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Home Decorating Windows Design Dilemma

Top-down Bottom-up Cellular Shades - favorite brands and styles?

Luke Hagenbach Real Estate

2 years ago

The look and functionality of top-down bottom-up cellular style shades seem ideal for a specific remodel project. In the initial exploration, there were a couple of companies come out to give bids (one of them was 3 Day Blinds), and the prices ranged about 150% between the two.

This got me thinking that I should explore the differences among brands and what makes one better than another, or if these are simply different prices for what amounts to the same product. There are companies online that sell them and ship them to you as well. Some that have come up are: Select Blinds, Affordable Blinds, The Shade Store, Blinds Galore, and Blinds.com. I'm sure there are others, and I know the big box stores sell them as well.

I am looking for advice on qualitative and design differences among brands, as well as companies with good warranties. It would be great to get a discussion going about the various options and styles as well.

I have mostly seen the single, larger cellular shades, but also see that there are double shade options that might help with sound and energy that come in the smaller cellular style (but have not seen them in person). I'm not looking for blackout shades, but do want quality shades that have a clean, modern aesthetic.

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Comments (5)

khrisz
2 years ago
I have had Leveler bought through Lowe’s three times bottom up/top down shades and faux wood blinds. Very pleased although mine do not get excessive usage as one person household. 25% off sales several times a year.
shirlpp
2 years ago
Good Luck with your research.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-cellular-shades/

https://www.ourtime.org/best-cellular-shades-reviews/

https://www.bestreviews.guide/cellular-shades

https://familylivingtoday.com/best-cellular-shades/

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-blackout-shades/

https://cellularwindowshades.com/content/13-compare-cellular-shades

etc.
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You might want to look at Steve's Blinds. I learned of the website long ago here on GW and ordered several TDBU cellular shades. Steve's carries several manufacturers' products but we purchased "Steve's own" brand. I believe they are made by a subsidiary of Hunter Douglas but this may be incorrect. We already have several similar blinds in the Hunter Douglas brand and have found the Steve's product to be comparable in quality. Would definitely order from the company again. I am linking the results of a quick search on the website using made-up dimensions and specifying "Steve's own" brand. Please note that there are many other options available on the website, and you will need to carefully enter the particulars for your windows instead of relying on the numbers I used. There is an up-charge for the TDBU feature as well. The website is kind of junky and confusing but you can call and get some customer service assistance. Here is a link that might be useful: Steve's Blinds
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Yes, we have them in DR, one bath, and new Den. As others have said, they are great. You should know that you can get these from Hunter Douglass in a cordless version, you just raise or lower (top or bottom) by grasping the tabs at the top or bottom. Of course these are more expensive. We got ours online for a pretty good price. For the den that we just finished, we went with top-down/bottom-up cellular from Next Day Blinds. These have cords, which do not bother us in this room. None of ours are room-darkening as we wanted to let in some light; all provide privacy. They won't interfere with window hardware as long as you have enough depth in the window to provide clearance for the shades. Talk to your dealer, or have them measure, if you have doubts.
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I have roman shades in the bedroom. They are mostly decorative and a bit of a nuisance to open and close. I do close them at night, but have to fuss with the folds every morning when pulling them up. Light leaks in around the edges. I guess there are various kinds of roman shades. Mine are zero fuss and fit close to the edges and are cordless, top-down bottom-up. Even without the side panels mine are close to the edge in an inside mount. measured to fit. You may be referring to more designer custom fabric-y style roman shades???
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I have 4 very large 48 X 95 inch cellular blinds from Blinds to Go. I did not get top down. Mine are white but appear slightly gray because they are black out blinds and lined inside the cells with silver. I have Hunter Douglas in my other rooms. The difference I have found is in the strings. The Blinds to Go use white strings for the pulls and they get dirty, Hunter Douglas uses ball chain and is a continuous loop. The Blinds to Go have had to be repaired. The blinds got shorter and shorter over time and uneven. It seems the strings inside were catching or shrinking. I must say that the company repaired them and quickly, but I had climb up 12 feet to take them down and put them up again several days later and in the mean time I had no window covering in my bedroom. For me the price difference was worth buying Hunter Douglas. I purchased them through Home Depot. Also the Blinds to Go installer was horrible and they had to send me someone else to fix the initial install twice. Also the first batch of delivered shades were incorrectly measured. The Home Depot installer was very professional and timely.
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PRO
Luke Hagenbach Real Estate
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
@shirlpp Thanks. That's about all I've come up with as well. Beyond NYT Wirecutter, most "best [anything]" sites that come up on the first few pages of Google seem to be referral link sites written by paid per post writers to get as many Amazon and similar referral links on their site as possible, rather than by expert reviewers sharing testing data or personal experience and insight. Even Wirecutter has been going a bit more so that way since being acquired by NYT.

I'm hoping some people with experience with multiple brands will chime in here so we can all befit from the discussion.
PRO
Luke Hagenbach Real Estate
Original Author
2 years ago
@khrisz Leveler has come up in a thread I read on Reddit as well, mostly comparing it among big box store options as having a better written warranty period. Have you had any trouble with dusting them, or spot cleaning them for a situation like it being near a sink and getting occasional splashes on it?
khrisz
2 years ago
Luke Hagenbach Real Estate no I haven’t had to spot clean them. I can however say that the kind I have hold up to sun well. My previous home was in the desert and in this house they are on south facing walls. No fading at all.

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