I ordered blinds a year or so ago, after looking at a LOT of sources. By far the cheapest custom ones I found were at www.justblinds.com. (I, like you, have odd-sized windows that required custom work.) Justblinds makes aluminum blinds in several slat sizes, with optional cloth tapes. I ended up ordering wooden ones, and I'm very happy with what I got.

Installation will not be tricky for a professional installer. It will make you absolutely crazy if you are not good with tools and you'll get a hack job. But it can certainly be done. I would be surprised if your windows weren't covered by Venetian blinds in the past.

Find a pro.

I was once a set stylist for film and tv shows and I would get my 2" blinds from a lady named Cher in Minnesota who would make the blinds by hand in her shop.The blinds were always excellent quality at a resonable price. Yaa you betcha! (minnesota slang) Gopher state Venetian Blind Inc. (763)780-2267 or gopherstateblind.com

"Yaa you betcha! (minnesota slang)"

LOL.

Smith & Noble makes fabric tape Venetians, and will also now handle measuring and installation.

And Fargo (the movie) brings us back to film noir.

Janovic also makes and sells these, and I think they'll install them.

These blinds that I selected and installed for my Upper East Side client came from Steve's Blinds, and the only problem with them was that we ordered wands, and they sent us the kind without wands; but at least they made fairly good on it by sending a small refund.

Anyway...here's how they look in place:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artycurtis/543477258/in/set-72157600170975527/

Keep in mind that these are NOT the kind of old-timey color you're looking for, and I don't think that anyone makes them in quite same old "stock" way anymore. Everything is very custom, but light neutrals, etc., are still made. However, I think those really old kind from my childhood had plastic tapes, didn't they? Most are cloth now.

Hope this helps.

This cracks me up. For the last 20 years or so people have been pulling down Venetian blinds and replacing them with whatever, and now they're desirable again .. I remember my grandmother telling me she'd never thought she would see leg-of-mutton sleeves (that's a gigot sleeve, if you prefer -- puffy at the shoulder and very tight at the wrist, like a leg of mutton) again and they reappeared when she was in her 80s.

Smith and Noble? Yikes. These people make so many mistakes and don't stand behind their defective products. Do a search on this board and you'll see what I mean. Thousands of dollars of lost money. If you're lucky, you'll get a great deal and you're curtains will work. If you're not, and many are not, you'll be stuck with something you didn't want and out of pocket of your hard earned cash.

I certainly respect the many opinions of patrick(the other one) but I would have to say that my experience and the experience of many others would contradict his recommendation.

Dean, just wanted to point out that Smith & Noble products do carry a lifetime guarantee, so people who have gotten defective products should be able to receive satisfaction.

I know that my sister had problems with her Smith & Noble blinds after ten years of use; she took them down to throw them out and saw the lifetime guarantee sticker, then called them and sent them in. They repaired them and sent them back to her without any hassles, and all she had to do was snap them back into the existing mounting.

I think part of the problem may be that people make mistakes when measuring themselves or don't request swatches first and then end up surprised with the color, etc. of the finished product. If you're not comfortable with doing these things yourself obviously a full-service vendor like Janovic (which will come to your apartment and measure plus install) may be a better fit, but expect to pay considerably more.

Wow, out of curiosity I read some of the other postings Dean mentioned and was floored - I ordered 5 different blinds from them a year and a half ago (two cellular, two illusion and one natural reed roller with a backing) and didn't have any major problems. (The illusion shades don't work perfectly but were so much cheaper than the Hunter Douglas ones I decided I could live with it).

I guess I was just lucky, and maybe they do a better job with more basic products like cellular shades? Also, in terms of pricing, I found that choosing a sale color plus using the coupon codes really did save me hundreds of dollars over pricing at both Home Depot and Janovic. However, I am starting to feel bad about recommending S&N to other people looking for blinds. . .

Dean--

Have never had a problem with Smith & Noble, nor had I heard of any issues with them until your post.

Patrick (the other one)-

Your sister's case is great and I'm sure Smith and Noble occasionally makes good on their warranty. My experience, and that of many others, however, is that their product quality and application of standing behind their warranty and overall product is inconsistent at best. And I don't like gambling when I'm spending thousands of dollars.

Like I wrote elsewhere, sure you might get lucky and get what you ordered or get something of good quality. They stand behind their warranty when the remedy is something easy for them to do. I ordered tons from them before and was generally happy. But, if you don't get what you ordered or they've made a really bad mistake -- watch out. Eeeck saw the comments. They're really very negative.

How people behave when good things happen don't really count for much. What matters is how people behave when bad things happen. That really shows you their true character, no? Do they stand behind you? Are they supportive? Do they help you find solutions? Do they care? This is true for me for all relationships: romantic, social and work.

And when something bad happens with Smith and Noble and they can't figure out at all how to solve the problem they caused, you'll feel like you are dealing with a public utility. Lots of talk, general stonewalling, bureaucratic blaming and guess what: you're still out of your money and now you've wasted hours and hours in frustrating time. Not good.

If you read the comments, you will see that the most of the problems don't have to do with client caused problems. I'm a professional interior designer who was part of their professional program ( jessitt gold ) so for what it's worth, amateurs and professionals encounter their bad behavior for a variety of reasons that have NOTHING to do with what they've done.

I know I probably come across as bitter. And I guess I am after being out thousands. But I like this site, I like the people who write here who seem to really care about recommending the very best, and I don't want to see anyone go through what so many others have.

Best,

Dean

is the picture for this post from the beginning of psycho or shadow of a doubt?

dean--
The sister's case story wasn't mine.

I've also found on this and other blogs that people will put the effort into complaining when things go wrong, and very rarely spend the time to right positive feedback, so I'm not sure a whole bunch of comments here is the most accurate of snapshots.

But anyhow, you obviously had a horrible experience with them, and it is important to get that story told while we're on the subject, yes.

What exactly went wrong with your order(s), btw?

Patrick / Eeeck -

Sorry to both for the confusion. I always get conversations on threads confused...

My own experience with blogs/boards is that an exceptional amount of complaints indicates problems ahead that I ignore at my own peril. In this case, the amount and quality of negative feedback paint a picture of a trend that is impossible to ignore or discount. It would make me question their idea of 'warranty', for example.

In just one problem (and there were many) they gave me, they kept sending the same defective merchandise over and over again. They acknowledged sending the wrong item. They also sent the wrong item late (insult upon injury). They said their factory was at fault. They acknowledged that other customers had the exact same problem. And then that was it. I sent letters to customer service, spent hours with customer 'service', sent letters to their owner -- nothing. And the total denial of service I received and no offer of a refund is not acceptable when paying the money they ask.

Again, they send acceptable merchandise often. But when they send you a problem, it is a huge problem that they will refuse to solve. The stakes involved are too high for me (and for many others) to take that risk again when there are so many other companies out there.