There may be no mention of a recall yet on the Penneys site because all roman and roll up blinds depending on the mechanics are being re-called that were ever made regardless of the company. I have roll up matchstick blinds at all of my downstairs windows and supposed child safe ones from IKEA at my upstairs windows. I always make sure that the cords are up and away but most importantly I've always made sure that my childrens cribs/ beds were/ are NEVER w/in arms reach of a blind. It's inevitable that some of my downstairs furniture will be near them but I take great common sense caution. I will not be replacing my blinds but I will be getting the fix-it kit as soon as I can get through. I was a little alarmed at the dad that they showed on the news over and over whose son got caught up in a blind cord from his crib. They had the crib right by the blind and I think that the dad was a pediatrics Dr. Now don't blast me - I could have misinterpreted something in that story but overall a little common sense please! 2yrs ago I was visiting my sister when suddenly her oldest child came running upstairs and said that so and so was stuck in the blind. We had no idea what she could be talking about and mosied on down and there was her 3rd child HANGING by the neck from the roll up blind cord while 5 other kids were standing there ranging in age from 2yrs to 9yrs. His little face was all red and he couldn't talk. I quick grabbed him and lifted him up to relieve the hanging pressure and then handed him to his mom while I went to work on the cord. There was a train table under the window and he had climbed up onto it and was doing something he shouldn't have been - never got the whole story as to why he did what he did - let his mom handle that. I'm not concerned w/ DS1 (never was) and I keep a close eye on DS2 because he's a wild card and we'll see w/ DD but you can NEVER take for granted that even the best child may not try something. I always 'pop in' on the kids wherever they are every few minutes when I hear them playing. Most times they know I'm popping in but many a time I just peek and watch quietly. If I don't hear them I go check right away. It's a lot of back and forth and up and down but I CHOOSE to do that because I'm aware of what can happen w/ the blinds (or anything else) and I CHOOSE to NOT replace them so I must be extra viligent.

Why the complete horror at the idea of vertical blinds? I knew they weren't as popular as they used to be, but they certainly make sense in a lot of applications. We have a floor-to-ceiling 12'+ wide window in our living room and *need* privacy. We've had vertical blinds for the last 25 years or more. The current set is soft off-white and stacks pretty slim. Generally the panes are rotated open rather than fully pulled aside, but it's nice on occasion, like after a snowfall, to have them wide open. They're not completely opaque so they let in some soft light even when completely closed; our previous set, fabric backed by rigid plastic, was better at blocking light, but we didn't really need a blackout feature in that room. When closed they're flat and not intrusive, just a plain backdrop. I've no immediate plans to replace them but have wondered idly what I would choose. I'm not sure any kind of horizontal blind comes that big, and I know from experience with a smaller window that wooden blinds can be VERY heavy in big sizes. We could get side-by-side cellular shades but from what I've seen it can be difficult to get them to align without being crooked. We also have a couch in front of that window so it would be difficult to raise and lower separate sections unless there was a remote control. The current vertical blind is all one piece with controls in a convenient place. Pleated traditional draperies can look nice but are VERY expensive, and perhaps too formal for our mixed contemporary style (though I know that's debatable). The previous owners had beautiful custom-made lined draperies and I'm sure they paid a fortune, but by the time we moved in the linings were completely sun-rotted. I don't get many ideas from magazines because they generally show big windows as bare, but that's not an option in a neighborhood with close-set houses like ours. I also hate the black hole look of bare windows at night. I'd love to hear some suggestions for treating such a big window.

Stay away from Smith and Noble. Stay far, far away. I ordered 6 shades. I paid Smith and Noble to come measure. When the shades arrived, 5 of the 6 were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch too wide for the windows. I asked to return the shades to get my money back. Turns out their "satisfaction guarantee pledge" means that they won't give you your money back, no matter what. They insist on coming back to re-measure, but a) I can't take time off from work again for this, and b) why would I want to run the risk of further screw ups and hassle? Their customer service staff come across as Soviet-style bureaucrats. Evidently, Smith and Noble could care less about disappointing their customers and engendering ill will. I guess my next steps are to file complaints with the BBB and my state's attorney general, as well as dispute the original charge with my credit card company. I'll probably send the shades back to the company's president for good measure. Keep in mind that Smith and Noble's "partner sites" (i.e. sister companies) include Ballard Designs, Grandin Road, Garnet Hill, TravelSmith, Frontgate, and others. You can rest assured that I won't be giving any of them my business in the future either.

I bought a modified roman shade for one window from Smith and Noble and panels for my son's room from Ballard. The Smith and Noble workmanship was good, but the size was slightly off from the stated dimensions and that meant it had to be hung in a different way than I had envisioned. I would not order something like that (custom size) online again. The panels, however, were a stock size in an Ikat fabric I loved, and ordered 20 more yards of the fabric to have custom bedding made and to upholster a club chair in the same room. The panels are okay, but they were unlined so we had the workroom line them . . . it would have actually been less expensive to just have them made. So I guess my experience is that I haven't gotten exactly what I wanted with window treatments that were ordered online.