Bamboo Shades

If you’re looking for a natural alternative to the same old look of aluminum, curtains or pleated blinds, consider using bamboo shades to give your window treatment a warm and inviting look that can match many decor themes and designs.

Roller shades or Roman style shades made from bamboo, jute, and woven wood materials will provide texture and natural warmth to any room in your home without the expense and ecological impact of real wood blinds or shutters.

If you want something unique yet affordable for your window coverings, then bamboo shades may be just the thing!

Benefits of Bamboo Shades

Layered with red thai curtains, the bamboo shades provide natural texture and give a unique look to window coverings.

This woven shade uses small pieces of bamboo and the other materials and thus sometimes referred to as “matchstick” shades.

You can let more or less light into the room simply by lifting or lowering the window shade. And, depending on how tight or loose the weave and whether you select roller or Roman type bamboo shades, you can also purchase them with a liner to add privacy and darken a room more if desired.

Bamboo shades are also an energy efficient window covering option since bamboo traps air inside, providing good insulation from the heat and cold that window glass transfers between the exterior and interior of your home.

While they may look delicate, bamboo has a high tensile strength, which makes it a durable material that has long been used for window coverings and other decorative purposes in the home by many Asian and Polynesian cultures.

Affordable, attractive and lightweight, bamboo shades are simple to install and maintain. Just use a feather duster or vacuum with a brush attachment to keep your woven wood shades clean.

Types of Bamboo Shades Available

• Roll Up Bamboo Shades – traditional bamboo shades that are great in an informal room decor, for use outdoors or in an enclosed porch, roller type bamboo shades use a simple pull cord to raise or lower them for light and privacy control.
• Woven Wood Shades – refers to the use of bamboo, jute, reeds, grasses and similar materials to create a “woven fabric” that is used to make window shades and other products.
• Roman Bamboo Shades – made in the Roman style of shade, this popular style is both stylish and very functional.
• Light Filtering Bamboo Shades – with no liners and typically “loose woven”, bamboo shades will filter light but do not typically block out light entirely or provide complete privacy. The tighter the weave, the more light control and privacy your bamboo shades will offer.
• Privacy Lined Bamboo Shades – a white or other light coloured liner is sewn to the back side of the window shade, only available in the Roman style of bamboo shade, this option provides complete privacy and better light control.

Matching Your Room Decor and Bamboo Shades

Patterns can vary greatly with bamboo window shades, depending on the colour, size and texture of the materials used, which means you have a great selection of bamboo shades available to match other decorative elements in your room.

Select furniture like rattan or wicker, along with accessories like throw pillows and area rugs to create an exotic and inviting ensemble, complemented by your bamboo shade. A decorative fabric valance can be added to match the patterns of your bedding, upholstery or throw pillows.

Optionally, a cornice board made from wood or bamboo can be installed above a bamboo shade instead of a fabric valance, giving your window treatment a nice designer look that is at once simple and elegant, but far less costly than wood shutters or blinds.

Another way to dress up your bamboo shades is to add sheer curtains in the colour and/or pattern of your choice with tie backs to complete your stylish bamboo window covering.

While bamboo may bring to mind images of a primitive decor, you can match bamboo shades to a variety of room decors!

Buying Bamboo Shades

You can find bamboo window shades in most local home decorating centers or shop online for discounted prices on ready made and made to measure shades in a wide variety of patterns and woven wood styles.

When shopping for price, keep in mind that many factors affect the price and quality of bamboo shades. Bamboo used in making higher quality products is aged and treated properly to extend the useful life of your window shades, while lesser quality, cheap shades may crack, split or even discolour with time and exposure to the intense UV rays of direct sunlight.

Typically, bamboo shades are mounted inside the window opening (inside mount), since this style tends to block out more light, but some manufacturers also offer outside mount bamboo shades; be sure to measure correctly depending on which type you are ordering. If in doubt, email or phone your online window fashions retailer for advice on how to take correct measurements before ordering.

Look for bamboo shades that come with all hardware and clear installation instructions. Be sure to check the retailer or manufacturer warranty terms and return policy before ordering your bamboo shades so that you won’t have problems should they have defects or if the shades sent are not what you ordered.Of course, once you have installed your shades, in most cases you will not have the option of returning them, so plan ahead and be sure you know exactly what you want before you order.

Specialized cutting tools are used to cut the bamboo shades to the correct size, so ordering them with the idea in mind of cutting or trimming them down to size yourself is not recommended for quality window shades made from bamboo.

If you need a custom size shade, order from a retailer or manufacturer who offers custom sizes unless you are willing to try cutting them yourself and accept that the fit and finish may not be entirely perfect. This may be an option to consider if you plan to use cheap roll up bamboo shades outdoors where a rough look will be acceptable.

As you have seen in this article, you will find that bamboo shades can complement many styles of room decor and will add texture, natural colour and a unique look in your home and provides a flexible, inexpensive window covering.

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