Hi, we bought a house and need to buy window treatment for 50 or so windows. Will use some hunter Douglas to take advantage of the tax credit for Architella and rebate, but will use more reasonable priced brands for the rest. Will stay with cellular shades and wood / foux wood blinds. Other brands that were offered were Kathy Ireland (ALta Window Fashions) and Comfortex. Both are supposedly owned by Hunter Douglas .
Can someone give me some idea how good/ bad Kathy Ireland and Comfortex products are in cellular shades and blinds? I especially appreciate experience with these two brands after years of use (i.e. duability, customer service if needed, etc).
Is hunter Douglas worth the premium they're charging?
Thanks!!!
The internal mechanics in the hunter douglas brand always seems superior in function and long term use. I work as an installer in chicago and it seems that if anything is better than hunter douglas, they will just buy the company and use any superior designs they see fit. Any inferior products theuy continue selling under the old name and raise the price so that the HD product doesn't look so expensive. From what I see, the mark up on the HD is high on the designers end..
I do believe the warranty on the HD lasts much longer than the comfortex.
in short, if you can afford the HD, buy the HD.. Its always going to be the best product. If you cant afford it, then go with the comfortex/bali/levelor/etc etc.. Also.. Home depot use to carry hunter douglas and now will only offer it through a 3rd party home consultation.. But they do still sell the exact same product under a new odd name.. This is evident by the silhouette shades on display that are clearly HD products with an odd name. This may be the cheapest option for a hd product for a lesser price
If you have 50 windows to do I would treat your house like a commercial job and request bids from local suppliers.
Compensate a designer to come to your house and go through all your option with the understanding you want the sizes, colors,specs, and any other important ordering details. Please dont lure a designer out there without telling them you dont plan on purchasing from them.. Many will be happy to spend all the time you need at your home for a price per hour.
Get your product details you decided on and fax/email it to all the local shops, and wait for the best price
Tags: hunter, douglas, kathy, ireland, comfortex, Kathy Ireland, cellular shades, Ireland Comfortex, Kathy Ireland Comfortex, name This, under name, your house
