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.

rmkitchen, thanks for those pics of your beautiful WTs! Do you mean 'relaxed' roman shades that pooch out a bit at the bottom in the middle? I think yours are more beautiful, myself. Where did you have them made? So much very useful information in your post. If we ever get roman shades (I'm trying these other ideas first) I'll refer to your discussion of issues around them. Funny, but I've now painted all the trim around windows and doors in the semigloss or satin version of the color of the paint on the wall around them, just to try and minimize the trim! (our house is more modern, though, I think). You could always get a bit of trim and just tack it up there with a few nails to see what you think of it--if you don't like it you could take it down again and fill/paint over the tiny holes... And wow, such good information in the rest of y'all's responses! We didn't put up the film yet--DH put a cat-away spray (one called "Boundary" and one called "Cat-Away") around the slider (and the front door--did I mention that they do it to the front door too? UGH), but I think because of the rain it wore off, and what do we have greeting us when we get within 5' of the door? More pee this morning. UGH again. I'm going to order that predator pee granules today--thanks oceanna! I wonder how long it will last in the rain--but it's definitely worth a try. We'll look into the Cat-stop too--thanks, annz. We'll look into the Cat-stop too. I do know where they come from -- one is from a house that belongs to a couple who inherited it from their grandmother, and they are really *not* as caring about anything as much as most other residents in our neighborhood (yard is an eyesore, etc.). When they moved in they immediately let the cat, who's at least fixed, out all day (and part of the night, judging from seeing him out around 11 p.m.). At first he was nice, sweet, a bit timid--now he's a full-on street-fightin' man, one of the ones who got sprayed with a hose and kept on going. Another one (unfixed) used to be fairly sweet, too, when he had a home to go into (the next door house) at night, but when that family moved out of state, they *left him here* to fend for himself. It's unconscionable what they did to him--they displayed just as much of a community spirit by leaving Blackjack (named by the pirate-loving neighbor boys) out as they did in so many other ways while they were here (as in NONE). The little guy's adapted and has survived for --what, 4 years now?--but he's gotten nasty too. Because we know his story, I just don't have the heart to trap him and take him to the H.S., where he'd probably be pts. Not a desirable adoption candidate. Poor little guy. :( There's a third that we don't know at all. The thing I was thinking about neutering them was that my first cat was neutered, but he still sprayed on things in the house (like a heating vent, very smart...it spread the lovely aroma every time the heat came on) -- it may very well be that with these guys, they're so used to spraying that they will not stop if they're neutered. They'd just have an operation site that might get infected or ripped into before it's healed, which could be really dangerous for them. Maybe I'm not looking at that the right way, I know... Off to order granulated predator pee...

Cheril-Ohhh, I know that blog oh too well...I discovered it from someone on this site (or propbably multiple people) and I added it to my "favorites!" Like ajsmama said, though...I am trying to do *affordable*, plus, I cannot even say I like the idea of mounting the blind on the soffitt/drywall above the door...because if the blinds are down, you can't open the door, and I would like to have that capability. I really was considering this just cuz I wanted to be "different" and I thought it would be somewhat reasonably priced. I wanted to have WW blinds *AND* drapes/panels just cause I like the varying textures. I may have to forego that idea after tossing it around with you folks...I just don't think it is practical. side note: my front doors are also french doors. On these, I am definitetly doing some sort or blind, because I don't want drapes at my front door, that would look weird. I need to do something SOON...I already answered the door in my bathing suit because I was expecting a friend...and it was a solicitor! :0 The front doors are double french doors. The back patio is one french door in the middle, with a pane on either side. red-I am probably going to go with just drapes. That was my original plan, guess I am back to it!! :)

Hi, we are up in south SF Bay area. Another consideration for low-E is heat rejection in the summer. We have a door facing NNE. No roof overhang but a large oak next to the house. The door gets may be two hours of rising sun and then shaded all day long in the summer. Our temperature does rise to low-100's in the summer. Even when shaded, the hot air temperature can work its way into the house depending on the door and window material. The old wooden painted door would heat up and we can feel the heat coming through all day long spread over the entire door. That living area got rather warm, to about 20 degrees below temperature outside. So if it is 100 outside, we are cooking at 80 inside. After switching the door to a low-E French, clad exterior, wood interior, things changed dramatically. I have no concrete proof that the low-E is the sole factor but the only change were the doors. The inside is now able to remain 30 degrees cooler than outside during hottest part of the day. The wood frame of the door is warm but less so now and the glass portion is cool to the touch. So instead of a whole door heating up, there is only a bit of warmth coming through the frames and practically none through the glass surface. We open everything before sunrise to chill the house down to 60. The thick cement floor cools off quickly in the cold morning air. We then close everything at sunrise. When it is 100 outside by 3PM, we are a chilly 70 inside, without A/C in that area. We do know that double-pane without low-E will transmit heat. Our leftover Milgard vinyl does that well. The glass will be warm to the touch, unlike low-E glass. Not sure it this description will work as well for you but I hope it helps your analysis.