All mine came from Lowes. The cut-to-order ones by Levolor that are on the shelf I have had no problems with. They also do not have the holes in the slats that the strings run through. The cheapest ones that you can't cut (I think the brand was "Blindz"), now those were junk. The mechanisims were OK, but the sun faded them badly and quickly. Fortunately, I had only bought 2 of cheapo ones, so I wasn't out a lot of money. All the Levolor ones, I picked them up one at a time on the clearance table. They were ones that people had bought and were miscut. I picked up ones that were longer than I needed and had then re-cut them. All but one I got for half price. The other one was one of the cordless ones where you just press the button to raise and lower, I got that one for $10!!! I think the regular price was right around $65!

figured I would bring this post back to life since I am now in need of cleaning my faux wooden blinds lol! in response to the last persons post re: using Windex, do not use Windex wipes. not sure about the spray but i happen to have a pack of windex wipes next to me and it says not for use on any wood type surfaces. pledge makes good wipes for that but you would prob need a few packages if your blinds were reallyyy dirty. anyway i am going to try dawn soap with warm water since mine are filthy! i had a small fire me in my room last summer and the insurance company had someone come in to clean the walls, blinds Etc and only bc i had to take my bounds down to fix a broken tilt cord, i just now noticed how horribly they "cleaned" them. (see picture reference) so ill post the before pictures now and after pictures once im done. in the pics im attaching now show how bad the back side of the blinds were that dont face towards me vs the 3rdnpic which is what i usually have them set to..ugh! at least 8 only have 1 side to really scrub at vs dusting the other cleaner side lol!

djsaw - I have 1" JC Penny basswood white blinds on all my windows and I get extremely good light when in the "open" position. I feel that because they are 1" instead of the 2", there is less bulk on the windows, thus allowing more light to filter in. The clear tilt wand works great to open and close. I have had these blinds up for 4 years and they still look like new. The White Silk matched my White Dove trim paint perfectly. Ratherbesewing - Like you, I have double-hung all wood windows with very little recession, but the 1" wood mounted great. There was a little variance in the depth of some of my windows (old house, replacements made over time, etc). Some probably didn't even have a full 1" recession. On one I remember we were only able to put screws in the two back holes instead of all four on the mounted holders, but you can't tell it. If you have 1" aluminum blinds mounted inside, these definitly will work nicely. Tuesday Here is a link that might be useful: JCP 1 inch blinds

Johnmari, Thank you for sharing about the many variations on white. Now I'm a little worried. We really don't have $ to go for custom treatments. If I go with the white, maybe I should order, try one, and then understand I may have to return? Yes. Absolutely. That was JM's point and what I assumed (and shouldn't have) you already knew. You need to have a plan to check the color before you commit. Or, as Annz said, there are many other resources out there at about the same price point as JCP where you can obtain samples before you buy. My Lowe's for instance has a nice supply of take home color samples for blinds and plantation shutters. You mention a mix of mission and contemporary - again, either would work. Someone made the point the wood tones do not reflect as much light into the space -- that is accurate. If you have abundant natural light, might not be such a concern. But if you're having trouble deciding between the two, that factor is something to consider. Exterior - Again, either can work. It's a matter of your deciding which choice, white or wood, is going to fit best with the design and look you're marching towards interior as well as exterior. Maybe make a spreadsheet and list the pros and cons of each color choice to help you see which one 'fits' best at least on paper.