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When looking for the perfect window coverings for your home or office, you know that your choice is not just one of decor. Window treatments also play an important role in climate control and energy efficiency. Even with high-end glass, windows are a way for the summer sun or winter chill to seep into your home. For centuries, window draperies have served as a way to keep out the chill and control the flow of temperature through a building. The same is true now, but with far more advanced window treatment technology.
Combining style and climate control is at the heart of the honeycomb shades design. If you love the look of textured fabric shades but want the sleek temperature control of traditional layered curtains, honeycomb shades offer the best of both worlds.
Honeycomb shades are an evolution of cellular shades, designed to create an air pocket between two layers of fabric material using a stack of folding channels. The cells are made of fabric stitched to form air-filled channels that pop open when the shades are down, giving your shades an attractively ridged texture. More importantly, each cell creates an air-barrier between your window and the room interior, creating a layer of insulation much like the air barrier between double-paned windows.
Where the original cellular shade design often forms pointed diamonds, honeycomb shades are designed to open into little hexagons. The shades got their name as the one or two layers of hex cells are reminiscent of a bee's honeycomb home. These offer a more rounded ridge appearance in your shade's overall texture when lowered as well as creating a larger and more insulating layer of air in the hexagonal cells.
Some honeycomb shades are two-layered placing two cells next two each other, while some are designed to have a cell-within-a-cell design for extra fabric protection.
When exploring your many options for shades, why might honeycomb shades be your best choice? Honeycomb shades are a wonderful design if you are looking for an elegant solution to cold drafts, rooms that overheat, and overall energy efficiency.
● Honeycomb shades improve on the cellular design to absorb cold drafts that might normally emanate from your windows in the winter. They solve that problem of glass that radiates cold so strongly that you can feel it simply by placing your hand near the glass. That cold is instead absorbed by the shades fabric and the hexagonal layer of air in between.
● Unlike heavy drapes, honeycomb shades are equally appropriate in the summer. Just as they protect from cold window drafts, honeycomb shades can keep the summer sun from overheating rooms that get a great deal of sun during summer mornings or afternoons. The same technology allows the fabric and air pockets to absorb and gently disperse heat from hot summer windows.
● Together, these two effects result in a remarkable energy efficiency boost for your home. Summer or winter, your air will need less energy to keep rooms with large windows at the right temperature while your honeycomb shades are drawn.
● Many have noted that the even horizontal lines and rounded ripple of honeycomb shades provide an elegant yet welcoming feel to any room. Perfect for living rooms, offices, and bedrooms alike, honeycomb shades appear orderly enough for formal spaces, yet soft enough to suit any environment.
● Like many shades, your choice of fabric can determine how much light is blocked by your honeycomb shades. Just remember that because of the folding, cellular nature of the shades that there will be multiple layers of each chosen fabric. Honeycomb shades tend toward more light blocking, but sheer fabrics can act as a diffuser sharing a warm glow when sunshine hits your windows.
● Honeycomb shades can be relied on to provide your desired amount of privacy. The multi-layered fabric means that even sheer fabrics are quite obscuring, and most shades fabrics provide a completely opaque privacy screen for your windows.
Due to their naturally rigid and even design, honeycomb shades are quite versatile in how they can be installed and operated. Whether you prefer a traditional top-mounted manual pull or modern motorized shades that extend up from the bottom, the choice is entirely yours.
● Mount your honeycomb shades from the top for traditional sunshine control, choose bottom-mounted shades for an avant-garde look, mount your shades in the middle and extend both up and down. These rigid shades can handle any choice.
● Honeycomb shades are perfect for tension-pull design when mounted from the top for a safe, cord-free installation. Tension pull naturally sets the shades at the level where you pull them to, and raising them is a simple matter of pushing up on the lower bar until you reach your desired level.
● Many homes enjoy motorized shades, and honeycomb shades extend perfectly cell by cell when motoried. You can easily integrate honeycomb shades with stylish motorization controlled by a remote or, these days, even a phone app.
● Smart home shades operation takes motorized shades to the next level by integrating mobile app and voice controls to raise or lower your honeycomb shades automatically.
Lastly, you may be wondering if the cellular design of honeycomb shades need any special cleaning tips. If so, you're absolutely correct. Cleaning cellular shades does require a little know-how but it's really quite easy.
● Use canned air to blast out dust and debris from inside the cells
● Use a narrow vacuum extension to pull out dust that may settle there
● Use a narrow cleaning wand to dust the ridges inside and outside your honeycomb shades
It's as simple as that. If you know how to clean the ridges and inside the cells, your honeycomb shades will remain beautiful, insulating, and energy-efficient for many years.
If you're delighted by the efficient and elegant style of honeycomb shades, Spokane Blinds can help you choose just the right fabric and style for any space. Contact us today to explore your options for honeycomb shades and many other window treatment styles.
