DISCLAIMER – This is a sponsored post and giveaway brought to you by Smith & Noble. It’s not a book store. Just a company that sells freaking awesome blinds.
For the last four years we have been fighting a losing battle. Against the sun.
Yeah. You lose to a flaming ball of gas any time you try to fight. Until now. After years of stalking the Smith & Noble catalogs (I would have them delivered to our house because I loved the textile patterns that they used for their roman shades and I felt like it kept me up on upcoming fabric trends. I’m a dork like that.), I was thrilled to finally get some blinds for the front windows of our house. Currently we have only five windows facing the front of our house. Two of them are in the nursery and they are cheap woven blinds with cheap roller shades behind them to block the sun. It was cute enough from the inside but the outside just showed a stark white window.
Also…there was the issue of the cords. On most blinds, there are the cords that control the up and down movement of the blinds. The problem is that they are a hazard to kids. Little kids can get hung up in them and even die.
In the other windows facing the street, we have nothing. At one point we had white roller blinds but Weston went Freddy Kruger on one with a monster truck. We tried taping it back together but then it was visible to the whole neighborhood….white frankenblinds.
It was time for the real deal and we decided that 2 inch wood blinds would be the best looking from inside and out. It was also important to us to get cordless blinds so that we didn’t have to worry about the danger factor. Every mom wants a break now and again from their kids…but not because of some tragedy. And no mom has time to worry about safety inside the kids rooms.
As far as blinds go…Smith & Noble are like the filet mignon of window coverings. They are measured to be a perfect fit (something we needed because we have weird size windows), they offer A TON of different colors, and they even can send a design consultant, someone to measure for you, and even free samples of all the different colors and fabrics. We actually measured three times….were completely confused because of our window moldings…and then finally had a representative come out and measure for a perfect fit.
Installation was super simple and the brackets stood up to Jeremy’s sturdy-test. He just predrilled the locations, screwed in the brackets, and popped in the shades.
To pull them up and down, it doesn’t need anything more than a firm hold on the bottom of the blinds and a gentle tug or push.
The best part is that they block a ton of light…so much that we can totally get rid of those roller blinds. Take that, sunshine!
And look how nice it looks in our newly painted guest room!
But for me, the real kick in the pants was the way it looked from the outside.
As you can see…the left hand windows have the new blinds and the one on the right has the white shade…that look like a sheet hung in front of the window.
Can you see why I am doing an entire post about blinds? Yeah. They make me wanna do a dance move that would probably dislocate a hip. Did I mention that Free In-Home Design consultants, Free In-Home Measurement and Free Samples are available every day!?! Also, as a special bonus exclusively for Bower Power readers, Smith & Noble is offering $30 off each custom window treatment with Cordless Lift, through 12/15/14. And here are some promo codes they’ve also provided for everyone to use:
- Design It Yourself Guide – call 888.214.2134 or CLICK HERE (code – 1409FH)
- Complimentary measurement for their windows – CLICK HERE (code – 1409FJ)
- Complimentary In-Home Designer to your home – CLICK HERE (code – 1409FM)
The best part about this post is not about my new blinds though…it’s that Smith & Noble is giving away a HUGE prize to one of you.
- PRIZE: (1) $1000 credit to Smith & Noble
- NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) One
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NITTY GRITTY : This giveaway closes on Wednesday December 3rd at 11:59 EST. To enter, click on the Rafflecopter link below. Smith & Noble will contact the winner directly to receive their prize.
GOOD LUCK!
Oh, I could really use this one! Sinking down, down, down into the couch to avoid the sun is no way to watch a movie.
You have no idea how much I appreciate the fact that you put your disclaimer right up front, at the very beginning of your post. I wish all bloggers would be that considerate.
If it’s a product that I’m interested in, I will read the post. If not, I can move on with my life.
I appreciate the fact that you respect your readers enough to respect their time.
I thought I was the only person who cares about how the blinds look on the outside! Haha…love them! Question – Do you have a shallow window and do they stick out at the top? I am looking for blinds and I love the bigger look but with my 70’s style window trim I might need to post them on the outside. Would love to hear your thoughts! on that.
seeing that board and batten reminded me of the bower build off. Who won the contest?
Your house looks really fantastic!
Last week you mentioned that you were finally able to share the details of something you’ve been working on. Did I miss the announcement? The suspense has kept me wondering!
Interested to know why you went with such a brown shade of colour when your house is predominately grey tones?
Love the blinds- and hows the safety factor?! How fantastic for us kidless-for-now peeps that no long er need to worry about the blind string in the sink fiasco!! Haha
What color/brand of paint did you use to paint your guest room? I love it!!
We moved a year and a half ago and we still have the nasty roller blinds the previous homeowners left us. For the love of all that is chocolate, pick me.
Katie, did you announce the winner of the Bower Build Off? If you did I must have missed it, but I’m interested to see which one you made and which one your boyfriend made! : )
I love the color of the room…what brand of paint and color is it?
It’s the same color as in our dining room – Benjamin Moore’s Secret.
xo – kb
It looks like Monday? The date keeps switching because of random logistics. erg.
xo – kb
We went with the brown because we like the balance and we felt like the dark brown blinds were more timeless and showed better contrast on the exterior. The particular color was vintage bordeaux and in certain lights they do show more gray undertones so that helped with the choice.
xo – kb
It’s called Benjamin Moore’s Secret.
xo – kb
We hope to have that video up on Friday!
xo – kb
Hopefully friday we can announce the winner!
xo – kb
We do! They sit out a little bit but are still secure. We felt like having a single valance across the top helped blend them in more (see the photo of the guest room) and since our windows either have curtains or a wall around them, it didn’t seem as awkward to have the blinds stick out a couple inches. The guy who measured for us told us that most people have the same type of windows we have and they install them the same as we did so you aren’t alone!
xo – kb
Do you think you will use these blinds in all your front facing windows?
Did I miss Weston’s room getting a grownup bed? Both rooms look great!!
Hey!
Love these types of blinds, we got them in our house too albeit with the ‘cord of death’ I didn’t know the type you have even existed! Do you think you’ll add curtains as well to soften the window? I’ve always toyed with the idea but am uncertain!
Why is there a big bed in Weston’s room?
Would love those blinds for my kiddo’s bedrooms, beautiful and functional.
Looks great! Just a tip…if you turn the blinds so that the slats are the other way facing up, they will block out even more light!
We had house guests and the guest room was in transition.
xo – kb
Probably not because the curtains would go only down to the weird bump-out thing.
xo – kb
Probably. We were looking at the front yesterday and realized that there is a window to the attic too! I guess we better order a set for that one!
xo – kb
We switched his room to be a guest space while the guest room was in transition 🙂
xo – kb
Ohhh so good to know! THANKS!! They are dreamy…as far as window coverings are concerned!
Anxiously waiting the annoucement!!