Snyder's Shades and Shutters Blog

Apologies for the Absence, Life, Business and Other Updates...

2010-06-14T13:26:00.000-04:00

...what else can I fit into the subject of this post? NBA Playoff predictions (Lakers over Celtics in 6)? French Open predictions (dare I say Robin Soderling reprises his phenomenal run from last year's Roland Garros trip by besting Federer in the Quarters but eventually losing in the Finals again, this year to Nadal)? Ok, I'd say that's enough.

So to kick things off, my apologies for being away so long, oh faithful readers that may or may not check the blog every day, searching for an update. Let me tell you about recent life in the Simon family, because there has definitely been some excitement. My sister (a.k.a. the boss' daughter) got MARRIED! After 7 1/2 years of dating and 2 1/2 years of engagement, it all came to a head in a beautiful ceremony and supremely enjoyable reception on May 16th. As if that wasn't enough for her, not five days later, she went and graduated from Medical School, making my mother extremely proud of her achievement of becoming the first Doctor in the family! We couldn't be more proud and happy for her.

As for the business side of things, we are as busy as ever and more than happy to be so. Hunter Douglas has their new "Sheer Genius" promotion running as of June 1st and I will be updating everyone as to what the program entails. Also, as of May 4th, there were price changes (not all increases, but some prices actually went down!) as well as new fabrics within several different product lines introduced. I'll discuss all of these changes in a future post, as well.

Thanks for reading!

More Thoughts on Real Estate

2009-12-14T16:56:00.003-05:00

So everyone is telling you that this is the absolute, ultimate time to buy a house. Don't wait. Take advantage now. Prices are going back up and will go back up quickly and you'll miss the boat. Not so fast, not so fast. Have a look at this article in the Washington Post and see how you feel about it - Home Buyers Can Afford to Wait Awhile.

What does this opinion on housing mean for us? It means we don't make money because you will all start to reconsider buying a house and, in turn, won't need window treatments yet. But when it comes to looking out for your best interest, if we can help you make a better decision for your life, that's payment enough. The economy is still rough. It's not going to get better immediately. The best thing I can recommend is to do as much research as possible before you make a large purchase. If it's a product, read reviews and seek advice from people with detailed knowledge of the products available. Price is not always the determining factor. If you have to pay a little more to know that you're getting better quality and will eventually get more life out of the product, it's probably the better bet.

If you're looking to buy a house, make sure you know what the neighborhood is like, make sure the house has the essentials you are looking for and make sure the price is right. As most Realtors will tell you, finding the acceptable balance between price, location and the house itself is the key to pulling the trigger.

Happy Chanukah!

Dreamy Window Treatment

2009-10-30T13:22:00.003-04:00

Dreamy Window Treatment

How's this for an exciting, new take on window treatments?! If you ever thought there was no point to those origami swans you used to make back in elementary school, here's proof that creativity and resourcefulness can get you plenty of places in life. Sorry folks, we can't offer these as a standard product. I wouldn't have any idea where to even start with this one! I just figured I would share it to show you how some people like to address their window treatment desires.

Posted using ShareThis

It's Fall...Let's Talk Football

2009-10-05T11:08:00.003-04:00

I'm a Virginia Tech grad. This obviously means I'm very much interested in the college football scene. What does this have to do with window treatments, you ask? So far nothing, but I'm sure by the end of this post I'll have made some sort of connection.

What are the Hokies' chances of actually making it to Pasadena this year for the National Championship? As it stands, they're not as far-fetched as they were a few weeks ago. Obviously starting the season off with a loss against Alabama wasn't what we were looking for, but the upside is that it's clearly the best loss across the board of all the one-loss teams. Alabama has a case right now that they are the best team in all of college football. Fortunately for Florida, their #1 spot won't be called into question until the SEC Championship Game, where they will most likely face Alabama. In a league where undefeated seasons are a rarity, even among the elite, having their lone loss be to arguably the best team in the country means Tech could certainly end up with a 1-loss season, an ACC championship and a trip to Pasadena. If that's the case, I'll see you at the game.

On another note, how about Tyrod Taylor going 17 of 22 for 327 yards and 2 touchdowns?! In case you were wondering, the last time a Virginia Tech Quarterback threw for over 300 yards was September 30th, 2006. Sean Glennon went 27 of 53 for 339 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort to Georgia Tech. Definitely not as impressive. That's like buying a nice, 5 bedroom house with plenty of windows and covering them all with temporary shades. It's a great effort, but you fall just short of getting it right. And there's the window shades reference!

That's it for me right now. Let's go Hokies! Buy window treatments!

Oh, as a side note, the Redskins barely won yesterday. Check back when they aren't too terrible to waste words on.

Fall Rebates!

2009-10-02T12:34:00.002-04:00

During that 25 day lapse between September 1st and 25th, I'm positive the thought on everyone's mind was - when do the next round of Hunter Douglas rebates start and what are they? I know, I was jumping up and down with anticipation, too! But here we are. Fall rebate time. At last!

So what are we looking at this time? Hunter Douglas decided to do away with the Instant Savings idea from last time and is going back to the Mail-In Rebate only approach. Here's the run down.

September 25th - December 16th:

$600 per shade on Duette Vertiglide® with Duolite™

$300 per shade on Standard Duette Vertiglide®

$200 per shade on Luminette® Privacy Sheers

$100 per shade on Skyline™ Gliding Window Panels

$100 per shade on Park Lane® Privacy Sheers

$75 per shade on Silhouette® Window Shadings

$50 per shade on Pirouette® Window Shadings

$50 per shade on Nantucket™ Window Shadings

$30 per shade on Vignette® Modern Roman Shades

$25 per shade on Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades

September 25th - November 16th:

FREE LiteRise® on -

- Vignette® Tiered™ Modern Roman Shades

- Duette® Honeycomb Shades

- Applause® Honeycomb Shades

I know. It's a lot of money. A lot of saving. A lot of bold font. And it's completely worth it.

So now that you have this information, call us, invite us over, let us take care of you and give you the window treatments you've always wanted at an even better price. Maybe have some cookies waiting for us. We love cookies..

Real Estate Outlook for the Fall

2009-08-03T09:58:00.004-04:00

It's a very interesting time for real estate. Sales are up. Sale prices are up. The $8,000 tax credit is ending in November (If you are military, foreign service, or intelligence agency posted abroad, read this article to see how the credit might be extending for you). There is a lot happening! It makes for a very exciting Fall season.

So with this sudden upswing in housing activity, it all begs the question - what do you need to do to get your house sold? If you are in the fortunate crowd of attempting a normal sale rather than a short sale or foreclosure, there is still some work to be done. People are buying houses - but they're being smart about it. They're getting educated before they even hit the open houses. They are putting research into the home itself, the community, and the school system (Check out this article in the Post for more details).

What does that mean for you? It means that you need your house looking great when people do stop by. Buyers will already have their research done for the community - you need to make sure that your home is the one they want to buy in that community. How, you ask? Clean it, for one. Stage it either yourself or using a professional service. And of course, put up some good looking window treatments!

Summer Sales and Rebates!

2009-05-19T15:11:00.004-04:00

Hunter Douglas has their latest savings program running and this time, it's even better! In addition to the rebate forms, we are providing an instant savings to match the mail-in rebate amount! That means along with a $50 Hunter Douglas rebate, we're giving you $50 off INSTANTLY when we write up the order!

Why are we doing this, you ask? Don't ask. Just be happy and take the money! We want to give you the best deal possible on these products, so we're doing everything we can to save you money and let you spend it somewhere else!

Here are the deals we are offering up through August 31st:

$100 Mail-In Rebate + $100 Instant Savings on Luminette® Privacy Sheers and Skyline™ Gliding Window Panels

$50 Mail-In Rebate + $50 Instant Savings on Slihouette® Window Shadings

$40 Mail-In Rebate + $40 Instant Savings on Pirouette® Window Shadings

$30 Mail-In Rebate + $30 Instant Savings on Vignette® Modern Roman Shades

$20 Mail-In Rebate + $20 Instant Savings on Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades

Additionally, as a Showcase Priority Dealer® we are able to offer you FREE LiteRise® Lifting System on all Duette® Honeycomb Shades as well as FREE TOP-DOWN/BOTTOM-UP design option with the purchase of the EasyRise™ lift system on all Duette® Honeycomb Shades.

That's a lot of stuff we're giving away. Take some time, digest it all, see what you like. Ok, now call us and set up your appointment! We'll make your home look good.

Housing Woes and How to Help Sell Your Home

2008-11-21T16:45:00.010-05:00

So it's no secret that the housing market has not improved yet. With the economy in such a state of frenzy it's hard to determine when things will start looking up. This is not great news for everyone out there who is looking to sell a home. Houses have been sitting out on the market for longer amounts of time than ever. However, all hope is not lost. There are certain steps that home sellers can take to boost their chances of getting their houses sold and off the market. One such way is having your home staged. This article from washingtonpost.com does a great job of explaining how staging can help your home sell in a shorter period of time.

Beyond White Walls and Empty Rooms.

I'd like to take the opportunity to plug one of the stagers that we work with, too, since you'll see her in the article. Monica Murphy is the owner of Preferred Staging and gives some very interesting input to this article and makes a good case for why staging your home is a great idea. You can check out some of her work at her website, www.preferredstaging.com. Also, feel free to give her a call at (703) 851-2690.

Good luck to all in your home buying and selling endeavors.

GO GREEN!!!

2008-10-27T13:13:00.004-04:00

The leaves are changing colors to some beautiful reds, oranges and yellows as the fall season settles in on us. But you can STAY GREEN! with the purchase of your new Hunter Douglas window treatments. Did you know that Hunter Douglas has 31 products that are GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified®? That is far more than any other window treatments company in the industry. For Hunter Douglas, it is not enough to strive for superior style, quality and function - they are also committed to making sure their products are completely safe for your home. That's why we are proud to be a Hunter Douglas dealer.

For more information on GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), Please visit their website, www.greenguard.org. As always, you can view all of Hunter Douglas' green-friendly products at our website, www.snydersshades.com to select the best product for your home and to set up your in-home consultation with us!

Feel like saving money?

2008-10-14T15:23:00.005-04:00

The stock market is going crazy. Banks and other financial institutions are dropping like flies. Virginia Tech just lost to Florida State. Let's face it - the sky might as well be falling. Pretty soon the cold months will be upon us in full force and you'll be spending even more money on keeping your house warm.

Or will you?

Hunter Douglas has the best products on the market when it comes to energy efficiency. One of their newer products is the Duette Architella Honeycomb Shade. This shade features a honeycomb cell within an outer honeycomb, maximizing the energy efficiency and keeping the color truer with a less washed-out look from the sun compared with other honeycomb shades. These Architella Shades can reduce heat loss from your windows by up to 50% or more! To learn some more about how Hunter Douglas products can keep your house warm while keeping your energy bill down, see this article on the Hunter Douglas website.

Fall Promotions from Hunter Douglas

2008-09-29T16:51:00.006-04:00

The temperature is getting cooler, the leaves are changing colors and falling, school is back in session and, sadly, traffic is back to being terrible. Yep, it is officially Fall. But don't let the rain get you down, because Hunter Douglas has introduced its 6th Annual Holiday Savings Event. They're offering huge rebates on some of their proprietary products.

At up to 10 windows per product, you get rebates of:

$100 per window on Duette® Honeycomb Shades with Vertglide™
$100 per window on Luminette® Privacy Sheers
$100 per window on Skyline™ Gliding Window Panels
$50 per window on Silhouette® Window Shadings
$50 per window on Pirouette® Window Shadings
$25 per window on Duette® Architella™ Honeycomb Shades
$25 per window on Vignette® Modern Roman Shades

That's a lot of money to save! With the way the economy is looking right now, these savings are coming at the perfect time to fix up the decor of your home without a huge price tag. Check out our website to see the entire Hunter Douglas product line and to contact us about getting your new window treatments!

Welcome to Our Brand New Blog!

2008-09-25T11:57:00.002-04:00

Welcome! We have hopped on board the latest trend sweeping the Internet right now and have lauched a brand new blog. Let's get the initial plug out of the way - please visit www.snydersshades.com to see all that we have to offer.

So what can you expect in the blog? That's a great question, and the answer is anything and everything. We will certainly keep you up to date on new products and promotions coming out, which you'll already start to see in the few posts coming up after this. Additionally, we'll be offering our insight on what's going on in the industries surrounding and affecting the window treatments market. This will include such topics as home improvement, real estate, maybe even the economy in general since that's quite the hot topic right now. Is that all? No way! What is a blog good for if not providing a forum to dicuss anything we feel like saying as long as we can tie it back to the business world somehow?!

We hope you find our posts helpful, informative, and when applicable, an entertaining reprieve from the daily grind!