Although our bamboo shades are made to last a very long time without any repairs, sometimes things can happen and it may become necessary to restring one of your shades. If you should find your shade’s cord has broken, give us a call and one of our friendly Customer Support Specialists can assist you in obtaining some brand new cords. When you receive these here are a few simple steps that you can follow to put your window treatment back in working order:

Traditional Cords:

Check out this quick silent video to watch one of our experts:

1. Cut your cords the correct length. The correct length is the sum of three measurements. a) On the back of the shade the height from the bottom cord ring to the headrail, b) The measurement from the headrail to the middle of the shade (1/2 way), and c) the measurement in width from the cord track to the cord lock. Please note that for each column this measurement will be different. For example if your shade is 50" wide, there will be one column close to your cord lock and one or more columns farther from your cord locks.

2. Start with the longest cord at the front of your shade and pull your cord through the cord lock mechanism starting at in the innermost track on the underside of the mechanism, through the midle of the two cord lock pieces and then out towards the next pulley to the left or right of the cord mechanism. You will go through each pulley horizontally until you get to the last pulley (There may be one or two pulleys depending on the size of your shade).

Continuous Cord Loop:

1. The cords must be tied at the rod and secured under the clip. The knot will hold the cords in place.
2. The cord then goes into the clip on the bottom of the plastic piece that holds the rod to the headrail. This way, the cord will be secured to the rod when it is rotated.
3. Next, the cords will go through the grommet to the back of the shade and continue down the guide rings on the back of the fabric.
4. The bottom of the cord then goes through the tassel and is tied off. Each of the knots can be re-adjusted to ensure the shade will raise evenly.

Make sure to take a look at your bamboo shade and its current cords prior to beginning this process. This will help you feel more familiar with the parts and assemblies so that these directions will make any restringing a snap.

Happy repairing,

Many times customers and businesses use the terms blind and shade synonymously. So when it comes to a Bamboo window treatment, this mixing of verbiage can cause confusion. Even we use the term interchangeable ways since and actual shade is usually what customers are looking for even if they search for bamboo blinds. So what is the difference? A shade is usually a piece of fabric or in this case, woven wood (bamboo, grass, reed, fabric, etc) that is raised and lowered in either a roman style, or a roll-up style (the former being more elegant generally). A blind, however, indicates thee are slats that tilt open and closed, like venetian blinds, mini blinds, etc, there are slats, made solely or primarily with bamboo. These slats may have a woven look, or may look very similar to a basswood blind - depending on how they are manufactured. True bamboo window blinds are much more of a niche product, since they are usually a bit more expensive than bass wood blinds, yet look similar (although they are ‘greener’); whereas, bamboo shades are quite en vogue with designers right now, who often dress a window with a combination of a bamboo shade, and colorful drapery panel set.

Hopefully this helps explain the difference, but if you still have any questions, give us a call and we’d be happy to discuss with you in more detail!

With home heating costs this season estimated to go through the roof, there are viable ways to maximize the energy efficiency of your home with the proper window coverings.

Hitting home for many families is the ever-increasing cost of energy.  If you live in a cold climate you are probably feeling the pinch of fuel costs even if they are a bit down from earlier in the year.  I lived in Pennsylvania for many years and I was acutely aware of this.  It seemed that every winter the prices just kept going up.

Cellular shades can actually pay for themselves with the money saved in energy cost.  In today’s economy it’s definitely a wise economic decision.

Now more than ever we are offering the ultimate combination of quality, affordability, convenience and SPEED!

Check out more details on this aspect that we think will revolutionize online blind buying and check out our

press release.

1. Take your blind down and take the old pull-cord out.
2. Next feed your new pull cord through the cord lock and out through the top-rail.
3. Next feed the cord through each slat without putting the cord through the ladder (that holds and tilts the slats)
4. Once it is through the bottom rail, push it through the button under the bottom rail and tie a not large enough so that it does not pull through your blinds again.
5. Hang it back up on your wall and make the final length adjustments to ensure that the cord is inline with the other cords on your blind.

Any of our horizontal fauxwood and bass wood blind selections will work perfectly on your door, just like they did for your window.  Just make sure to specify outside mount when ordering and you will have a valance with side returns to cover the front and sides of the headrail.  Also, when you are customizing your width, height, color, etc. make sure that you choose the option for hold down brackets.  These brackets will hold the bottom rail of the blind in place so that when you open and close the French doors, the blinds do not slam back against the frame.

So, you checked out our site and ordered your beautiful bamboo shades and now you want to coordinate something to match for your French doors.  You don’t have to compromise, go with the same treatment that you know will be fabulous.  Any of our bamboo shades can be ordered for a door.  Just make sure to select outside mount and we will make sure to include some side returns for the valance.  Worried because you don’t see an option for hold down brackets?  While none of the shades will come with hold down brackets, but many of our customers have said that they bought a heavy duty Velcro to use in place of traditional brackets.  The bottom of the shade is now secure and the woven woods are not damaged!  How genius is that?

If the horizontal blinds and shades are not your thing for your French doors and you are insisting on curtains, okay, I understand.  But, you can stay away from the typical sheers or sashed treatments.  Opt for an asymmetrical valance hung up above the doors.  Or, for more coverage, use a full sized curtain hung high above the doors.  You can get a decorative rod, hang our hand made silk curtains, and put up some tiebacks to move them out of the way when you want more light.

By sticking with our suggestions you will not only have an updated look on the French doors, but an added Zen feeling.  With your room now streamlined, your family and neighbors are sure to be very complimentary.  And the nice thing is, you paid less by shopping with Payless Décor.