Secret Weapons! - Tip Of The Week #63 from Designer Blinds

Number 63 | June 1, 2001
© 2001 Designer Blinds

This picture shows Sheer Duette® Fabric used for arched windows above rectangular windows treated with Silhouette® shadings.

Explore Your Samples To Find Unique Product
Selections That Make the Difference!
Secret Weapons Give You The Edge

Whether you're selling mini-blinds, verticals, honeycomb shades, pleated shades —or really any other product in the Hunter Douglas brand, you'll find unique selections that are rarely mentioned by your competitors. Consider these to be your own secret weapons. Use them to compete on a whole new level. By knowing more about these little "secret weapons" than your competitors, you can make it seem as
if you've got an exclusive product line. In the process of exploring, you are also likely to find some "unconventional weapons," and new ways to use or combine products, too. Here's a look at just a few of the special products you'll find as you delve into Hunter Douglas products a little deeper.

Duette® Honeycomb Shades
The Duette® line is just full of fun items that are for the most part ignored by the majority of dealers. This includes fabric selections and operating systems. One of the more overlooked fabric groups is collection of sheer fabrics which includes a beautiful selection of sheers and lace effects. The Sheer Fabric is often used with the Duette DuoLite™ system, which allows any window to be transformed from sheer, to room darkening or to totally open in seconds. Only a minority of dealers show the DuoLite system, and they have great success with it. As pictured above, sheer Duette fabric provide an additional option for covering arched windows --in coordination with rectangular Duette shades, or even Silhouette® shadings on the rectangular windows below.

Vertiglide®
Another Duette product that plays a very important role for a relatively small group of dealers is Duette Vertiglide® (also available with Applause®). Vertiglide provides a unique appearance and easy operation over patio doors and other places that vertical blinds are traditionally used. Duette Vertiglide® can be used with almost all of the 3/4" honeycomb fabrics, including the sheer and lace fabrics mentioned above. (see a previous tip about Vertiglide).

Brilliance® Pleated Shades
Pleated Shades remain a steadily popular alternative to the more dominant honeycomb shades. In the Hunter Douglas Brilliance® Pleated Shade line there are a variety of exquisite fabrics as well as a wide collection of standards.

Aries™ - Beautiful Colors With A Metallized Back
One of the great secret weapons in Pleated Shades is the Aries Collection of fabrics with a metallized back. The reflective nature of pleated shades with a metallized back have made them a great choice for energy efficiency —particularly in the summer. The downside of metallized back pleated shades has always been the choice of colors. Because of the backing, the colors for most fabrics with metallized back were not particularly appealing from a design standpoint. That's putting it nicely! Many less tactful than I would call the colors downright ugly. The Aries fabrics have changed that. Aries allows you to decorate with softer, lighter colors and still have the reflective efficiency of a metallized back. The colors shown here are just a few of the Aries choices, scanned directly from the fabric.

Vertical Blinds

In Hunter Douglas Vertical Blinds You will find an ample supply of secret weapons, but here are a couple of vinyl vane selections that deserve a little extra attention.

Softex®
Softex® vanes won't seem like vinyl vanes. They are as soft to the eye as they are to the touch —almost like a fabric. The vanes are made with a unique process that combines two vinyls. The surface vinyl contains a special ingredient that softens the vane and quiets the operation. Use Softex® vanes (Devon™ and Intrigue™) on windows that have an air conditioning or heating vent aimed right at them to reduce the noise of vanes "clacking" together. Or use them anywhere quiet operation is desired.

Lutex®
Lutex® is another vane with very special characteristics that can truly transform a room into something special. Lutex® vanes are made from a specially formulated vinyl that produces a filtered translucent effect to allow sunlight in the daytime while providing complete (level 5) privacy at night. Lutex® vanes (Arlington™ and Astoria™) are available in a wide range of colors and can be used anywhere.