Category: motorization

Using Hunter Douglas Honeycomb shades for maximum energy efficiency.

Earth Day at Home: How Window Coverings Can Help You Save Energy Year-Round

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Light & Living by Pamela Brown, Budget Blinds Stillwater / Lake Elmo

🌎 Earth Day is a great reminder that small changes at home can make a big impact.

But what many homeowners don’t realize is this:
👉 Your windows are one of the biggest sources of energy loss in your home.

The good news?
The right window coverings can make a noticeable difference—both in comfort and energy use.

🏡 Why It Matters (Especially in Minnesota)

Living in Stillwater, Lake Elmo, and the surrounding St. Croix Valley, we experience it all:

  • Cold winters with heat loss through windows
  • Sunny summers that can overheat your home
  • Drafts and temperature swings near the glass

👉 Without proper window treatments, your HVAC system works overtime.

đź’ˇ How Window Coverings Help Save Energy

1. Insulation Where You Need It Most

Certain window treatments act as a barrier between your home and the outdoors.

âś” Cellular (honeycomb) shades trap air and reduce heat loss
âś” Layered treatments add another level of insulation
âś” Proper fit makes all the difference

👉 This helps keep warm air in during winter—and out during summer

2. Blocking Heat from the Sun

Sunlight is great… until it overheats your home.

âś” Solar shades reduce glare and UV rays
âś” Light-filtering options soften natural light
âś” Exterior shades can block heat before it even hits the glass

👉 Less heat inside = less strain on your cooling system

3. Smart Control with Motorization

Energy efficiency isn’t just about the product—it’s how you use it.

âś” Schedule shades to close during peak sun hours
âś” Open them to naturally warm your home in winter
âś” Control everything with the touch of a button

👉 It’s one of the simplest ways to improve efficiency without thinking about it daily

4. Layering for Maximum Performance

One of the most effective solutions we recommend:

âś” Shade for function
âś” Drapery for added insulation and style

👉 Together, they help regulate temperature while giving your home a finished, designer look

🛠 What We’re Seeing Locally

In homes across Stillwater and Lake Elmo, more homeowners are prioritizing:

  • Energy-efficient shades
  • Layered window treatments
  • Motorization for convenience and control

It’s not just about style anymore—
👉 It’s about comfort, efficiency, and long-term value

đź‘‹ A Local, Family-Owned Perspective

At Budget Blinds of Stillwater & Lake Elmo, we’re proud to be a family-owned and locally operated business.

That means we understand:

  • Our climate
  • Our homes
  • And what actually works here

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions—
👉 We help you find what works best for your space and your lifestyle

🌱 Final Thought

This Earth Day, creating a more energy-efficient home doesn’t have to mean a major renovation.

Sometimes, it starts with something as simple—and impactful—as your window coverings.

đź“ž Call us or Text

If you’ve been thinking about improving comfort and energy efficiency in your home, we’re here to help.

We offer free in-home consultations throughout Stillwater, Lake Elmo, and nearby communities—so you can see what works best in your space.

Office: 651.351.7620

Web: http://www.budgetblinds.com/stillwater

Fall in Love With Home Automation This Year

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Home automation is becoming increasingly popular and for good reason. Automated window treatments from our Smart Home Collection offer everything from convenience, safety, security, and privacy to child safety, all at the touch of a button. This year, explore the many automated solutions we offer at Budget Blinds of Stillwater/Lake Elmo and get ready to make your life just a little bit easier. 

Motorized window treatments allow you to control and schedule the positioning of your window coverings for enhanced on-demand privacy, and since they are cordless, they provide a safer environment for children and pets. Motorized window treatments also include unique sensors that allow you to increase energy efficiency by automatically adjusting your window coverings with rising temperatures.

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With so many great features and benefits of home automation, what’s not to love? At Budget Blinds of Stillwater/Lake Elmo, Pamela is here to help transform your home into a smart home this new year with automated window coverings from our Smart Home Collection.

Call today 651.351.7620 to schedule your free in-home design consultation or visit our website!

Pamela Brown

Going Back to the Basics

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With the end of summer nearing and school starting up again, it’s the perfect time to focus your attention on framing your windows and your lifestyle beautifully with custom window treatments from Budget Blinds.

Cellular window shades, also known as pleated or honeycomb blinds, are a modern window treatment solution. Constructed of multiple small honeycomb cells within the shades, cellular shades offer excellent insulation and improve every room’s energy efficiency.

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While the kiddos go back to school, treat yourself to the convenience of motorized blinds that open and close at the touch of a button.
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Make sure you’re ready for family dinners by adding wood shutters that elevate your dining room beautifully.
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Layer drapes over window shades to give you additional energy-saving insulation and light control so you can take that well-deserved snooze.

The Brain Power Behind Your Smart Home

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Smart Home technology makes everyday life easier. I make it all so easy and affordable because I partner with Lutron, the gold standard in quiet and precise automated shades. At home or away, they’ll open and close automatically for ease, energy savings, and extra security.

 

 

Lutron integrates beautifully — control shades, Lutron lighting, and more from anywhere with your smartphone! As always, our smart shades come with beautiful style and expert service — we design, measure, install and do it all for you. It’s so easy, and so very, very smart.

visit my website for more info! www.budgetblinds.com/stillwater

-Pamela Brown

Retrofit – Smart Home

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Everyday life just got easier!

With our Smart Home Collection the shades and blinds you already own just got a whole lot smarter! Because now, we can motorize your existing window coverings with retrofit solutions!

Motorization provides you with home security, child-safety, and energy savings all at the touch of a button! With Retrofit solutions, you can control your window coverings with the touch of a button from anywhere!

Motorized shades are ideal for family rooms, playrooms, kids rooms, and virtually any room in your home. With advances in technology and increased demand for smart and connected living, excitement about motorized blinds has been steadily rising. They provide convenience, safety, and energy efficiency!

First, let’s talk about convenience. Motorized blinds allow you to automate a repetitive task with the touch of a button, located right on your smartphone!

The next benefit is safety. As any new parent knows, cords are dangerous! Most motorized blinds are cordless which takes the danger of choking or accidental strangulation off your mind. Remember, your four-legged fur-babies are susceptible to this as well. The final touch point for today is the benefit of going green.

Maximize your home’s energy efficiency with motorized blinds by keeping the hot sun out while running the air and the heat in during those chilly months!

Explore the many benefits for yourself today! Call me, Pamela at Budget Blinds serving Stillwater at 651-351-7620 to schedule your free in-home consultation and I will help you determine which type of motorized blinds make the perfect choice for your home!-Pamela

TRANSFORM YOUR HOME IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

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If you need to upgrade your window treatments in time for the holidays, this is the week to start the process! It may seem a little early for holiday preparation. However, the fall and winter seasons are especially busy times for me and other companies in the industry, so to ensure your installation before the family arrives, call me today!

The holidays can be stressful as is. Nothing is worse than having people over to your home when you are less than proud of it. Whether it is the main gathering areas like the kitchen and living room, or your entire home, upgrading your window treatments is an excellent way to take your home décor up a notch! Not only can it improve the aesthetic appeal of your home, but we are partnered with Lutron and can connect your home to your smartphone! Wow guests with your tech-savvy and stylish home!

Don’t try to take on this project yourself. It can turn costly, quickly without the guidance of a professional. It is my goal to help you design a space that you will be elated to show off! I will walk you through each step and help take the stress out of what should be the most wonderful time of the year!

Beginning as soon as possible ensures you will be able to work with me, a credible, skilled and experienced decorator. It also reduces the chances of you having to rush through the project last minute, which can often lead to unnecessary costs. By tackling the home improvement project now, you will get it out of the way and make your life that much easier come the holiday season. Plus, you’ll find comfort in knowing you have carved out enough time to ensure every detail of the project will be up to your standards, and you won’t have to cut corners or glaze over the details.

To schedule your free consultation or to request a design guide, reach out at pbrown@budgetblinds.com or visit my web page budgetblinds.com/Stillwater

Budget Blinds and Lutron Electronics Join Forces to Simplify the Transition to a Smart Home

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Budget Blinds of Stillwater, MN is announcing its newfound relationship with lighting control pioneer Lutron Electronics, making smart home automation affordable and accessible to more homeowners. Home automation exclusivity to luxury homes is now a thing of the past. Lutron, in accompaniment with Budget Blinds, offers simple home automation solutions allowing homeowners to control and schedule window coverings, lighting and temperature with the touch of a button.

The Lutron line of automated window coverings offered by Budget Blinds can be controlled with a remote or wall control, through The Lutron App on a smart device, or with voice commands using Siri® on an Apple® iPhone®. Window coverings can be set to raise and lower according to daylight hours in a selected time zone, enabling morning sunlight to enter homes in an automatic fashion.

The relationship between Budget Blinds and Lutron provides homeowners with a wide variety of stylish window coverings ranging from drapery tracks to shades that offer the ease and simplicity of automation, while coordinating with furnishings and décor.

Budget Blinds’ Style Consultants, like myself are also certified Smart Home Consultants, offering custom installation and free in-home consultations so customers can see – and feel – fabrics, blind, and shade samples. Adjusting a thermostat, turning lights on and off and raising or lowering window shades is now easier than ever with automatic activation or the ability to control remotely while homeowners are out or on vacation. Coverings can now be installed with automation at an affordable price, offering added peace of mind and enhancing home comfort.

Creating a perfect smart home is now accessible to all Budget Blinds customers at an affordable price. To schedule your free Budget Blinds Style and Smart Home consult with me, visit our website!

Pamela Brown

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MOTORIZED BLINDS

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You’ve been hearing about them everywhere lately, appliances going cordless. Vacuums, computer accessories, and more! But what, specifically is the benefit of motorized blinds? Sure, they provide elegance and a certain sophistication to your living space, but are they worth the hype? The answer is YES!

Motorized shades powered by Somfy® are ideal for family rooms, playrooms, kids rooms, and virtually any room in your home. With advances in technology and increased demand for smart and connected living, excitement about motorized blinds has been steadily rising. They provide convenience, safety, and energy efficiency!

First, let’s talk about convenience. Motorized blinds allow you to automate a repetitive task with the touch of a button, located right on your smart phone!

The next benefit is safety. As any new parent knows, cords are dangerous! Most motorized blinds are cordless which takes the danger of choking or accidental strangulation off your mind. Remember, your four-legged fur-babies are susceptible to this as well. The final touch point for today is the benefit of going green.

Maximize your home’s energy efficiency with motorized blinds. According to SomfySystems website, “It may feel counterintuitive to draw the shades on a gorgeous summer afternoon. After all, you suffered through winter just begging for the sun to come out. However, what is actually counterintuitive is to run the air-conditioning or fan at full blast at the same time that you are allowing the sun to stream into your home. Similarly, in the winter, leverage the heat of the sun to warm your home and you may find yourself very happy with the savings! Your motorized blinds provide you with a quick and convenient way to save energy and money, all while creating a more pleasant home environment. Better yet, if you use a sensor or timer with your motorized blinds, you can automate your blinds to do this all for you, so you don’t even have to think about it.”

Explore the many benefits for yourself today! Call Budget Blinds serving Stillwater at 651-351-7620 to schedule your free in-home consultation and I will help you determine which type of motorized blinds make the perfect choice for your home!

 

Cheers!

Color of the year: GREENERY

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 – Customize with the Color of the Year!

March may seem like the only month we can embrace the color green because, hello to St. Patrick’s Day…But why not celebrate the color green all year long?  I highlighted this in a blog at the beginning of the year for – but just as a refresher, the Pantone color of the year for 2017 –Greenery! To me, green represents a total refresh – it makes people feel good, happy and bright!  I am really excited to see this color incorporated it into our homes and styles, I think will have the same effect of positivity and happiness in people and homes too!

If you haven’t tried to add greenery into your home decor yet, here are some innovative and unique ways to bring different hues of green into your home.

Splash of Green:
Make a statement by having a splash of green on your faux iron. Faux iron is custom-built to fit any shape or size window, including arches and skylights. It can be a full window treatment or installed as a piece of wrought iron artwork for the backyard.

Green Drapery for the Bedroom:
Achieve an airy look for your bedroom with custom, full-length light green drapery. Drapery can be sheer or lined with light-filtering to blackout liners to give you total light control.

Bring nature indoors:
With just a touch of green, wood blinds can make any area feel warm and inviting. Wood blinds are made of 100% eco-friendly hardwood (making them another type of green). They will look beautiful while preserving the environment.

Let the Light In:
Green Trilight shades are pleated shades on the top to let in natural light while maintaining privacy and blackout cellular on the bottom for complete privacy and darkness.

Green for the Bathroom:
Woven wood shades layered with green drapery make for a perfect mix of glamor and rustic. Woven woods are made from renewable resources making them a “green,” eco-friendly window treatment for an organic feel.

Now that you have some great ideas on how to integrate green (and greenery) into your home, let’s get started today! Budget Blinds of Stillwater can help you go green with window coverings, including blinds, shades, shutters, curtains and drapes (and we can make it SUPER green by customizing your treatments to be energy efficient too!)

Call me today and let’s connect ~  651-351-7620 go online to budgetblinds.com to schedule your FREE, in-home consultation! I can’t wait to see green emerge in 2017, so fun!