Sheer Horizontals: Both Beautiful and Functional
To tilt or to lift? When choosing window coverings, every home owner faces a decision between these two options. Blinds allow you to control how much light enters the room, but the slats obstruct your view. You can’t easily lift blinds, since they can be heavy. Shades are light and can easily be lifted to see outside, but they are always either open or closed. There is no in-between.
What about for the home owner who doesn’t want to choose between tilting and lifting? Maybe they want slats to let the light through as well as a shade that provides complete privacy. Maybe they want to be able to open the shade completely or leave it half drawn.
In 1991 Hunter Douglas introduced a new window covering that it called the Silhouette, that fulfills all of these desires. A number of companies now make shades like this and they are easily the most versatile window covering available. The modern name for these is sheer horizontals, or sheer shades. They are composed of horizontal vanes of light filtering fabric suspended between two layers of sheer.
When you fully lower a sheer horizontal then its light filtering vanes can be opened and closed, similar to a blind. With the vanes open, the sheer provides a pleasant view outside but without allowing full UV to enter the room. With the vanes closed, layers of soft light filtering fabric provide full privacy in the room. Because the shade is lightweight you can easily lift it to partially cover the window, or provide a wide-open view of the outdoors.
Often home owners must choose between function and aesthetic. But sheer horizontal shades provide functional versatility, and they are aesthetically soft and beautiful. The best of both worlds!
Sheer Horizontals alone in a window are simple and airy. Because of the depth of their layers they still provide a complete look. They are available in a number of different colors and textures, and a bold choice of fabric results in a clean modern accent. Because they are sheer, you can layer them with vibrant fabric panels without making a window look busy. This results in a more traditional look.
There truly isn’t another window covering option that provides such functionally and beauty. Our desire at Made in the Shade in serving Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Mebane is to bring real joy and satisfaction with the solutions we offer. We know our clients will enjoy their investment for many years to come when they choose sheer horizontals.
