Blinds/Installation

i am an interior designer and have consistently used KA International which used to be located on the Upper East Side and now has relocated to Westchester. I continue to use them and they just send their measurer to my client's home and take care of everything for me. I just did a townhouse with them and everything went so smoothly. i primarily do curtains and soft window treatments with them and have only occasionally done some blinds.

I just used Horizon and was happy with the result. Since my windows are very large, I had motorized solar shades installed.

Believe it or not, Janovic does a very respectable job with basic blinds and shades. They come to measure and install. The staff was curteous,knowledgeable and neat. They have all the popular brands plus thier own, which wasn't bad. I used them for kitchen, bath and den windows that all got wood blinds with contrast tape. They are worth a look.

Do you guys have websites for these companies? I have a large window and want to get someone to install. Home Depot has been a joke on the phone. Thanks.

Let us know what you end up doing. I have three 11' X 6' Windows in the LR which need to be covered and the prices are insane. Even sun shades are being quoted at $1K per window.

Whatever you do, do not use Crosstown Shades and Glass/Drapes. They were horrible. It took them 11 MONTHS to have some simple shades for my kitchen finished and installed.

I bought some roman shades from The Shade Store and had their approved installer (M&N) do the installation (I did the measuring myself and it was fine). I was very happy. See web sites below -

http://www.theshadestore.com/
http://www.mninstallation.com/

I had an absolultely horrible experience with the Shade Store. It took over 6 weeks and three sets of incorrect shades before I finally had shades I could use. All their errors, not ours - we had their installers measure and install. It was astonishingly bad.

anyone here use panel curtains? not too many retailers have them and i have a large window in one bedroom...115" x 60"..i was quoted at $1,200 which i think is overpriced for one damn window...i would go to ikea and get the rack/panel curtains and install myself but the largest they have is 90" and they dont custom obviously

We had 2 sets of vertical blinds to replace when we moved in to our current apartment. Used NYC Blinds on E.81st between 1st and York... they've since moved to a much nicer office on E. 78th & York (their old one was pretty dingy). http://www.nycityblinds.com/ . Free estimate, yadda yadda. Guy came by to take measurements and was pretty knowledgable.

We went with the most basic kind; labor & parts came out to about $500, I think. Our kid like to pull at them, but thus far, they've held up okay. The full-length ones for the balcony door have withstood an incredible amount of abuse. The window-length second set came loose in the middle briefly but the ends held fast, and the middle popped right back in to the bracket after we noticed. They were somewhat less expensive than Janovic when we were shopping around.

We just bought on Sunday shades from the http://www.theshadestore.com/. They said 5 - 10 business working days we should be getting them. We will see ;-)

mickeytcu
From someone who's been in the interior design biz for quite some time - I've never heard of anyone getting blinds fabricated and installed in 5-10 bus. days, I'd love to know your source if this happens. There are only a few companies manufacturing shades and it takes 5 days alone for trucks to bring product to NYC warehouse, let alone fabrication according to custom sizes. It's usually a 3 week lead time minimum AND you've got thanksgiving to deal with. Hmm.

mickeytcu
From someone who's been in the interior design biz for quite some time - I've never heard of anyone getting blinds fabricated and installed in 5-10 bus. days, I'd love to know your source if this happens. There are only a few companies manufacturing shades and it takes 5 days alone for trucks to bring product to NYC warehouse, let alone fabrication according to custom sizes. It's usually a 3 week lead time minimum AND you've got thanksgiving to deal with. Hmm.

Drumbane01:
My partner and I reviewed some websites and we decided to go with http://www.theshadestore.com/. He also is in the biz (sales) and seemed to like what they had to offer. According to him the shades should just be sized, cut and sent to us (UPS) in 5 – 10 biz days (to his work). I will definitely keep you updated. (FYI: the other ½ wants to install them himself :-( hope they don’t fall off haha)

mickeytcu
Self installation definitely is a big cost saver, good for you and thx much if you update as I really am interested.

Just FYI, my last order from The Shade store was placed on October 26th, arrived a week later on November 2nd, and was installed by M&N on November 5th. 10 days from start to finish. Very happy with both companies.

Drumbane01:
Hope your holiday weekend went well. We received our blinds today. :-)

mickeytcu
Hope you had a good holiday weekend as did I...maybe you were anticipating no longer living in a fishbowl which tends to be how a blind-less apt. feels. Looks like you made the right choice of source, and thanks a bunch for your comments about it. Pretty good timing, Nov 11 to Nov 27 incl. a major holiday.

Has anyone worked with Silk Trading Company at ABC? We looked at the Shade company at Conrans and the colors, fabrics were limited (We are doing roman shades). Thanks!

Janovic seems pretty good. Horizon also though kind of overpriced. Home Depot has the same stuff but try getting waited on there.

Thank you for the feedback. The problem with these is that they all seem to offer the same fabrics and I guess we are looking for something a bit different, more custom. Silk Trading had dozens of fabric choices in silk, velvet etc. with options on the size of pleate etc. (we have 10 ft windows all around)Since it seems hard to find this variety with out going throug a decorator we will give it a try and report back on how it goes.

Anyone try shade store for drapery hardware? I am leaning towarads ordering with them because the other choice for my 11 feet long window is a german company that is too expensive-looking for drapes, not blinds. We rejected Horizon -crazy pricing with no breakdown between labor and materials.

I would be grateful to receive recommendations for a company that sells and installs blinds/window treatments. I am particularly interested in companies that cater to those looking for a somewhat modern/contemporary look. I have 4 rectangular windows (2 in the bedroom and 2 in the living room).

I'm would also be interested in recommendations for an interior decorator. I am moving into a new building, so I don't need renovations - I have a good idea as to what I like, so I think what I need is somebody to spend a few weekends with me looking at various furniture stores and helping me select furniture, paint colors, etc that will work with my apartment (and taking into account my tastes, the layout of the apartment, etc.). I'm not interested in the fanciest decorator - just a good decorator who can help pick up furniture and colors that will work with my apartment. Thanks,