Cellular shades are a versatile window covering with benefits that include energy efficiency, ease of use, and affordability. They can add a modern aesthetic to any room offering gentle, diffused sunlight with privacy all the way to bedrooms that require room darkening shades.
Some of the Benefits of Cellular Shades
Cellular shades offer insulation, privacy, and light control for your windows. Cellular shades are designed with small cells between two layers of fabric. These cells create a honeycomb pattern in between the two layers of fabric which is why many times cellular shades are referred to as honeycomb shades.
This design makes them energy-efficient because the pockets between the two layers of fabric create a layer of insulation between your windows and the temperature inside your home. These shades are either a single cell design (meaning they have one air pocket) or a double cell design (meaning they have two air pockets). This can be especially useful in warm weather climates like Jacksonville. The double cell design offers a very high level of insulation for your windows during the extreme summer months and can save you quite a bit of money with their energy efficiency.
Understanding the Energy Efficiency of Cellular Shades
R-value is the value assigned to an insulating material--it describes a product’s ability to resist heat flow (the higher the value, the greater the insulation). A typical, standard window has an R-value of 3.5. When adding cellular shades to those windows, you can increase your R-value to a 7 rating. This significant increase in insulation makes cellular shades an investment that pays for itself in the long run. By slowing down the transfer of direct sunlight and controlling radiant heat gain and loss, cellular shades help homeowners to save a bundle all year long on energy costs.
Design Options
These shades have many different options to choose from. They come in different shapes, colors, and styles. They also come in a variety of light control options, pleat sizes, and customized preferences for opening and closing your shades. Below are some of the different options available:
How Much Light Do You Prefer
There are many options for how much light you prefer to have coming through your shades, and this is referred to as the level of opacity you want from your cellular shade. Cellular shades are unique in that they are available in every option for window treatment opacities (from lightest to darkest); sheer, semi-sheer, semi-opaque, and opaque. They offer complete light control for each room in your home.
The great thing about this is that you can choose different levels of light dissemination for each room that you have in your house while maintaining the same shade design style throughout your home. The darkest cellular shades are referred to as blackout cellular shades and are a great choice for bedrooms, media rooms, or any other room that requires total room darkening.
Would you Like to Pull Your Shades Up or Down or Both
Cellular shades have three options for opening and closing them: you can open them from the top-down or bottom-up. There are options where you can open and close your shades with a cord, or you can choose a motorized version. With the top-down-bottom-up option, you can raise the shades from the bottom, but you can also lower the shades from the top of the window. This can be a great way to have privacy while still allowing natural light to flow in from the top of the window.
Cordless cellular shades are wonderful for families with young children. These are a safe option to keep cords away from young children--creating one less safety hazard in your home. And then, motorized cellular shades make it incredibly easy for you to raise and lower your shades at any time with the simple use of a remote. With any of these options, when you need to open the shades completely, they take up very little room when stacked together making them easily disappear behind decorative window coverings.
Pick your Design Aesthetic with Different Colors, Pleat Sizes, and Fabrics
Cellular shades come in a variety of colors and fabrics, and many of these choices depend on how much light you want to come through the shades. Cellular shades can be made with very small pleat sizes or larger pleats depending on your design aesthetic. A general rule of thumb is to increase the pleat size for larger windows, and have a smaller pleat size for smaller windows.
Let us Help You Design Cellular Shades for Your Home at All About Blinds & Shutters
At All About Blinds & Shutters, we are happy to help you select the perfect cellular shades to make your home’s temperature cozy in every room. You can refresh your home’s interior by installing our beautiful cellular shades, or any of our other window treatment options. All About Blinds & Shutters can help you save energy in your home this fall. Schedule an appointment for your in-home estimate here.
