Steve writes in with a window treatment question:
Dear Apartment Therapy, I'm looking for a simple roller shade that goes from the bottom up. Can you recommend any sources for this window treatment solution. Thank you .
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Hi Steven, what you're looking for are "bottom-up" shades, which use a tension system to keep shades taut when opened. Manufacturer Hunter Douglas offers their own line of Nysan Bottom-Up Shades. Blindsgalore also offers a bottom-up feature for their selection of roller shades. A couple of other great tips about this topic from a past AT San Francisco reader question offers additional resources:
A custom shade shop will do this roller shade that is mounted at the bottom of you window. The bar at the end of the shade will be of wood (slid into a pocket)which has an eye hook on it. Then at the jambs of the window there will be some hooks, say at the mid point of the window and maybe higher or lower depending on your preference. The eye hook will slide over the jamb hook at what ever heights you desire. This is not a cheap solution, because of the custom shade shops involvement. About $250.00 a window. But, no unsightly pulleys. And the shop will modify the roller mechanism so that there is constant "retraction" to keep the shade tight.
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Another resource is Smith Noble. I've ordered from them before. They have many color options and should you ever have an issue with your shade, they have fantastic customer service.
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Check out symphonyshades.com, they have great single & double cell insulated shades that roll from the bottom or top. We have double cell shades w/ insulating energy track on each side that keeps out light and cold. Our windows are leaky so some mornings there's ice inside the window, but inside the room it's toasty warm.
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Steve, you could always head to Home Depot, buy a traditional roller blind and a three or four set of mounting brackets. Mount the brackets sets at various heights. When you want to adjust the blinds just move the roll assembly to another bracket set. It isn't an elegant solution and it might be annoying if you were adjusting them all the time, but you could get it done for less than $15.
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Where can I find those chairs?
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I got Levolor top-down and bottom-up from Home Depot for a total of 4 windows in two rooms (two sets black-out shades, two not), and when one was mistakenly sent the wrong size, they gave me a new one asap.
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Steve,
You can inexpensively achieve the bottom-up roller shade by purchasing a conventional shade at any store and mounting it on the bottom of the window rather than the top. This will require that you purchase the following:
A large (4-6"long) window shade handle
Brass or other small decorative eye screws 2-3 per window
Brass or other decorative small rope cleat
Kite string
Install eye screws at the top center of the window frame, right or left corner of the window frame, and along the side of the window frame below the corner eye screw. Locate the rope cleat somewhere along the side of the window frame below the third eye screw.
After mounting the shade on the bottom of the window, slide on or attach the window shade handle, centering it on the bottom of the shade. Tie the kite string onto the handle then thread it through the center top, corner and side eye screws. Pull the shade up to the desired height, then tie off the string on the rope cleat. Make sure you cut the string long enough to allow the shade to be completely retracted. Depending on the strength of the kite string, you may need to double the string.
The result is an adjustable shade that rolls up from the bottom of the window that looks great and functions easily. Using kite string lessens any visual impact on the remaing uncovered window. This solution is also a tenth the cost of the Hunter-Douglas top down-bottom up shades.
Good luck!
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