The Innovative Openings Blog

Solar Shades Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

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Solar Shades are the hands-down window treatment choice for reducing your home’s energy usage. We all know that they look beautiful, but what can they really do for your carbon footprint or your financial bottom line? Solar screen shades make your home more energy efficient in two ways Reduced cooling costs Solar shade fabric is manufactured with precision… both the weave and the content are important to their performance! The yarns themselves reduce both visual and heat energy from the sun at your window, absorbing some of that energy and reflecting some. The amount of empty space between the yarns allows a small amount of the light to pass through, which allows you to be able to see through them, which is the magical part. Ok, not magic but science. The percentage of the fabric that is open (also called it’s density factor) also determines how much of the harmful UV…Read More

Get Award Winning Window Treatments in YOUR Home!

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Imagine… award-winning blinds on your windows… The Window Covering Manufacturers Association 2014 Product Awards were announced on July 1st, and Innovative Openings is proud to feature a number of award winning products! Award-winners for your windows UL Listed Motorized Shade Systems from Insolroll We’re especially proud of this product- we are the manufacturer! These motorized shades are the pinnacle in motorized shade safety, proudly bearing the “UL Listed” label on the roller tube, indicating to inspectors that the shade has achieved the highest documentable standard of safety and making the electrical inspection process easier. If you want the best in solar shades, blackout shades or decorative shades, this is it! Heritance® Hardwood Shutters Collection: Product of the Year This beautiful classic from Hunter Douglas has a whole new collection of wood tone/color offerings for hardwood shutters, and updated frames to show your home in its very best light! Complement high-end…Read More

4th of July Patio Entertaining: Make it Beautiful!

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Hosting for the Fourth of July this year, and dreaming of creating the perfect patio setting? Here are a few finds to inspire you! A Patriotic Patio for a Day or for a Season You can go a couple of ways with red, white and blue on your patio… fun accents and flourishes, or a well thought out design plan for the season if this palette makes your heart sing! Images link to their original online source. If red, white and blue is for you: Consider slightly more permanent pieces that live on your patio for the season, and maybe beyond! White patio furniture is absolutely classic, but today’s fresh takes will wow you… look for the new resin weaves in furnishings with clean lines that move far beyond the white wicker furniture of the past. Maybe you just want to go with white cushions on a natural, metal or…Read More

Patio Awning Fabrics are not what they used to be!

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If you haven’t taken a look at the fabric selection available for patio awnings lately, it’s time to look again! Even I was surprised when I took a look this week at the vast variety of fabric offerings Innovative Openings offers from Durasol and Sunesta, and the truth was right there in front of me: awnings ain’t what they used to be! Awnings, Old School The patio awnings I remember from my youth had one basic incarnation: bold stripes and a scalloped valance hanging from the front. Now, there’s nothing wrong with crisp, high contrast stripes, in the right setting. But it’s not for every setting or every home, and it’s not your only choice anymore! The New Choices in Solid Colors When I talked with Liz  in the showroom, they pointed out that a lot of customers are interested in solid fabric colors for awnings this year… and when you…Read More

personalize your patio

Plan to Personalize Your Patio, and Don’t Forget Shade!

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You know what that Pharrell song “Happy” says… “like a room without a roof”. Hellooo…! That’s your patio! If there’s a place to be happy during summer, this is it! How can you make your patio a personalized place to be happy? Here are 7 easy planning ideas from Innovative Openings. 1. What do you want to do on your patio? Do you want to just kick back in a deep, soft chair and watch the clouds go by? Do you want to eat meals outside? I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again: figure out what you really want to do in your outdoor space, and then plan, purchase and arrange accordingly. If al fresco entertaining is what you dream of, a space plan might include a great outdoor kitchen, extra seating, and something that functions as a buffet. If it’s really all about relaxing, skip the dining table…Read More

Silhouette Window Shadings from Innovative Openings- They’re Magic!

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Today, I’d like to write a blog on Silhouette Window Shadings by Hunter Douglas.  Here goes: Silhouette Window Shadings are beautiful. The end. …………..     What? You need more? There is nothing more- that one word says it all. Okay… maybe there is more, but that is the most intrinsic thing about Silhouettes- they are quite simply beautiful. You get an almost ethereal combination of function and form with Silhouettes- almost more than one window treatment deserves to have. The ingenious vanes operate similarly to time honored venetian blinds, but they are a quantum leap beyond where that design left off. Hunter Douglas’ Ingenious Silhouette® Design Hunter’s own description of the Silhouette® window shadings design says that the “Signature S-Vane™” “magically” floats between two sheers. Magic. Who couldn’t use a little more magic? But, I digress. The magically floating S-Vanes in concert with the two layers of sheer fabric create all…Read More

Skyline gliding window panels room darkening bedroom

Skyline® Gliding Window Panels: shades with multiple personalities!

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Have you taken a look at Skyline® Gliding Window Panels? This unique Hunter Douglas window treatment is clean, elegant, and versatile. Skyline Gliding Window Panels for tall, soaring windows… yes! Skyline looks gorgeous in extremely tall windows, almost like a variable accent wall with texture and light. Depending on the fabric you choose, you can have view through or light diffusion, or a lightly patterned but sheer fabric that neither stops the eye nor loses it to the views beyond.   Skyline Gliding Window Panels for more intimate spaces… yes! Skyline for multiple design styles… yes!     Skyline for room dividers… yes! You have to agree that Skyline is versatile in both style and function! Once you start thinking outside the box, there are countless possibilities for how Skyline Gliding Window Panels could enhance your living situation. I can imagine masking off a home office or play area, or…Read More

Patio awning installation

Why buy blinds locally from Innovative Openings in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins? The real value story…

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In our fast paced society, sometimes it feels hard to justify getting up and going down to a showroom, or having someone out to the house to buy a product for your home. There are tempting alternatives in online sellers, but is this really the way to buy window treatments? At Innovative Openings, we believe the answer is no, and in order to back up that conviction, we want to share where we believe the value really is in buying from us. Design and measuring No matter where you buy your blinds, measuring to get them right is… tricky. There’s a lot to know, and a lot that can go wrong. Outside mounts, inside mounts, deductions or no deductions, very high, hard to reach windows, and just plain lack of experience on your part. At Innovative Openings, we do the measuring for you, using our expertise, experience and equipment. You…Read More

Luminette counterparts

Get in the Flow: Hunter Douglas Makes it Easy with Counterparts®!

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If you hang around with designers much, you’ll hear them talking about “flow”. We don’t always know when we see it, but we sure know when we feel it… as human beings, we like reference points. We like elements to be repeated. We like to have some expectations met, while other elements surprise us. Flow can happen in a room, or in an entire house. It can come from colors, materials, or shades, and it moves you effortlessly from one space to another. Some people worry about being “matchy, matchy” so much that they forgo related elements that create flow, and their spaces can become ruled by chaotic energy. Calm things down a little… don’t shy away from all “matching”… think of it as “rhythm” instead. “Flow” in Window Treatments; get it even without a designer from Hunter Douglas! In the world of window treatments, Hunter Douglas’ Counterparts® Whole House…Read More

Oasis® 2800 patio shade

Patio Shades and the Plants that Love Them

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Creating Some Shade Opens up Planting Possibilities! We always think just the opposite, right? Plants need sun! Truthfully, though, when you think of lush tropical plants, many of them need filtered light in order to thrive. When you shade your patio, you are opening up worlds of possibility for patio plants in containers. I like to bring some bigger houseplants outside in the summer, but I learned the hard way that too much sun is even more deadly for some plants than it is for your skin. One summer, I burned the leaves of my beautiful rubber plant when I brought it out onto the deck under the bright and hot direct Colorado sun- lesson learned! Greenery That Loves Filtered Light Adds Lushness Some people think that adding patio shades will limit the plants they are able to grow on a patio or deck, but in fact, the opposite is…Read More