Tips and Advice
NEW BLINDS:
The Creative Blinds and Shades team provides a full manufacture and installation service for all styles of blinds. We cater for a broad spectrum of budgets, design styles, indoor and outdoor blinds, Australian and European origins, all manufactured locally when possible. As proud members of the Blind Makers Association of Australia, we endeavor to supply the right product, made to the highest standard, within the time frame stated at time of quotation.
REPAIRS & PARTS:
Creative Blinds and Shades offer a blind repair service for many different types of blinds. Some blinds are easy to repair whilst others may need to be replaced. Blinds purchased at certain retail centers do not have parts available, and need to be treated as disposable items. Vertical drape repairs or replacements are often able to be achieved. Venetian blind repairs need to be assessed for parts and maker suitability. Needless to say, whatever your blind type, we undertake to help whenever possible.
ADVICE:
Based on our decades of experience in the industry, throughout this website you will find many TIPS like the one below:
TIP: An outdoor blind on a window is the best product to stop heat coming into your home. This is because it stops the sun hitting the glass and entering as heat energy. An indoor blind is trying to repel the heat energy after it has already entered inside your home!
These are an example of how we try to give you the correct facts and advice of the many and various types of blinds suitable for your home. We are happy to give an on-site, obligation free quote and then let you decide the best option for your situation.
CUSTOM BUILDS:
Our experienced team specializes in customizing to suit individual requirements. Where others may find a solution ‘too hard’, we think outside the box to create solutions. Examples include special swiveling tracks for outdoor blinds to enable your blinds to be at any angle from your wall or posts. Another example is our ability to propose special blinds for triangle, round or high fix windows. Call us today about your unique situation.
MAINTENANCE:
All blinds require some sort of maintenance! It may be as simple as a dusting or vacuum every so often, or for outdoor slidetrack blinds they require more regular spraying with Silicone lubricant spray. Each fabric type is different and requires varied methods of cleaning. Some have antistatic properties meaning they repel dust. Others have an absorbent nature so a water repelling spray such as Scotchguard® should be used to prevent damage. Clear PVC outdoor blinds can be cleaned with proprietry products such as Windex or Vuplex. We stock waterproofing for canvas products, silicone spray for all smooth operating of blinds, various paint colours in spray cans for touching up scratches etc, and also provide a removal, maintenance and re-install service should your blinds need it.
CHILD SAFETY:
All our blinds are manufactured to comply with child safety legislation. We secure all looped chain controls to the wall, and highly recommend that motorization is considered so no chains or cords are required at all. For all outdoor blinds we advise that spring loaded options are a safer alternative to rope & pulley operated blinds. For indoor Vertical blinds we utilise wand controls to ensure no cords can pose a potential child safety issue.
For Landlords, Real Estate companies and tenants, we are happy to provide a quotation and/or service to ensure the blinds are compliant with the child safety legislation for rental houses. Read more about the legislation here.
TIP: MOIRÉ EFFECT: Both indoor and outdoor mesh blinds can cause a distortion when viewed against a flywire screen on a window or door. This is known as the Moiré Effect. These visual patterns can be produced when a fabric with transparent gaps is overlayed with another mesh with transparent gaps. For the Moire Pattern to appear, the two fabrics must be slightly displaced, rotated, or be of different sizes. (This is the same effect that occurs when a photo is taken of a television screen; the background is very distorted.) This Moiré Effect will occur regardless of mesh type, fabric supplier, or blind supplier.
SUN ANGLES:
Blinds can be both decorative and functional in nature. If the main purpose of an indoor or outdoor blind is to be a sunblock, then it’s vital that the orientation of the sun is looked at.
Consider the following for Perth each year:
December 22 in the Summer, the sun rises in the ESE, and sets in the WSW.
June 21 in the Winter, the sun rises in the ENE, and sets in the WNW.
At the same time, the sun’s angle also changes vertically:
December 22, the sun is 8* off true vertical towards the North.
June 21, the sun is 48* off vertical, or half way towards the horizon in the North!
This huge change in angle from Summer to Winter makes a massive difference to advising EFFECTIVE solutions for shading. It is why retractable products are a better option to fixed solutions, so the warming winter sun can be taken advantage of, whilst the heat of summer can be blocked out.
