Add Charm to Your Dormer with Decorative Boxes

by Viken Ohenasian

Dormer with Decorative BoxesAdding a few window boxes to your dormer is the easiest way to embellish your home. These small architectural elements allow viewers to admire the breathtaking beauty of some wonderful gardens in miniature, while delivering a big dose of welcoming friendliness. If you have no money, time or energy to maintain some large, sumptuous borders, opting for window boxes is the best way to turn your dormer into a magnificent sanctuary.

Window Boxes: Beautiful Displays of Colors
To help you get the most out of investing your time and money in window boxes, the following lines give you a few ideas on how to combine different plants and flowers to dress up the front of your house.

  • Cool Feel and Look: If you want to evoke a cooler feel and look for the summer months, you should opt for a bright contrast in plant colors. For instance, you can combine lime-green plants with burgundy blooms and white flowers.
  • Lush Effect: A magic formula for window boxes is to use a tall plant in the center, trailing plants flowing over edges and mounding flowers on the sides. The Japanese iris can be the center piece, purple Lanai verbena or dark red Calibrachoa can be used for edges and white petunia on the sides.
  • Bold Appearance: For a bold appearance, you should blend the vivid nuances of coral twinspur and coral trailing petunia with blue edging lobelia, blue delphinium, blue Panola pansy, white geranium and white euphorbia.
  • Interesting Look: To make window boxes more interesting, you can combine a blooming geranium with colorful caladiums and purple petunias. This combination will transform completely the look of your façade.

Any of these ideas can help you create a fantastic splash of glowing colors that will add charm to your dormer.

 

About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window shutters, coverings, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window shutters that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project. Google+


Vertical Blinds Keep Your Home Private

by Viken Ohenasian

You can increase your home security with many products, from window treatments to home security systems, but one of the easiest, most basic security measures are blinds and shutters. Vertical blinds can be rotated on an electronic system, so you can block your kitchen or living room from unwanted peeping. Blinds add value to a home and also save energy and money.

Keep your home private with some easily adjustable vertical blinds that you can deploy at any time to keep eyes out of your house. Blinds can be opaque or translucent or anywhere in between. It may totally or partially block light from the interior of your home and make it more difficult for people to look inside. As opposed to window treatments, you can rotate them to blow light or keep them open for natural lighting in your home.

Blinds also help your heating and power bill. They can be used to keep the heat inside during winter, and keep the cool air in for summer. This means you will not have to crank the heater or the air conditioner just to have a comfortable temperature in your home. Vertical blinds specifically designed to keep warm air in and cold air out and vice versa are available.

Complete that decorative look to your home with matching blinds and carpet. Color coordinate your upholstery and blinds for that finishing touch to your interior. The accent that blinds provide adds value to your home for its resale value, while giving your family the comfort it deserves.

Blinds bring so much to your home in the form of privacy, safety, energy efficiency, and decor. Hence, get a set of vertical blinds to your home and add security while saving money.

 

About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window shutters, coverings, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project. Google+

 

 


Your Dining Room Shutters

by Viken Ohenasian

Your Dining Room Shutters

Although you may slouch on the sofa in front of the TV as a unit on a daily basis, your real family room is your dining area. No greater area of your home is likely to hold so many inherited or investment pieces of furniture, and it’s often the room that remains a “work in progress” for the entire time you live in your house!

Decorating your dining area with neutral tones can often give you a useful starting point to see what direction you want to take the room in, or you may even find you prefer a sparer look, and the opportunities it presents for accenting other aspects of the space.

For a room where you are likely to spend so much time, year round, getting the windows – and window furniture – right should be your priority. Consider sliding shutters for long patio windows, as pulled across open windows in summer months, these will give you a perfect combination of shielding you from the heat of the sun, and exploiting any cooling breezes.

Is your dining room floor wooden? Or your dining room furniture? Real wood shutters in the same shade as floor or dining suite look absolutely stunning. Nothing will take your dining room from neat and well-decorated to interior magazine chic faster than dark wood set off by neutrals, or Nordic pine with barely-there blues or greens.

Shutters will also help to minimize any furniture bleaching that you might experience – dining suites tend to be expensive, rare purchases, and keeping them in pristine condition for as long as you can is desirable. Being able to manipulate the light ingress will pay dividends.

Practical as well as decorative, your dining room shutters will make eating as a family or entertaining a comfortable experience all year round. Whether your personal style is country mix-and-match shabby chic, or modern and streamlined, the right shutters for your dining room will really pull your look together.

 

About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window coverings, shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project.


Mira Monte Jewel Touch hardwood shutters

by Viken Ohenasian

Whilst the perfect furniture for your living space is half the battle in creating your perfect home interior, nothing lifts a room to magazine photoshoot perfection faster than making a feature of the natural light source – your windows.

If you’re looking for clean lines and an elegant finish, yet also concerned about making energy savings within your home, you have probably considered shutters already.  One of the market leaders has to be Mira Monte Wood Shutters, who offer an individually-crafted service, with the finished result tailored precisely to your individual home style and personal tastes.

Mira Monte Diamond Finish Shutters offer an air of traditional craftsmanship – hand crafted 100% hardwood, which is hand-picked and inspected, before being kiln dried for a super-durable finish.  Allied to this is the personal touch of a three-step quality inspection process, making sure that you really do receive the high-quality product you desire.

There’s nothing like being able to manipulate the fall of natural light into your living space to create a mood, and no matter how individual and hard to manage you may think your light source is, the advice of a trained dealer, coupled with a wide choice of speciality shapes will customize the end product to your tastes, and ensure the perfect result.

Made in the USA, and using water-based, eco-friendly paints, you can be certain that you’re making an investment in both home-grown craftsmanship, and in the environment.  With a manufacturing time of only 15 days, you’ll be enjoying the interior design benefits of your beautiful Mira Monte Shutters in almost no time at all.

About the Author

Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window shutters, plantation shutters, Wood shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project. Google+


Faux Wood Shutters: Classic and Stylish

by Viken Ohenasian

Since the Ancient Egyptians used reeds to make window blinds, utilizing natural materials to adjust the temperature and light in our living spaces has been there right at the forefront of interior design choices for our homes.

But natural materials, however desirable, aren’t always the best choice; if you live in an area where the climate is more humid, you will no doubt have noticed that wood has a tendency to warp. Doors and window frames have a tendency not to fit so well after a while, and if you have wooden window blinds, then you’ll no doubt have noticed that they can bow or buckle.

Even if you’re in a less humid area, it’s an irritation that you could do without if you’re keen on the look and benefits of wooden blinds in your kitchen or bathroom. Your ideal solution under the circumstances would be to consider faux wood shutters.

With the modern, clean lines of real wood blinds, faux wood shutters will look just like the real thing, with the polymer construction offering considerable added durability. Cleaning is a breeze, as a wipe over with a damp cloth will suffice, and since faux wood shutters are fire as well as moisture resistant, are a sound choice for a room where extra safety is desirable, such as the bedroom.

Easily co-ordinated with your existing furnishing, this product will pull together a look to give you a picture-perfect design. With the advice and assistance of a trained dealer, you can have the dream look you’ve always wanted in your home.

About the Author

Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window shutters, plantation shutters, Wood shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project. Google+


Remodeling Ideas: Wood Blinds for a Traditional Look

by Viken Ohenasian

Windows help bring natural lighting into the home, and window treatments add tremendous value both in terms of decorations and salability. Cheap white blinds often look terrible with age, and plastic blinds usually crack and deteriorate with age. These gaps in the blinds make it easier for people to see into your home, as well as cheapen its aesthetic appeal. Here are a few tips for using wood blinds for a traditional look when remodeling your home.

Measurements
Take your time to make correct measurements of each window where your blinds will be installed. Use a tape measure and avoid guessing the size of larger and harder to reach windows. Many people hire a handyman to quickly and accurately obtain all of the measurements needed.

Décor
Traditional home decorations always involve the use of natural elements. Select window treatments that are made of wood and are not made from composite materials. Pay attention to other wooden elements already within your home when choosing a color for the blinds. Many homeowners will use wood that has been color treated to accent their current home furnishings. These blinds may be black, white or another neutral color.

Complement
One way to compliment the windows is to choose a specific type of wood that is aesthetically pleasing. Choose wood tones that will compliment the hard wood floor and cabinetry that is in the home.

Take Your Time
Shop for blinds online or in person and spend at least an hour to decide which blinds will be best. Consider having the blinds installed by a professional to make sure that they are hung properly. Use these tips when remodeling the interior of any home or business.



About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window coverings, shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project.


Wood Shutters: Light Control, Energy Efficiency and Noise Insulation

by Viken Ohenasian

Wood shutters have been around a long time, and for good reasons. They have an authentic and traditional look that adds beauty and value to a home. Wood shutters also have other beneficial factors such as being energy efficient and offering you, the homeowner, a choice on how much light you want to let into your home. Also, they are highly efficient in keeping unwanted noise out of the room they are in.

Another benefit that comes with window shutters is a safety feature for pets and children, and that is because there are no cords that can get in the way and cause any accidents. This kind of window covering is also operated with louvers and that’s a great safety feature for your family.

Window shutters enhance the beauty of your home; not only with their traditional look but also because of the intrinsic value that comes from their style, shape and color. Wood shutters are also durable because they are usually made of high quality wood. There is no need to worry about discoloration because the undercoat seals the wood from moisture. This type of window decoration is also hand sanded for a finish that is smooth and beautiful.

If you’re looking for window coverings that are flexible, look no further. You can choose from a natural stain or a décor-matching color. They can even be custom painted, if you like. With wood shutters you will also save money on energy. In addition, you can decide how much or how little they want their shutters opened; depending, of course, on weather conditions. Most importantly, they are good for the environment and endure a long time. It is important to note that with this kind of window decoration, they are affordable and can be found at quality hardwood stores and online.

 

About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window coverings, shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project.


Top 10 Ideas for Window Treatments

by Viken Ohenasian

Organic Material
Contrary to popular belief, organic does not necessarily mean recycled material; it can be as simple as untreated wood. Blinds made from organic materials keep a significant portion of outside light out while giving your room a natural forest feel.

Color
Give your windows a burst of color to give them a cheery feel. Cheerful colors change the scenery of your room from a boring shade of cream and white to a much more lively hue to really brighten up the space.

Exotic Materials
Exotic material gives your room and window a luxurious feel. Materials like satin, velvet and suede can transform your room into a more diverse and exotic spacewith a luxurious feel, especially when coupled with subtle framing pieces such as window skirts or valances.

Bamboo
Add an oriental feel to your window and room by using bamboo blinds. It gives a natural, organic feel to your room and is both simple and sturdy. Bamboo goes well with a variety of interior décor patterns, both modern and classic.

Soft Textile
The feminine flair is quickly gaining popularity. It includes embellishments such as grosgrain ribbons and embroidering details. It also adds a Victorian element to your window treatments.

Bold Fabric Prints
Spruce up your room with bold fabric prints to give your room a vibrant feel. It can range from floral prints to fashionable stripes.

Silk
Silk is a material that defies age. It not only brings out your tasteful side, it gives a warm and cozy feel and comes in any color for any of your rooms.

High Tech
You can sprinkle some modernity to your window treatments to flick the windows open or closed, or allow in light exactly to your preferred intensity.

Green Screen
Greens screens are sustainable and contribute to saving the plane. Utilize anti-microbial properties so that the materials are mildew or mold resistant.


About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window coverings, shutters, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project.


Innovative Polyclad Wood Shutters Are a Great Fit in Every Home

by Viken Ohenasian

If you are planning some home improvements such as changing window treatments, why not think about installing wood window shutters that are sure to add beauty and style to any home? Window shutters block the heat during the day and allow the cool breeze in at night. Here are a few reasons to choose polyclad window shutters over traditional wood blinds.

Easy Care
The poly vinyl material is easy to clean and never needs painting or staining. The hardwood base is sturdy and the vinyl cover is easy to maintain. The shutters will not fade, crack or peel like regular wood shutters, so they will always look new. Just be sure to clean them with a soft, damp cloth and you’re set.

Block UV Rays
One reason your drapes and furniture fades is the UV rays coming in through your windows. Shades and shutters block the heat and also the sunlight to keep your furnishings from becoming sun-damaged.

Insulate Windows
Shutters block the heat that transfers through windows on hot days and insulates against the colder temperatures of fall and winter. Blocking heat also helps keep utility bills lower by making your cooling system run less.

Easy to Open and Close
One of the best features of window shutters is the amount of privacy they provide when closed. Open them when you want the view, and close them when you want privacy or to block the sun.

Attractive Selling Point
Another reason to install polyclad shutters is the value they add when it comes time to sell or refinance your home. These are a selling point for potential buyers, and home improvements add equity value. They are attractive, add a feeling of warmth and match with any decor.

Wood shutters are not only beautiful, but add an elegant touch to any home. They are also so important, although not seemingly so at first, that they can make or break the style of an entire room.

 

About the Author
Viken Ohenasian is the Owner of Shutter Smart, a leading one-stop solution for window shutters, coverings, shades and treatments. Shutter Smart’s innovative design has enabled them to create a diverse line of elegant, affordable and eco-friendly window covers that seamlessly integrate into and enhance any interior space. The company also provides a free estimate before each shutter installation project.

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A Guide to Choosing the Best Window Coverings for Your Home

by Viken Ohenasian

Best Window Shutters

You are searching for elegant ways to decorate your home. You need window coverings, but a lot of what you have found is looks cheap or just doesn’t match the style of your living space.

Window shutters are a wise choice when it comes to coverings. There are many types of shutters to choose from, so it can get hard to narrow down options for your home. A great option are the innovative PolyClad shutters, which are eco-friendly (a “green” product).They are hardwood shutters that are clad with a poly surface, so you can wipe them down with cleaners that would normally harm wood.

These shutters will help save on heating and cooling bills with their Thermacore louvers. They come with TwistLock hooks that ensures louvers can never be pulled out, unlike most other shutters that use staples instead.

They are low cost versus the competition. They are very easy to clean. They won’t peel and crack from the sun and elements. They look and feel so much like traditional wood shutters that your friends and family won’t know the difference.

PolyClad shutters are essentially a new technological breakthrough. Because they are maintenance free with their poly finish, and because they are available in different colors and sizes, they are an ideal fit for every living space and can seamlessly integrate into any design.