Make the Most of Summer with Solar Shades

What better way to beat the heat - and still enjoy the summer - than with the comfort and protection solar shades provide? Often referred to as “sunglasses for the home”, much like sunglasses, solar shades come in a wide variety of “prescriptions”, ranging from basic light filtering to room darkening.

Proactive home and business owners all across the Middle Tennessee area are employing the use of versatile solar shades for their many benefits. Most people install solar shades for their ability to reduce the sun’s glare and heat, effectively reducing summer cooling costs and protecting their interior from fading. Another benefit to solar shades is the ability to continue to enjoy the view, while adding an element of privacy. Of course, if privacy is a primary concern, a room darkening shade will keep you under cover, as well as create the perfect environment for daytime viewing of large screen presentations.

The solar shades of today are as beautiful as they are functional. Available in a variety of colors and weave styles, the addition of solar shades can perfectly accentuate your design aesthetic. Of course, as pictured in the photo above, solar shades are a wonderful way to make an outdoor space, like a porch, bath house, or pergola more functional and inviting.

Solar shades may be installed indoors or out, and are often used in conjunction with complimentary window treatments. Would prefer a remote control motorized version so you don’t have to interrupt your midday work around the home to manage the shades? No problem. All you have to do is say the word.

At Just Add Shutters Nashville, we can help you find the perfect shade solutions for your home or office. Looking for more than just shades? We also specialize in shutters and custom blinds as well. Call Just Add Shutters today at (615) 296-0661. We look forward to hearing from you!

For information about special offers from Just Add Shutters, click below: http://www.justaddshuttersnashville.com/

Using Shades & Blinds for Summer Energy Savings

  

We may love the warmth of the spring and summer sun, but chances are our energy bill doesn’t! Although windows provide much needed light and ventilation, summer sun streaming through panes of glass can quickly overwhelm your home with heat. In areas with hot summers, this added heat increases energy use, as your air conditioner has to work longer to cool your home. Energy Star-approved windows reduce this solar heat gain, but replacing windows is an expensive project to undertake. How about a more cost effective solution? Installing beautiful custom blinds to beat the heat will help you save energy and keep your home cool without breaking the bank.

How to use blinds for maximum energy savings

Completely closing your interior and exterior blinds whenever the summer sun is shining directly through the windows will keep your home cool and to save the most energy. For example, east-facing windows should be blocked in the morning. As the sun moves higher, you can open the slats of interior blinds to allow in some light. Once the sun is no longer shining through the window, you may fully open the blinds. If you need daylight in a room while the sun still directly hits the window, turn the slats of Venetian blinds so the light is directed toward the ceiling, or better yet, incorporate Top Down Bottom Up shades in your rooms, which give you the option of lowering the shade from the top. However, only do this if you have a pale ceiling, as dark ceilings will absorb the light and heat up the room.

Blinds, shades, shutters or any window treatment that can be closed will help to stop solar heat gain and can take a big bite out of your summer energy bill. Need some help choosing the styles and designs that would best enhance your home? You’re in luck! Just Add Shutters is your Middle Tennessee custom blinds experts. Need to update existing window installations? We specialize in shutters, shades, and custom blind sales and installation. Call Just Add Shutters today at (615) 296-0661. We look forward to hearing from you!

For information about special offers from Just Add Shutters, click below: http://www.justaddshuttersnashville.com/

Just Add Shutters for Charm, Romance & History

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, then you, like so many others, may have returned with a deep, passionate love for shutters. There’s nothing else like classic, beautiful wooden shutters to transform a home into a place with history. It’s the kind of history that sparks the penning of romance novels, with a gentle heroine gazing longingly through the tilted slats, imagining her long lost love returning to her. You could just as easily imagine the author of those novels perched at a desk just beyond the windowsill, taking note as the day unfolds, as interpreted by the sweet summer breeze that gently beckons and entices. Or perhaps you remember the images of mama, throwing open the shutters, tidying the sheets, tending to the children, and stopping to rest but for a moment before preparing the children’s lunch and completing her baking for the day. Can you remember the glorious scent of those tantalizing pies, loaves of bread, cakes and cookies slipping through the windows, and dancing provocatively on the breeze?

Shutters transform the look and feel of a home instantly, adding charm, romance, drama, heritage, and maybe even a touch of heroism to a home! At Just Add Shutters, we can help you create the custom look you love, from Plantation Shutters to Cellular Shades and Roman Blinds.  For a wide selection of styles, contact Just Add Shutters. Want to transform your home or even office with beautiful, affordable, custom window installations by a trusted  Greater Nashville company? We specialize in wood or vinyl interior or exterior shutters, as well as shades, and custom blind sales and installation. Call Just Add Shutters today at (615) 257-0666. We look forward to hearing from you!

For information about special offers from Just Add Shutters, click the link below: http://www.justaddshuttersnashville.com/

Shutter Trivia

The origin of shutters dates back to ancient Greece. There, shutters were used chiefly for the purpose of:

1. Signaling one another of incoming troops.
2. As convenient, functional shelving for food preparation and drying.
3. Shielding people from strong sunlight.

Shutters were also protected from animals, pests, storms, and intruders - and far more effectively than simple windows.

The first shutters were made of:

1. Dried Clay
2. Thatched Grass
3. Marble

As shutters became more popular throughout Europe, they were increasingly made of wood - a much more flexible and user friendly material.

Around the 1500’s, at the advent of the invention of glass, shutters again got a face-lift. Because glass was so expensive, Only the upper half of the window was glazed. Therefore, only the lower half of the window opening needed to be covered with shutters. These mid-height shutters were called:

1. Pane Doors
2. Cafe Shutters
3. Flapjacks

As glass windows became more and more common, shutters began to be considered not only for their functional purposes, but also for their decorative value. These decorative shutters were placed on the outside of the home to add aesthetic appeal, a style which was especially favored in these kinds of homes:

1. Victorian
2. Mongolian
3. Yurts

As history progressed, we saw the invention of many new styles of window treatments, including that caused shutters’ popularity to wane, particularly:

1. Window Panes
2. Window Scarves
3. Blinds and Shades

Today, shutters have made a beautiful comeback. Among the many sought after styles of shutters available, plantation shutters and soft fabric shutters are two of the hottest. For a wide selection of these styles and others, contact Just Add Shutters. Need updated window installations by a trusted Nashville company? We specialize in shutters, shades, and custom blind sales and installation. Call Just Add Shutters today at (615) 296-0661. We look forward to hearing from you!

For information about special offers from Just Add Shutters, click below: http://www.justaddshuttersnashville.com/

5 Reasons Exterior Shutters Rock!

Most new homes come with a stock set of blinds on the inside of a window to block out the light, but Just Add Shutters of Goodlettsville, Tn. thought we’d provide you with this list of the 5 Reasons Exterior Shutters ROCK!

1.     Protection.  We know exposed windows are in vogue at the moment, but with exterior shutters, if you want your windows to show, all you have to do is flip the shutters back and let the sunshine in!  The benefit of having exterior shutters is the provide a buffer between your window and the elements in the event of a storm

2.     Light Control.  Shutters are an easy and efficient way of controlling the amount of natural light (and heat) coming into your home.  Scrap the drawstrings that snag, tangle and break and opt for solid wood sliding exterior panels!

3.     Security.  Like windows, most exterior shutters come with a lock to keep them from flying open in foul weather.  If you’re looking for an added layer of home security, exterior shutters are a great first barrier between your home and any intruders.

4.     Privacy.  Shutters are welcoming in appearance, but still provide a layer of privacy to your home.  Wanted guests feel welcomed by the shutters, while people looking to snoop will be turned off by the covering home shutters offer.

5.     Aesthetics.  Exterior shutters have been around for hundreds of years and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.  If you’re looking for a way to make your home more welcoming and classic, exterior shutters are a great outside home dressing!

Just Add Shutters in Goodlettsville, TN also services Nashville and the surrounding areas.  We specialize in shutters, shades, and custom blind sales and installation.  We also do interior window design and treatments, unusual window treatments, bedroom window treatments, commercial window treatments.  Our shutter selection includes plantation shutters, interior shutters, wooden shutters, faux wood shutters, composite shutters, vinyl shutters, and interior as well as exterior shutters.

Benefits of Wood Blinds

You moved into your home 10 years ago when the kids started kindergarten.  The apartment you were living in downtown was beautiful, but the school district just outside of downtown had better public schools.   

The home was definitely a fixer upper.  You started with the carpets, which were 30 years old, tore them up and had hardwood floors installed.  Next you moved onto the kitchen, granite counter tops and disguised dishwashers and refrigerators that look like cabinetry.  Then you moved on to the bathroom, re tiled, re grouted, installed new shower heads and water conservation flush toilets.  And now you’ve moved on to the blinds.

Like the old carpet, the blinds, mostly aluminum and no longer fitting the finer aesthetic of your home, are in dire need of a makeover.  You want to go with wood shutters, but you’re not totally convinced of the benefits of wood shutters in your home and wonder if maybe you should just upgrade the aluminum.  At Just Add Shutters, we specialize in selling and intalling all types of blinds, shutters, and drapes.  But today we thought we’d provide you with a list of benefits to classic wood shutters.

1.     Interior shutters can be a permanent replacement in in-home decoration.  In many homes throughout Europe, especially from the Georgian era, wood shutters were once prominent and are still a fixture on the windows of antique homes to this day.

2.     Wood shutters block out light better than other window coverings such as metal blinds or drapes. 

3.     Like granite counter tops or hardwood floors, having high quality wooden shutters increases a home’s value exponentially.

4.     Now that we're in the summer months, wood shutters keep homes cooler by deflecting excess sunlight.

5.     Because of deflecting sunlight, wood shuttersreduce cooling costs.

6.     Unlike drapes, shades and curtains, wood shuttersdon’t fade.

7.     Wood shutters are timeless and won’t change in style a year or two after you have them installed.

Just Add Shutters in Goodlettsville, TN also servicesNashville and the surrounding areas.  We specialize in shutters, shades, and custom blind sales and installation.  We also do interior window design and treatments, unusual window treatments, bedroom window treatments, commercialwindow treatments.  Our shutter selection includes plantation shutters, interior shutters, wooden shutters, faux woodshutters, composite shutters, vinyl shutters, and interior as well as exteriorshutters.

Tips for Picking the Right Window Treatment

Most homes nowadays come with stock venetian blinds, made with cheap flimsy material, and drawstrings that snag and tangle after just a few uses.

To save you the headache of searching for something new to add to your home windows, Just Add Shutters compiled a list of common things to consider before adding shutter replacements to your home.

1.     Light Control.  If your main concern, like most people when purchasing shades or blinds, is to control the amount of sunlight coming into your apartment, make sure you know your choices.  Do you want blackout shades, or light filtering shades, operable slats, or cellular shades that only offer an “open view” when fully up?

2.     Insulation.  Adding the right blinds or shades can cut off up to 25% of your home energy bill by lowering heating and cooling costs.  Honeycomb cellular shades are the best choice for keeping heat or cold inside, but draperies work great for interior heating and cooling as well, and exterior shades work well for cooling outsie.

3.     Aesthetics.  At Just Add Shutters, we know shutters, blinds, shades, and  draperies can make a huge impact on the aesthetic value a home has on its guests or prospective buyers.  Always make sure you consider the aesthetics of the shades your buying in relation to the style of the rest of your home.

4.     Cost.  We know high end wood blinds or upper end cell shades can get pricey, that’s why at Just Add Shutters, we also recommend faux wood blinds, pleated shades, and honeycomb shades if you’re interested in doing your shutter replacement on a budget.

Just Add Shutters is located in Goodlettsville, TN.  We specialize in all types of window treatments including shutters, shades, and blinds, custom blinds, cost friendly shutters, plantation shutters, interior shutters, wooden shutters, vinyl shutters and interior and exterior shutters.

And right now take 20% off any interior plantation shutter!