They look great and the price is amazing. Any chance they would come out and measure for you? I would be worried about screwing up the size and not being able to return them.

For what it is worth, have you ever looked at magic blinds? I just read about them on another thread and they seem like a good and inexpensive option. Overstock.com carries them in different colors and sizes.

I'm considering them for a few windows, too.

Don't know if you only looked online but you can see the ready-made ones in the store.

I did only look on line. Maybe I should take a ride to the store to see the ready made ones. Did you see them in the store?

I ordered those exact same blinds, in the dark walnut for my bathroom. The price is great but it takes 5 weeks for shipping. I ordered them 10/21/09 and they were just shipped and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival. I'll let you know what I think when I get them.

BTW, ordering was very easy, just measure your window on the inside for inside mount and tell them the exact measurements, they will adjust anything they need to on their end.

I've worked for Penney's in both the window coverings department where these made to measures come from and Custom Decorating. They are two separate divisions. The Custom Decorators come out and bring samples, measure and install. The window coverings dept. is more DIY. They may be able to recommend someone you can pay to measure and install.

The Custom Decorating is a lot more $$$ than the MTM. If you're afraid to measure terriks has a good suggestion. Mine were no problem even though I measured and installed myself (OK, DH and I together).

No problem with measurements, but when I thought I could mix MTM and standard sizes, found that cords were different (colored with plastic on standard, white with wood on MTM) so ended up ordering all MTM even for my standard width windows. JCP was great, let me return *all* my MTM so that the fabric would match - also changed the length on all of them. I had ordered the MTM ones (except patio doors) in 64" length to match the "standard" length but when I found I had to order all MTM b/c of the cords (36" window in center of bay flanked by narrower windows that had to have MTM blinds, I wanted all cords and lengths to match), they let me change my order to all 54" lengths.

Of course I had to pay MTM prices for the windows that were standard widths, but it was worth it to have all the cords the same and I ended up with length that fit the windows instead of having extra length (like I have in DR and MBR).

Now, my question is, if a "standard" Andersen window comes in size x by y, why is that a "custom" blind?

sydardev - would love to see a pic when you get the shade hung.

anyone know if the cords are automatically placed on the right side or the left side. i don't see any place on the order page to specify.

i'm not that concerned with measuring properly. i've done it before with other online window places. i'm mostly concerned about the quality.

I'd go to the store and check them out, if you have concerns. I went mainly to see the different wood tones.

They are basic and wider srips of bamboo than many of the other woven woods.

Here's a pic of our Levolor wovens. They are finely woven.

For decorative purposes, I don't need anything that $$$ for my other rooms and will probably go with a few of the JCP bamboos.

I zoomed in on their online example and it appears that all of the cords are on the right side.

It's because of the cord issue I ordered their cordless Cabo MTM blind. It's not super high quality (i've had to had one of them replaced because the cord shredded) but they're decent enough for the very low price.

Helene

I went to the store and unfortunately they only had the pecan color for me to see. I'm really more interested in the dark walnut. The weave was fine for me. Maybe I'll order 1 and see how it is. They're cheap enough that it isn't a huge loss if i don't like it.

I originally ordered them in the pecan color and then read a review on the JC Penney website that said they had an orangish tinge to them so changed it to the dark walnut. I really wanted just a dark brown. What did you think of the pecan?

I liked the pecan color, didn't notice an orange tinge to them, but they are not as dark as I would've liked. Looking forward to seeing yours!!

I just installed 7 of these exact shades in the Pecan color - it is a nice medium toned brown. I don't notice any orange tone in my light.
6 of mine were in the 'standard' sizes - the 7th I ordered as MTM. There was no difference in them as far as cords or appearance. It took 5 weeks to get the MTM - the others I purchased in store as they had the sizes I needed - there are also lots of non MTM sizes listed on the JCP site.
The cords are on the right.
Shades are definitely not light blocking but light filtering as others have noted.
As I have them more for texture than function I couldn't bring myself to order the custom shades I really wanted at 6x the cost. These look nice and were easy to install. Considering the cost of these I am very happy with them. The custom were priced at $300 each and I am not sure they would have made me 6x happier :)
5 are inside mount and 2 are outside mount - included hardware can be used either way.
2 things I would note: as they are not lined on the exterior side you will see the draw cords and plastic cord guides from the outside if you are up close and the blinds are not drawn up - I hope that makes sense. For me it is OK as these are not in the front of the house and they will usually be in the up position but I can see that might be an issue for some.
Second is if you are doing an outside mount and will not have the top valance part covered by another treatment the shade valance does not extend around the sides of the shade itself. You will see the exposed wood on each side (the piece of wood that the bamboo is attached to). The way I fixed that was to purchase another shade in the smallest size possible and cut pieces from it and hot glue to my installed shade. Problem fixed.
I will try and get some pictures this weekend in daylight and post them if that would be of any help
All in all I am happy with the quality relative to the reasonable cost.
Kathy

thanks for your experience with these blinds. I can't seem to find the "standard" size blinds on line, so I guess i might have to go to the store to order them. Have you seen them on line? I can only find the MTM...

Try the link below - they are easy to miss on the site as they are pictured in white.

Here is a link that might be useful: JCP Woven Woods

Last year, after we moved into our new home, I ordered some of their MTM 'Spencer II Roman Shades'. These particular shades are double jacquard roman shades. They have two separate layers, the front has a beautiful scroll or stripe pattern in jacquard and the back is a light-filtering sheer. Each layer of the shade may be raised independently, allowing for total privacy and light control - thus, there is a cord on each side of the shades, one for each layer. I really LOVE these shades and I got them at a great price after I found them on sale AND used an online promo code.

I looked online and found a code you could use if you decide to order online. It is good for 20% off your ENTIRE order and expires December 7th. The code is 20FRIEND.

Here is a link that might be useful: RETAILMENOT.COM/JCP

Well I just received my MTM JC Penney woven wood shades after 6 weeks of waiting and......they're the WRONG color!! I'm so disappointed. I had originally ordered them in the pecan color but after realizing that I needed a little bit darker brown I called back to change to the dark walnut. The guy told me that the change order had gone through and I was all set. Well.....I received the pecan color, which is really beautiful btw, not orangey at all but too light for my bathroom. JC Penney was very helpful, they found that I did change the order color and is going to order them in the dark walnut for me. They did take the shipping charges off my new order so now I'm saving another $5 but it's going to be another 5 WEEKS....sigh.

What a bummer!!! They couldn't rush yours since they made a mistake?

addyson_andrews...do you have an pictures of your roman shades installed?

Yes, I have a few of them. (BTW - I'm always a little hesitant to post pictures because our home is still a work in progress. My husband built our home and still has a lot of work left to do. I became very ill during the building process and, unfortunately, we are still struggling with it to this day. Please keep that in mind as you look! :0)

Here the shades and panels are as they look today in our family room...

And in our breakfast area with my $50 Craig's List dining set score!! This was really supposed to be for our DR but we inherited my parents' set soon after I bought this one, so now it is in our breakfast area for now.

Thank you! Yes it does!

BTW...I think your home looks very nice...don't be hesitant to post pics!

I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with something long-term, I hope it doesn't make life too difficult. Good luck and enjoy your home and DH!

sydardev - wondering if you ever got the shades?

addyson - I have the same shades (in different color).

Has anybody heard whether JCP is doing anything to retrofit these since the recall? CPSC says use rings (like the SSC balloon shades) instead of cords on romans, but that would be a *real* pain on long, double shades like the Spencer II. I was thinking of calling JCP Customer Service and asking about the "breakaway cords" they're advertising on all their shades now. Maybe it's something where you can cut your existing cord, add a connector, then snap another into it that's strong enough to raise the shade but breaks away if 30 pounds or more is hanging on it?

I recently tried to order some made to measure roman shades from JCP and they told me that they cannot order any roman shades at this time because of the recall. Not sure how long this will last, does anybody know?

I called JCP Customer Serice, they gave me special recall phone number 1-888-333-6063

They are sending me 38 or 40 "kits" for my 16 double shades (and a few extra for my non-JCP shades), lady didn't know what was in kit but I hope they're not just split rings to loop through the backs. I can't get up on a step stool every time I want to raise/lower a shade (not to mention, what would the split rings on the front shades do to the sheers?).

Still looking for breakaway cord connectors - looks like RH may be providing those for their shades?

"The kit allows you to alter
the cord mechanism on the back of the shade so the cord becomes a breakaway
construction element if pressure is applied to the cords."

Here is a link that might be useful: RH recall notice

Hi Mahlgold, YES...I finally received my blinds! I'm so glad that I sent them back because I had measured incorrectly the first time so took advantage of their mistake and when I re-ordered I had them add a 1/4" to the width. Anyway, here they are. I love them btw.

Just wanted to say that I ordered the Spencer II in mid-December, got them middle of last week, hung them over the weekend and have since fallen completely in love. They are beautiful! Mine have the cords like sydardev, except they aren't stained to match, they're white.

The sheers are a wonderful addition and operate separately from the fabric roman shade. I can't believe how much they add to our rooms!

Just curious sdionne - do the cords have breakaway connectors? What about the loops/rings they go through on the back of the blinds? If you could take pics it would be nice to see the "child safety features" they have now.

ajsmama, I don't even know what a breakaway cord would look like, so I can't answer your question.

Can you tell me what color are the bamboo shades - are these PECAN?

No one has been on this thread for almost 8 years before you resurrected it. Probably no one is still on this forum. Start a new thread if you have a question.

I'm sorry, but I find these bamboo Roman shades absolutely butt ugly.

My mom ordered some for my bedroom window in 1981, they made the room unnecessarily dark at night when they were closed and became inoperable within a few years.

They didn't keep much light out in the morning either.

Very 1970s-ish, no thanks.