there are several questions i get asked over and over on instagram but without question the one i get asked the most is: where are your window shades from? the second is: what is the material + color? i had been planning to get a photographer in here to capture some new photos but well, corona. so until that happens or i can get max + bill outside long enough to straighten up and photograph myself, iPhone pics it is!
when we bought #farmhousedialfano nearly 6 years ago, the kitchen, dining room + living room had woven wood shades and the upstairs, playroom, and hallway windows had pretty cheap white shades. there were a few that didn’t work properly and i wasn’t a huge fan of the woven wood colors, especially as the design of the house evolved. you can see what they looked like over the years below {notice the ribbon holding some up! classy.}…
needless to say it was time for an upgrade so when innuwindow, a family-run store located right here in natick, reached out about working together, it was perfect timing! after a visit to the store, we decided that hunter douglas was the way to go and are SO fortunate to have been able to update every window in the house, hallways included. innuwindow is one of the largest independent hunter douglas dealers in the country, and while they’re a higher end product {ie: on the pricey side}, they are WORTH EVERY PENNY. truly. there is a wide range of shades, blinds, fabrics, materials, colors etc. and whatever option you choose, your home will be instantly upgraded. ours certainly has been.
back in august of last year {you know, back when people could be in other people’s homes}, rick from innuwindow came out to the house with the hunter douglas swatch books. it’s SO important to see the actual materials in person as they look a bit different than they do online, and seeing the swatches in your rooms with the lighting makes a huge difference when making decisions. during this visit, rick also measured all the windows so that when we were ready to order, he’d have everything he needed. while i’ve measured windows on my own before, knowing that they were measured exactly the right way was a load off.
i knew that i wanted woven wood shades in every room. the hunter douglas provenance collection features handcrafted, high-quality organic materials such as woods, reeds, bamboo, and grasses, and the natural fibers filter natural light so beautifully. i also knew that i wanted to do the same material + color in the living room and dining room. originally i had a different and slightly darker color picked out for those two rooms but at the last minute i decided to do the same as what’s in the kitchen. while the darker could’ve been beautiful, i’m ultimately glad i went with the lighter color which allows me to play around more with decorative elements such as pillows, blankets etc.
for the downstairs hallway and upstairs landing area, rick suggested doing the same as the main rooms. so the downstairs would be the same as the living room, dining room, bathroom, and kitchen, and upstairs would be the same as the bedrooms and master bathroom. i didn’t have a strong opinion on this design wise as both areas are glorified storage areas right now so i’m happy with the decision! i also decided to do the same in max’s room, the master bathroom, and our bedroom. i wanted them to be neutral enough to work if i changed up the design {which of course we’re doing right now in our room with the #mstarrxohidesign makeover}. after seeing the swatches in our home, we ended up deciding on the following...
KITCHEN, DINING ROOM, LIVING ROOM, DOWNSTAIRS BATH + HALLWAY provenance woven woods collection / jute forest / sycamore
PLAYROOM provenance woven woods collection / sonoma / pinot grigio
MASTER BEDROOM, MASTER BATHROOM, MAX’S ROOM + UPSTAIRS LANDING provenance woven woods collection / maritime / morning fog
once we decided on the fabrics + colors, there were a number of other decisions to make including:
01. the control system. i wanted literise, which is hunter douglas’ cordless system, for all the windows. it’s a clean look and they are the safest option for kids and pets. unfortunately, there are a few windows that aren’t deep enough {hello old house} so the large window in the living room, one window in max’s room, and one window in our bedroom have the ultraglide system. it features a retractable cord which is the next best option for children and pet safety, and is super easy to use.
02. inside or outside mount. this is somewhat of a personal preference but also dependent on the type of window and room you have. inside mount means the shades are installed inside the window frame and outside mount means they’re installed outside of the actual window. inside mount in theory blocks the most amount of light but the window needs to be a certain depth. i find it to be more appropriate for a bedroom and we ended up needing to do inside mount in the bedrooms and bathrooms anyways because the moulding around the windows doesn’t allow for an outside installation. we went with an outside mount in every other room however. they feel a bit more casual to me and the right vibe for our house. an outside mount also provides some flexibility in terms of placement. for instance, we opted to mount the shade over the large window in the living room higher than the actual window to make it appear taller than it really is {as seen below}. and in the living room, because the ceiling is uneven, we mounted one shade slightly higher than the other to make them appear at the same height. when doing this, you need to remember to account for the extra height by adding additional length!
03. what shade style? there are 3 options for the provenance shades…roman, waterfall roman, and vertical drapery. for this, we went with the standard roman for a cleaner look when they’re pulled down.
04. what type of valance? i wanted the least obtrusive option so we opted for the modern style which basically blends into the shade for a polished look.
05. liner vs. no liner. i wanted the most amount of light to filter through in the kitchen, dining room, and hallways so we opted out of a liner in those rooms. we like having a little more privacy {and protection in the winter which also helps with energy costs} in the living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms so chose a privacy liner in those rooms. blackout liners are of course popular in bedrooms but the privacy liner blocks out a lot of light and is enough for all of us. it’s easy to see the difference in lined {living room} vs. unlined {kitchen} below.
i can’t tell you how much more put together the house is with the addition of these shades. innuwindow was an absolute pleasure to work with, answering any and all questions i had and the turnaround time from placing the order to when they came to install was quite quick. plus they have a full team of consultants to help with all your window treatment needs and wants, from ready-made drapes to custom options. AND most importantly, they are ready to help with any issues that may arise by servicing any hunter douglas product that needs it. i highly recommend working with them if you’re in massachusetts!
emily
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