Wow. I love your choice. So natural. But have you looked around for competitive prices?

At that price I could get very excited about making my own Roman shades.

{{!gwi}}

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Or put up a darling topper, something like this, with a plain or fancy roller shade underneath.

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Or do balloon shades. These are silk:

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Closeup:

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We have woven wood shades in our kitchen. We sent for samples from both Smith and Noble and American Blind & Wallpaper company (www.decoratetoday.com). Usually these places will send free swatches or you can find a coupon code on the web to get them. I had settled on one from American Blind but was balking because for all the blinds I needed, it was like $1300. (There were 7 total, though, so this was way cheaper than your price). Then I found something I liked even better in the JC Penney catalog (the Granada shade) - they weren't custom but the stock sizes they had would work just fine, except for one window where I could get custom. JCP does not send swatches but if you go to the store, you can see the swatches - they have a swatch book at the desk in the window treatment area. I ordered the JCP ones figuring I would return them if I didn't like them. It was a significant savings (I think I got everything including one custom size one for less than $500). The quality control was iffy though - several blinds seemed to be "off" in color from the other ones, and the rings weren't always at the same height, which resultes in different "fold" patterns when the shade was drawn up. I ordered several more shades of the size I needed and picked out the ones that seemed to match best in color, then returned the rest. I had to spend some painstaking time on the floor moving the rings on several blinds so they'd all fold the same way when drawn up, but now that I have them all hung, they're fine and you'd never know I didn't spend the big bucks. So even though it was a pain, it was worth it to me for the cost savings.

I will say, though, that while these provide some privacy and light screening, you can certainly see through them at night when the lights are on inside. Doesn't matter to us since we only needed them to filter the sun which was blinding us when we sat at the kitchen table. But if you need privacy, you may want to either make sure you get a very tight weave (here's where sending for swatches comes in handy) or get lined ones - I know you can get them lined from Smith & Noble.

Good luck!

Here's the only pic of the shades I have online...it's not great but it will give you an idea.

I ordered woven wood shades from American Blind and Wallpaper. I ordered their "american" brand, but when I received them they had Hunter Douglas tags on them. I was very happy about that! By ordering their brand I saved quite a bit. I think the largest window (roughly 65" x 70") with a privacy liner and "easyrise" was about $350.

I also purchased the granada shades from Penney's for our play room and they are not nearly as nice. Same issues that the previous poster mentioned. They don't hang evenly. She had a great solution to move the rings. I think I paid about $25 for each shade.

I know you're asking about price, lucy, but I'm wondering if the other posters might address maintenance of woven woods in a kitchen. How do you clean them and keep them from getting water spots, especially over a sink? If you cook very much, woven woods seem like the perfect place for all the ambient cooking grease, occasional smoke, humidity, etc., to collect and catch dust. In rooms other than the kitchen, it wouldn't be so bad.

Believe me, I know what a nightmare kitchen WTs can be to maintain. I have never had woven woods, though, and I like them. And lkplatow's point about seeing through them at night is very true. Just some thoughts.

Sherry

My woven woods are in my kitchen - one over sink, double window and french door in breakfast area. I usually have the shades all the way up while I'm cooking or doing dishes. Maintenance is fairly easy, just vacuum and wipe gently with a damp cloth. If you get them lined, they are white to the street and give privacy at night. To me they are much easier to take care of than blinds. I wish I had put woven woods in all my rooms instead of blinds. I'll slowly be replacing my blinds.

You might also price woven wooden shades from a local firm. I worked with a custom company here in town, and ordered all my window coverings from them. I have woven wooden shades in the kitchen, family room and upstairs bedrooms. They're beautifully made and didn't cost anywhere near the amount you've been quoted.

I forget the name of the company that made the shades (they were not made locally). I was impressed with the wide variety of choices I had in terms of colors, weave, types of woven woods, etc.

And a huge plus is that I didn't have to worry about sizing....the local firm took all the measurements, installed them, etc.

Beware of Smith and Noble. I came across this litany of complaints yesterday--scroll down the page a bit. (I had a negative experience.)

Definitely request free swatches.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smith & Noble difficulties

My neighbor has woven woods in her kitchen eating area. She ordered them through JC Penney but not at the store. JCP had a sales person come to the house with photos and samples. I believe they were Hunter Douglas, and JCP installed them too. If you catch them during one of their sales, it might be comparable to American Blinds. My neighbor is very happy with them.

Here's a silly question: If you order them through S&N or American Blinds, who installs them?

I have Kirsch woven woods in the master bedroom and they offer complete privacy (no lining). Definitely pay attention to the weave.

Wow, thank you everyone for your advice and pretty pictures! I think I may check out JC Penney for their non-custom and custom shades and American Blinds. I realize that I said I wanted evening privacy...but what I really want is just something to obscure the view a bit from the street. (ie. I don't care if people can tell we're sitting at the table...just don't want to feel like I'm on stage!) I tape the samples I had in the window so I could check them out at night with lights on.

Thanks again for your help - I will post pictures when they've been installed (which we plan to do ourselves).

Then I'll be begging for help with new lighting and a new dinner table. Now that I can post pics, y'all are gonna' be sick of me!

Thanks again,

Lucy

I just reread the original post. You may want to see an actual shade with the type of wood you are considering. Depending on the thickness and how they rise, they will hang differently. Notice lkplatow's stack behind the hanging shade. Because my HD's have the privacy liner, the stacking depth is thicker and they do NOT look like a valance at the top when they are fully raised. Also, I chose a sort of round wood, not flat so it is thicker. If you notice in most catalogs and magazines, they show woven woods lowered half way down the window. They usually don't show them all the way up b/c they don't look that great. Also, if you mount them 6" above the window, because of the way they stack, when you raise them they might get caught on the top molding.

i have woven woods from budget blinds throughout the house. they were pricey--the one on the largest window was about $1200. but they are lined and are completely opaque. the shades are very thick and insulating, and i'm very pleased with them. i believe they are a second line from hunter-douglas, the kathy ireland ones.

I remember reading here that a designer used woven shades from a big box store and recommended them. You might check out Lowe's or Home Depot for their woven shades. VERY inexpensive and you can return them if they won't work for your area. Good luck!

Lucy, have you considered cafe curtains instead of shades?

Here is a link that might be useful:

I have the Cape Cod Roman Shades from jcpenney.com. You can get them at the stores but they're a bit more expensive there. They seem always to be on sale and right now there's free shipping. You can return them to the store, but I didn't need to.

What I like about them is that they're very inexpensive, easy to install, easy to use, and simple and inconspicuous when pulled up in the daytime. We only have them in the bedroom and bath for nighttime so I don't really look at them much at night. They do give complete privacy as far as I can tell. Jcpenney advises ordering them all at once so they're all the same dye lot.

I really didn't find anything I liked better, even at higher prices.

GOT DOG!! I can not even IMAGINE paying so much for shades! I thought spending $50 was splurging. LMAO!!

Another place to look is Lowe's. I got some unlined called "Ragoon tea" that are nice blend of khaki and sort of an olive green that were only about $38 each. They had many different sizes and colors in stock. I could have gotten the liners as well, but these are tightly woven and give a good amount of privacy even at night.

Lowe's has very nice blinds and a good selection, but I didn't see them until I had already bought and installed the woven blinds I bought at Walmart. They were about $25 each, look perfectly fine and work well in my kitchen. To shorten them for your windows, just cut them at the length you need plus about 4", then roll them to the exact length and hot glue. Voila! Instant custom blinds.

I ordered a shade for my bathroom from JustBlinds.com. They send free samples(very quickly) and the order arrived quickly. I had it fabric bound on the sides and added the two way pull (forget what it's called). It was around $80. You can start with a base price and add features that you like, and build your own. Prices were very reasonable.