Blinds, Shades, Shutters in Time

Blinds/shades and shutters…commonly referred to in our industry as hard treatments.  This overall category has simply exploded over the years.  In the late 70’s and 80’s, 1 inch horizontal mini blinds were the craze.  They we manufactured and put up in many household.  Levolor Corporation was the big player in this category and today and did such a great job marketing and selling this that customers today when purchasing new often say. I am interested in new Levolor blinds”.  The customer today is not necessarily talking about mini blinds and simply using the terminology/name because this is what they remember!!  Prior to mini blinds in the 60’s, the Natural shade or also known as the woven wood was very popular.  It fell out of favor for a while, but like many things in decorating, it has made a come back in the last 10 years.  Today with Natural shades, we see all sorts of colors and styles never previously seen.   As the mini blind craze was in full throttle, the industry started evolving with more choices.  Wood 2 inch blinds became the rage in the 90’s and today this market continues to thrive.  The only difference today is that most customers favor the wood “look a like” also called a faux wood blind.  The pleated shade gave way to the cellular shade also known to some as the accordian shade.  Today, the cellular shade continues to be one of the more popular choice to cover windows.  This product is known well for energy efficiency for both cold and hot. White and off white still are the most predominant, but today manufacturers offer so many colors and patters as well as an array of pleat sizes.  3/8 inch was the first cell size and today consumers get to choose form ½, double cell , room darkening and so many other options.  Shutters or sometimes referred to plantation shutters is the more expensive look and one that most consumers today shoot for in many homes.  They first explodes in the East and west coast years ago and since have moved well into the heartland of the USA.  Today, shutters are the number one volume in terms of sales dollars for our company.  Last, the hard treatment industry has just exploded with what I will call alternative products.  Hunter Douglas is a major supplier and they have driven the market in this area.  In the 80’s, they came out with the famous product, the silhouette…a sheer with floating vanes.  Where customers would once use drapery sheers and draperies, the silhouette became a different alternative.  Simple vinyl  roller shades in the 60’s  and 70’s like woven woods and mini blinds were also popular.  Customer ordered these almost as much as mini blinds.  Today, roller shades still exist but now the category has exploded with various fabrics and styles that add décor to any home. Screen shades are a similar category to roller and have also exploded.  Once thought of just in commercial applications like a local St. Louis Bread Company, screens hades are very commonly used in homes and today is one of our biggest category sales right behind the shutter and cellular.  Sliding glass doors were always originally covered with fabric verticals.  The fabric came out of favor and moved to the PVC (poly vinyl) in the 80’s as it was easier to clean and had a lot of colors and textures.  Fabric verticals are pretty well extinct today as PVC is still an option. However, as the market has as said before exploded with alternative products, this lies true in the vertical arena.  Today, verticals can be made out of cellular shades as well as that sheer material from Hunter for their product called the Luminette.  Even the Natural /woven shade is made into a vertical application by a company out of Chicago named Horizons.