Cat Friendly Window Treatment Suggestions?

I'm sure this has been covered before but, since styles and safety are always being updated I am starting a new thread.

We've been living with cruddy looking window treatments for 7 years.  I'm ready to take the plunge into getting real window treatments on the entire 1st floor of our home, through my brother who is a rep for Hunter Douglas.

Even with his deep discount for me, we're talking a HUGE amount of money and I want to be sure I'm making the right choice.

My biggest consideration is how easy it will be for the cats to mess them up.  Now, both of ours are really well behaved kitties so it isn't that I think they will tear them - it's just the usual wear that might occur with them trying to get under them to see outside.  

I considered some to be motorized to hide cords but OMG SO much money    And of course I wound up picking like the most expensive fabric for them!  So now I'm back to square one.

What do you all have? Rollers? Blinds? Cellulars?  Cordless?  Sheer/blackout?  

I'm going crazy with this. We're talking 11 windows, one of which is a slider and then there's my living room window which is actually 3 big windows spanning the entire length of the room.  My dining room windows are also in a set of 3, and bow shaped so not easy either. I thought it would be at most $3-4K but what I want is well over $6 so I'm NOT willing to spend that much on a house that we have no intention of retiring in - I'm expecting we'll be out of there in 10 years.  

Thoughts? 

Oh and NOT verticals. No way. No how.

Won't even consider them - too dated.

If it's in the budget, the ones between the glass panes in the windows are probably best.

Other than that, I don't have any experience with high-end window coverings. I just got those wide-slat fake wood plastic blinds at Walmart :tongue2:. I like them, and even if a cat chews on them, the slats are replaceable. I like them a lot better than aluminum blinds or the thin plastic kind.

OMG 

Willowy said:

If it's in the budget, the ones between the glass panes in the windows are probably best.

Other than that, I don't have any experience with high-end window coverings. I just got those wide-slat fake wood plastic blinds at Walmart

. I like them, and even if a cat chews on them, the slats are replaceable. I like them a lot better than aluminum blinds or the thin plastic kind.

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Can't do those. I had ALL windows replaced when I bought the house. Spent $15K on those!

DIdn't have cats at the time LOL

It's impossible to take a decent pic right now. It snowed and now the sun is out, so it's blinding. Here's the best I can do.

No blinds, shades, etc downstairs. Thick curtains on rods that can be closed -

AbbysMom said:

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• AbbysMom
• Jan 6, 2017

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This is pretty much what we currently have. It's worked fairly well, although the curtains aren't the prettiest but they are heavy, and black out all light when drawn.

I like them, because we have some air leaks, not bad, but the windows were retrofitted into existing frames and in old homes, it's hard to get that air tight completely.

Maybe I should just ask him about having professional curtains instead.  I do know he works with a company that does that and he'd still get a kick back from it.  

PS: I really like the material of yours! 

May have to rethink this.

I have honeycomb shades on my three living room windows. They just pull down and push up like regular shades. They're not sheer or blackout, just normal ones. You can get these shades in a "top down / bottom up" version, meaning you can pull the top down to let in light but still have the bottom half of the window covered for privacy or do the reverse. Over the shades I have a double curtain rod, sheer underneath and either heavy curtains for the winter or lighter mesh ones for the warmer months. In the bedroom I have a sliding door to a faux balcony and I just have a double curtain rod. My cats have never bothered the window treatements in any way (climbing, etc).

I got the shades from Lowe's because my dad insisted. Hunter Douglas offers a tax deduction on energy efficient window coverings and treatments so it may be well worth the cost of putting in all those window coverings.

My cats only look out a few windows. One set I have sheers on, and the cats sit on the couch back and peer between the panels. They've never clawed them. (I wish I could see what that looks like from the outside - a black cat between white curtains.)  The other windows have those narrow slat venetian blinds on them, which are probably outdated, but I just raise one part way for the cats. Otherwise, they will destroy the blinds pushing down on the slats.

LTS3 said:

 
I have honeycomb shades on my three living room windows. They just pull down and push up like regular shades. They're not sheer or blackout, just normal ones. You can get these shades in a "top down / bottom up" version, meaning you can pull the top down to let in light but still have the bottom half of the window covered for privacy or do the reverse. Over the shades I have a double curtain rod, sheer underneath and either heavy curtains for the winter or lighter mesh ones for the warmer months. In the bedroom I have a sliding door to a faux balcony and I just have a double curtain rod. My cats have never bothered the window treatements in any way (climbing, etc).

I got the shades from Lowe's because my dad insisted. Hunter Douglas offers a tax deduction on energy efficient window coverings and treatments so it may be well worth the cost of putting in all those window coverings.

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PHOOEY! 

Rebate ended in 2016 and isn't being extended for 2017. Wish I'd known that. May have pulled the trigger sooner and at least ordered in December to get the credit.  $500 would have nearly covered the installation costs at least.

sivyaleah said:

This is pretty much what we currently have. It's worked fairly well, although the curtains aren't the prettiest but they are heavy, and black out all light when drawn.
I like them, because we have some air leaks, not bad, but the windows were retrofitted into existing frames and in old homes, it's hard to get that air tight completely.
Maybe I should just ask him about having professional curtains instead.  I do know he works with a company that does that and he'd still get a kick back from it.  
PS: I really like the material of yours! 
May have to rethink this.

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Thanks. They were a Bed, Bath and Beyond clearance. I had to go to quite a few stores to get enough of them for the living room. :lol3:

I wouldn't trust Abby with shades, blinds, sheers, etc. As it is, every curtain I've had in my dining room she has made pulls in with her claws. When we finally get around to doing the dining room I'll spend more money on a heavier material.

sivyaleah said:

 
PHOOEY! 

Rebate ended in 2016 and isn't being extended for 2017. Wish I'd known that. May have pulled the trigger sooner and at least ordered in December to get the credit.  $500 would have nearly covered the installation costs at least.

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Didn't know that either. This year will be umm... interesting so who knows if other energy tax credits and deductions will be eliminated as well.

Smith + Noble has an online gallery you can browse for ideas of window treatments for various rooms in the home. You can likely get the same style by buying treatments from a more affordable place. Smith + Noble is awfully expensive but their treatments and fabrics are really nice.

LTS3 said:

 

Didn't know that either. This year will be umm... interesting so who knows if other energy tax credits and deductions will be eliminated as well.

Smith + Noble has an online gallery you can browse for ideas of window treatments for various rooms in the home. You can likely get the same style by buying treatments from a more affordable place. Smith + Noble is awfully expensive but their treatments and fabrics are really nice.

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Yea, I hear you...

I'm getting them through my brother's company. He's giving me his price for the window treatments - I don't think I'll find them for less anywhere than that.  I have a total of 11 windows on the ground floor alone and 3 of them are "banks" of window so way bigger than normal = so much more money.  And we are SO not handy to do it ourselves so I have to suck it up.  If I had a more modern home, I think the choice would be easier - I'd just choose plain cellular shades in white and be done with it. But, I have a nearly 100 year old home and that kind of look really is going to conflict with the look I'm trying to maintain (Craftsman).  Ideally I'd love indoor wood shutters.  The material I originally picked has a sort of "linen" appearance in a warm tone, but was uber pricey.