Woven Wood Shades
Selecting the Right Woven Wood Shades for Your Home
Window coverings are a necessity, they provide privacy and give you control over the brightness of the room. There are many different window treatment options available including blinds, curtains, and shades. Many people choose shades as they can offer more flexibility on privacy level as well as the amount light that is let in. Shades can be made from a wide variety materials including plastic, metal, fabric, and wood. Woven wood shades can provide excellent privacy. Many people like the warm tones and natural appeal of wood shades.
There are many different styles of woven wood shades for sale in both home improvement stores and online. The shades can be found made from bamboo or lightweight woods. Some have wide slats while others have very thin strips. Shades with the wide slats will offer more privacy and let in less light. Shades with thin strips, often called matchstick shades, tend to let in more light than wide slat shades but do not offer much in the way of privacy. Matchstick shades pair well with curtains that can be drawn when privacy is wanted. There are wood shades that are made up of thin pieces that are woven very close together which do offer more privacy than matchstick shades and let in more light than wide slat woven wood shades.
When buying woven wood shades, whether it is online or in a store, it is important to get the right measurements. In order to get the correct measurements for the window on which the shades will be hung, you need to find out if the shades are supposed to hang inside the sill or above the sill.
If the shades are supposed to hang inside the sill, then you will need to measure the height of the frame and the width inside the sill. For the height, you will want to add a couple inches, the excess will rest on the bottom of the window sill and help the shades hang straight. For the side to side measurements, you will want to subtract 1/8 of an inch off either side. This will keep the shade from bumping into the sides of the sill, which can interfere with raising and lowering the shades.
If the shades are supposed to hang outside of the sill, then you will need to measure from at least an inch above the window to an inch or two below the window. When the shades are all the way down, they can either be locked into place with the catch in the frame or be allowed to hang all the way down. The side to side measurements will need to be from an inch past either side of the sill.
Many people like the warm and inviting tones that come with having woven wood shades. They can be found to match just about any stain or finish, making it easy to find shades that will match your decor.