Bamboo Shades Center

Some very attractive sunshades for windows come by way of bamboo Roman shades. These can be made using different varieties of wood and are available in varying designs and shades of wood to suit almost any style of interior decoration. They are available over a wide range of prices, but usually remain very affordable. These shades have the dual benefit of blocking out the sun and keeping the interiors cool. Come to think of it, lower indoor temperature certainly helps to cut on your utility bills!

The Advantages of Bamboo Roman Shades

First of all you get bamboo shades in a variety of styles, colors and textures for different looks. These shades are really attractive and you are sure to get a shade to match whatever style of interior decoration you may have. Generally they go too well with tropical themes but you can often find a bamboo shade for almost any kind of interiors.

Bamboo roman shades bring together the relaxing coolness of natural bamboo wood and the sophistication of roman pleats. That’s why they have an edge over ordinary fabric shades because they acquire more interesting and attractive looks. Coupled with an appropriate lighting, you can create a gorgeous effect using bamboo Roman shades.

Bamboo shades can very effectively control the amount of sunlight entering the room. Moreover, wood being an opaque material allows these shades to keep prying eyes out. Of course, some are quite transparent too, and you need to select the kind of shades that would specifically suit the requirements of the room under consideration.

These shades can especially be tailor made to fit your window, should the need be so. It goes without saying that having customized shades ensures a perfect fit, the way you like. This, in turn, allows you to have a better control on the amount of light entering the room. Such shades also have better and neater looks.

Disadvantages of Bamboo Roman Shades

As you might expect, bamboo is not as durable as plastic and so it can’t be expected to last for long. However, some manufacturers provide bamboo with a coating of some protective materials to prolong its life.

Another point of consideration is that these shades are most often operated thru a cord. Now, that may not be very safe if you have kids or pets at home.

It will be good to keep the above points in mind while buying shades.

All over the world bamboo shades and woven woods are being patronized for their decorative values. The material is so adaptable and available over a wide range of styles and colors that it can be incorporated in almost any style of interior designing from casual to contemporary.  The varied options of lining, mounting styles and operating system further add to its flexibility.

Bamboo Shades are available with four options for lining that vividly alter their looks:

Standard – The standard shade design comes without any lining. Thus most of the patterns softly filter light.

Privacy Liner – At the back of the shade a light beige lining is skillfully sewn thus   providing total privacy and a uniform light color facing the street.

Blackout Liner – In this case a white blackout lining is deftly sewn at the back of the shade. This almost blocks the entire light coming through the material.

Duo Shade – A roller shade is incorporated at the back of Roman shade or blackout fabrics. It makes any shade to offer extended privacy and is perfect when pulled down at night.

It is imperative to hold the sample of the bamboo shade up to the window, especially the unlined variety. A material in the sample book will generally give you a fair idea of how the shade will look like if you chose it with a blackout backing. However, an unlined bamboo shade may or may not be see thru, depending on how tightly it has been woven. It’s easy to understand that a see through pattern wouldn’t offer any privacy at night. The privacy lining while allowing the light to enter the room would give full privacy. The drawback is that you need to raise the shade if you want to see out of the window. Contrary to the expectations of a lot of people the blackout lining does not stop cent percent of the light entering the room, though it does restrict about 95 percent of that.  Consequently, quite a few manufacturers are renaming these as “room darkening” that sounds more logical. Lining or no lining, it is best to take the sample out of the sample book and hold it up to the window.

Mounting options for bamboo shades are decided by the kind of look you are trying to achieve. A bamboo shade may be mounted on the inside the windowsill or outside of the windowsill. When mounted from the inside, mounted bamboo shade gives a neat    tucked away look as it flushes with the windowsill edge. However, you have to take into consideration a few other factors while mounting the bamboo shade from the inside. Because bamboo shutters have a big stack in pulled up position, you are going to lose some of the viewing area out of the window with an inside mounted shade. Another drawback is if the windows are not square, you will have bigger gaps in some areas between the edge of the shade and the windowsill.  The gaps are all the more noticeable in case of blackout lining option.

Another design limitation of an inside mount is that bamboo shades get stretched and in about six months will crumple out slightly at the bottom as the shade is hitting the bottom of the window sill. On the other hand, an outside mounted shade gives a better look and can add to the height of the window. Generally, outside mounted bamboo shades are installed 3″ above the window and overlap 2″ on either side. You can mount them even higher than 3″ to make the window appear larger and thus allow the stack to   cover less of the window when the shade is in the up position. Another advantage with an outside mount is that even when the shade gets a bit stretched, it will not make a difference because the shade is hanging freely. As such, the shade will look the same even after six months of its installation. A shade with a blackout lining would normally look better when mounted from the outside as you won’t be able to see the space between the edge of the shade and the windowsill. Moreover, it facilitates better blocking of the light due to the overlapping of 2″ past the window. Whether you install the shade from the inside or outside, having taken these suggestions into consideration you are going to like your bamboo shades for a long time to come.

Lastly, there are two types of cord operating systems for bamboo shades. Most manufacturers offer a cord-lock system as a standard feature without any extra charge. The other option is that of a continuous cord operation that is a bit more expensive but offers a few advantages. With a cord-lock system when the shade is in an up position the cords will often hang on the ground. Moreover, depending on how frequently the shade is used, the cords in a cord-lock system will wear out faster than a continuous cord operation system. In case of a continuous cord system, the length of the cord will always remain of the same length, irrespective of the position of the shade. The cords of a continuous cord system typically hang ¾ the length of the shade, but can be adjusted to suit specific requirements of the user. Additionally, the cords will not be left hanging on the ground to be stepped upon or for the kids to fool around with. Another benefit is that bamboo blinds, especially in case of large windows, will be weighty, all the more so if they have a lining, so for lifting them up or down a continuous cord system is of help as it is a stronger system and can make it convenient to move those large windows. The only shortcoming of a continuous cord system is that its head rail being bigger will require at least 3 ½” of mounting space on an inside mounted shade to prevent the shade from sticking out of the windowsill. At the end, carefully consider spending some extra money to get a clean hassle-free look.