Smart and Safe: The Next Generation of Roller Blinds

SMART and SAFE:

The Next Generation of Roller Blinds

Thanks to increasingly strict regulations regarding child safety, cordless window coverings are becoming more popular by the day. However, these updated safety standards require new solutions and innovative design. With over 25 years of experience in designing highend window covering solutions that combine beauty and function, Coulisse knows exactly how to tackle that challenge.

Coulisse is proud to present the new modular Absolute Roller 2.0 concept that is child safe by design. The company has taken this popular window covering system and completely reinvented it, adding new functions, styles and control options. The modular technology allows designers and fabricators to mix and match elements to create a custom solution that will work for each individual client’s needs.

The new Absolute Roller 2.0 has the following options:

The award-winning Twin Pull design combines all the benefits of a traditional chain mechanism with high-end technical innovation. By using two separate, retractable chains or wands rather than a single loop, Twin Pull takes a fresh, child safe approach to roller blind technology.

As the name suggests, Cordless roller blinds are completely cordless and easy to install without a mounting profile. The secret is in the innovative smart installation lock that keeps the blind perfectly tensioned throughout the installation process and transport. Single Pull uses the best of both designs. This new solution is ideal for large windows with out-of-reach roller blinds. The dual options of bottom bar and single retractable chain always ensure smooth operation.

Imagine being able to offer clients the ability to control the roller blinds in their home from anywhere. Imagine saving them energy, creating privacy and making their home a safer place—all with a single touch or word. Motion, Coulisse’s user-friendly motorization technology, makes automation accessible to everyone.

The Motion concept comes with an integrated lithium-ion battery that’s rechargeable via micro USB. This system includes a pull mechanism and remote control but can also be operated via voice commands, the Motion Blinds smartphone app or leading smart home applications such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT.

Find out more about Coulisse and Absolute Roller 2.0 at go.coulisse.com/absolute-roller.

Design Triumphs & Tribulations

THE PROBLEM: PROBLEM: HANGING OVERSIZE DRAPERIES

BY SOPHIA BENNETT

Photos courtesy of Bill Diers

This is part of our ongoing series describing how design professionals have overcome a business challenge or created the perfect treatment for a difficult window. Do you have a story to share? Send an email to sophia@wf-vision.com.

The Challenge

When Kara Karpenske, principal designer and CEO of Kamarron Design Inc. in Minneapolis, first met with the owner of this lakefront home, the client identified replacing the living room curtains as a priority. The existing drapery was dated, didn’t allow much light into the room and distracted from the view. It also made the soaring ceiling appear shorter than it really was.

Karpenske commissioned new 35-foot-tall draperies from Quality Custom Interiors, a workroom in Minnetonka, MN. The curtains, which have a 28-inch pleat at the top, required 42 yards of a linen-viscose-silk fabric from Colefax and Fowler to make. Each drapery was lined and interlined to provide volume. A set of custom-made tassel tiebacks, 30 inches long and 14 inches in diameter, added a dramatic focal point to the finished pieces.

But Karpenske quickly realized there was a problem with the new design. “The height of this space made the design and installation very challenging,” she says. The drapery was also very heavy, which meant hanging it from conventional rods would be impossible.

The Solution

It took a few attempts, but Karpenske was finally able to work with the installer to come up with a solution for hanging the drapes. First of all, when the home’s windows and upper paneling were replaced, she asked for an extra backer board to be added around the windows. That provided a stronger foundation for the heavy curtains.

To hang the drapes, Karpenske devised a two-tiered bracket system to hold them up. A heavy-duty rod was sewn into the top of the curtains so that they could be hung from a set of custom-made rods. “The rod sits up and over the windows, like you would hang a TV,” she explains.

Halfway down the wall, the team second-anchored the curtains so that all of the weight wouldn’t be on the top rod. A welder created an L-shaped bracket, similar to ones found in a typical hardware store but much larger. The L bracket holds a portion of the curtains and the heavy tassels. z