How You Can Use Window Treatments to Tie Your Home Together

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In today’s blog, we look at a couple of the different ways you can use window treatments to pull your home décor style together in order to create a cohesive look that will have you smiling each time you walk through the front door. Here at Arjay’s Window Fashions, we have worked hard to bring together the best window treatments on the planet in one place. Whether you opt for room-darkening drapes, Roman shades, café curtains, or something else entirely, we have exactly what you need to add some character to your windows.

Why You Need Window Treatments

Nearly everyone knows that a bare window is a sad window. Sure, it lets in plenty of light, but there are so many options for covering the windows in your home that there’s really no excuse not to take advantage of the window treatments available here at Arjay’s Window Fashions. From making your home more comfortable to boosting your home’s value, the right window treatment can go a long way towards creating the perfect environment in a house.

Whether You Choose Roman Blinds, Bamboo Blinds, Venetian Blinds, or Simple Drapes, We Have Them at Arjay’s!

Choosing the right window treatments is the key to making sure everything in your home feels right. If you’ve opted for beautiful dark stained wood floors, contemporary rugs, and modern shelving with clean lines, you need the right window treatments to tie everything together. For example, if you prefer a minimal style of home décor, Roman blinds could be the perfect solution thanks to their classic look. If your décor leans a bit more towards the eclectic, Venetian blinds might be right up your alley!

The key is to create a look that feels right for your particular style. The one thing to keep in mind when the process begins to feel a bit overwhelming is that if it suits the mood of your home and you like it, then it’s the perfect choice. Stop in at our showroom in Ventura! We’d be happy to help you decide what would work best in your home. Alternatively, give us a call for a complimentary in-home design consultation. We’d love to provide you with all the assistance you need in order to help you make your home look the way you want it to look. You can count on our expertise to ensure that the end result is a home that you love living in.

With customer testimonials praising our “excellent knowledge of all window treatments” and recommending us for “any form of window treatment you could imagine,” we’re thrilled to be able to provide our customers with window treatments that work for them. Need some inspiration for your own home? Take a look at some of the projects we’ve completed and then contact us today! We’re proud to offer custom blinds, outdoor shades, window films, and more. Schedule your appointment today and let us help you tie your home together and turn it into the living space of your dreams. We look forward to hearing from you!

Child Proof Draperies

Do Your Drapes Need to Be Child-Proofed?

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If you’re a parent, you know that you can evaluate every object in a room and then turn around to see your child has found a way to make a perfectly safe object life-threatening. It can make you feel crazy! Unfortunately, your window coverings aren’t immune to your child’s curiosity, and they should be part of your safety considerations. Most people think of blinds when they think safety risk, and rightly so. Blinds have loops of cord that have proven themselves to be very dangerous to children. The problem is, other types of window coverings can also be dangerous to children.

In our last two blogs, we discussed window blinds and how to make them safe. Today, we want to talk about drapes. Drapes are cloth window coverings, and they range from simple pieces that flank windows to much more elaborate versions that frame entire doorways. The team at Arjay’s designs and installs both kinds. Our experience in this area has given us special insights into drapery and just how it might present a threat to your child. Drapery doesn’t necessarily seem dangerous, and when compared with blinds, it may seem very safe. However, there are ways that your child can turn drapery into an injury, and we are here to make sure you’re in the know!

Metal hardware and bars

Whereas blinds often come with smaller, lighter components, drapes usually need large, tough hardware to keep them up. Fabric gets heavy quickly, and it needs a durable mount and bar or it will have trouble. Remember, if the drapes come down, heavy metal pieces will come down, too. Whether your child grabs the drapes to pull him or herself up or the pattern is too fascinating not to grab, you may end up hearing a loud crash.

Installation issues

In most houses, the wood studs around windows only extend four inches beyond the openings. That means, if you mount curtain bars more than four inches out, you’re installing heavy drapery into sheetrock. You can use special anchors to make the installation better, but it still isn’t as strong as mounting the hardware into the wood of a stud. When we install drapes, we will always search for studs so we can mount your drapes securely. We don’t want little hands pulling them down!

Spring-loaded rods are dangerous

It can be tempting to use a pressure-mounted curtain rod for your drapes. This type of rod uses a spring to press against either side of the window frame, bracing itself up. There are two problems with this type of curtain rod. One, it can be pulled down. Two, it features caps on both ends that may be pulled off and become a choking hazard.

What can be done?dreamstime_l_11367626

If you love your drapes, we don’t blame you. They are a classic, beautiful form of window covering that really bring a room together. The fastest solution is to simply tie the drapes up in swags. It will look polished and decorative while keeping them out of the reach of little hands. The next step is to contact us and discuss what can be done with our innovative design team. We look forward to hearing from you!

Give us a call today!
Child Proofing Blinds

How to Child-Proof Blinds – Part 2

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Whether you have children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, having little ones in your home can be stressful. This is especially true if you haven’t child-proofed anything. It can be next to impossible to keep a constant eye on children, and all it takes is a few seconds for a little one to get in trouble. One of the first things you need to child-proof are your window treatments, especially if you have blinds. The pull cords on blinds often form loops that present a suffocation risk to children. At Arjay’s, we know just what it takes to make blinds child-safe, and we believe that you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for safety.

If you have outdated blinds, it’s probably in your best interest to invest in new ones with better safety systems. However, we would be happy to consult with you on ways to child-proof your current blinds if necessary. In general, your main goal is going to be to eliminate the risk presented by the blinds’ pull cord.  In our previous blog, we discussed the value of cord cleats and separate tassels. Today, we have a few more ways you can tackle the pull cord issue.

Child-Proofing Window Blinds

Loop Solution 3: Install breakaway tassels

  • You can bring separate pull cords together within a tassel that breaks when pressure is put on it. That way, you still enjoy the benefit of tamed pull cords, but if a little one decides to reach up and pull on the cord, the tassel will break off and the dangerous loop will be broken. We recommend people install this kind of tassel even if they’re pursuing another solution as well.

Loop Solution 4: Install tie-downs

  • In this solution, you keep the loop. You mount a hook either on the wall or the floor, and catch the loop through it. You will be able to operate your blinds, but the loop will be trapped by the hook and unavailable for little fingers.

Inner Cord Solution: Install cord stopsdreamstime_xl_23754275

  • If your blinds predate 1999, they have a serious design flaw. The pull cords descend through the center of each slat. Little fingers easily get between the slats and can grab this inner cord. When pulled, the inner pull cord easily comes out in the exact shape we want to avoid: a loop. In this situation, we would highly recommend replacing the blinds. They are, after all, almost 20 years old. If you do not want to replace them, you will need to install cord stops. They stop the inner cord from being pulled out in a loop.

If you’ve looked your current blinds over and they clearly aren’t safe, maybe you’re facing the opportunity to refresh your home with new window treatments! They are much like paint in that they can utterly transform a roof. The team at Arjay’s is excited to consult with you on your budget and desired look. We are here to deliver world-class results, and we won’t quit until we do. Learn more today!

Give us a call!

 

 

Child Proofing Blinds

How to Child-Proof Blinds – Part 1

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Anyone with kids knows how difficult child-proofing can be. You find yourself looking at your home with entirely new eyes and constantly wondering what dangerous feature you’ve failed to amend. You’ll probably pore over internet lists and get advice from friends – and still feel unsure you’ve done an adequate job. The good news is, your window coverings are easy to cross off the list. At Arjay’s, we love providing child-friendly solutions to parents, grandparents, and other relatives. We fully understand the danger window coverings present, and we consider it a privilege to play a role in any child’s safety.

There is always a chance that you already have child-safe window treatments and you didn’t know it. In our last blog, we provided you some insights for assessing your current coverings. This includes examining the inner cords and pull cords of blinds to make sure they don’t present a threat to a child. If your inspection reveals the need for safety measures, you’re reading the right blog post! Today, we are going to take a look at several easy solutions that we can help you implement. As you will see, almost all of them target the loops of cord that are so dangerous to little ones. Read up to see which one makes the most sense for your situation.

Child-Proofing Your Current Window Blinds

Loop Solution 1: Create Separate Cords with Individual Tassels

  • When we say “tassel,” we’re talking about the thimble-like piece at the end of the pull cord. It makes the cord easier to grasp. If you look up the cord, chances are good you’ll see another piece of plastic; this is called an equalizer cleat, and its job is to keep the cords together near the top. Now, if you remove the tassel and find an unbroken loop of cord, the following solution may be for you.
  • Lower the blind all the way. Cut the cord(s) as close to the top of the blind as you can. Take the equalizer cleat off. Lastly, install a two new tassels – one at the end of each separate pull cord. Make sure you get professional help with this solution. It isn’t always recommended, as it can make it difficult to raise and lower the blind evenly.dreamstime_xxl_20923739

Loop Solution 2: Add Cord Cleats

  • “Cord cleats” are not to be confused with “equalizer cleats.” A cord cleat functions a lot like a dock cleat. It’s a two-sided hook designed to be wrapped in a cord. You can install small cleats beside the blinds, out of the reach of children. Each time you raise or lower the blind, you’ll finish by wrapping the excess cord around the cleat.
  • This solution can work, but when you’re in a hurry, it isn’t as effective. All it takes is forgetting to wrap the cord around the cleat once to have something go wrong. If you want to use a cleat, we suggest you install a safety tassel, which we will discuss in our next blog!

At Arjay’s, we specialize in providing world-class window treatments. Whether you need some outdoor blinds to reduce solar damage inside your home or you need child-proof blinds you can trust, turn to us!

Give us a call today!