using a hand or motor drill is a lot safer and better than using a conventional hammer. You can accidentally chuck out a good amount of concrete from the window sill if you hit it wrong. Be sure to compare the size of the screws with the drill bit you will be using. The holes should not be too loose or too shallow.

After you’ve made the drill holes, insert a screw plug in each one. Now the next step depends on whether your blinds use screws or bolts. These are usually included with the package, so all you need are the tools. Just to be safe, prepare a set of pliers, wrenches, and screwdrivers. It’s unlikely that you’ll need a Torx or Robertson screwdriver. The usual Philips and conventional screwdriver pair should be enough for your purposes.

Be the one to decide how you want your home to look. Be creative. See your home in a different light with exterior blinds.