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From cutting energy costs to protecting your privacy to beautifying your home, your window coverings are an undervalued workhorse. But if they’re not doing their job, it’s time to cut them off (literally).
Old blinds aren’t just unsightly; they’re also inefficient and unsafe. Show your windows, your home and your family a little love by updating your current blinds. Here are just a few great reasons to do so.
New blinds are safer
You’d never knowingly leave your child alone with something that’s injured nearly 17,000 children in the past 25 years. But if your home is still sporting old-school window blinds with long cords, that’s exactly what you’re doing. According to a recent study from the American Academy of Pediatrics, from 1990 to 2015, 16,827 children under age 6 were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to window blinds. And out of 231 entanglement injuries treated from 1996 to 2012, two-thirds resulted in death.
If that scares you, well it probably should. Dated blinds aren’t just unsightly — they’re unsafe. In fact, Allied Furnishings, located in Bountiful, no longer sells blinds with dangerous cords — and it will buy your unsafe versions for $15 each and apply that money to your newer, safer blinds.
Allied Furnishings also provides in-home design consultations free of charge, so now’s the time to beautify your windows and protect your little ones. Find out more by visiting Allied Furnishings.
They keep you warm — and cool
These days, there are negative connotations to “throwing shade,” but that’s exactly what you want your windows to do. If your current window coverings aren’t keeping the sun out or the air conditioning in, you don’t have the right blinds.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, about 30 percent of a home’s heating energy is lost through its windows. Additionally, during the warmer months, 76 percent of the sunlight hitting your windows becomes heat. That means those bare windows — or your tired, tattered shades — are literally making you sweat (or shiver).
They’re smart
Today, everything is getting smarter — from thermostats to refrigerators to security systems. With that in mind, there’s no reason your window coverings shouldn’t be making your life more convenient. If you’re still walking around your home pulling your shades (or worse, your blind cords) every evening, it’s time to check out the wide array of automatic blinds available on the market.
Imagine blocking the sun or increasing your privacy with the push of a button. The best part is, many of these motorized window-covering systems are completely programmable, so you can enjoy the morning sun but block the afternoon heat without pulling a cord or even pushing a button.
They add an instant update
Dingy, tattered, discolored blinds can make you, well, wish you were blind. And when you’ve lived with terrible — or nonexistent — window treatments for a long time, you probably don’t even realize what you’re missing.
The Washington Post promises about blinds, “Ignoring them is a missed opportunity. They can make a world of difference.” In addition, although prices of window treatments can run the gamut, updating your blinds is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways you can update your home.
To address your unique needs, sit down with a blind specialist to design a system that works for your home.
