Fabric Use in the Tropics:

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by Anne Sanker, Owner of The Coloured House

Our lush, enviable tropical lifestyle allows us the freedom of outside living – something which our southern neighbours can only enjoy in the summer months. We really are spoilt with an average of 320 day so sunshine per year*, however when it comes to fabric choice with window coverings – our tropical humidity can limit our selection…

When selecting a fabric option, it’s important to consider not only lifestyle and budget factors – but also what will work best with living preferences and climate. Not all fabrics will behave the same when subjected to natural air flow, air conditioning and in particular – humidity.

Silk and humidity do not play well together. Silk is not ideally suitable for use in the tropics as it will fade very quickly, (not helped by our average 8hr sunlight days), and is such a delicate fabric there is too much movement. It also can stain easily and must be professionally dry-cleaned to remove any tarnish which can be inconvenient and costly.

Luckily – there are plenty of fabrics that closely imitate silk which are less costly to purchase and don’t come with any of the headaches silk can bring.

Linen is also a fabric that doesn’t mesh well with humidity present in our climate as it is a natural fibre, and therefore shrinks and expands with changing temperatures. That means if your fabric just touches the floor on install, this will likely not stay in that position and can have an awkward resulting look. If 100% linen fabric is to be used – the fabric should puddle on the floor and be quite voluminous so shrinkage and expansion is unnoticeable.

An ideal option for those after the linen look is to have a material mix such as linen with polyester. The resulting look encapsulates the beauty of linen, without the inherent problems 100% linen has.

So, whether you have a fabric in mind or are unsure on what will work best with your lifestyle, budget AND the climate – contact The Coloured House to assist in selecting the best material for your window coverings.

* Queensland Health website: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/townsville/About/townsville.asp

 

Scheming to Reduce Energy

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- by Anne Sanker, Owner of The Coloured House

Should the Australian Government introduce an incentive scheme to encourage consumers to purchase suitable window coverings to reduce their energy use?  What is your answer – yes or no??

This suggestion has come from a well known Queensland blind manufacturer, Frank Cairns, who is convinced such a program would have greater merit than the controversial home insulation program introduced as part of the Commonwealth stimulus package.

In a concerted lobbying campaign, he has written letters to state and federal government representatives calling for home owners to receive a financial incentive to install window furnishings that enable greater energy efficiency.  The recipients of these letters included minister s Peter Garrett and Penny Wong as well as various Queensland government representatives.

“There’s twice as much heat loss through a window than a roof”, he says.  In Frank’s opinion, they would have been better spending the money on a window than a roof. 1

He then goes on to say that the home insulation program had limited benefits for Australian employment.  If an incentive program for the window furnishing industry was commended than it would create jobs for the domestic manufacturing market and would filter throughout the supply chain.

This view of including window coverings as part of the energy efficiency rating scheme is supported by many Australian manufacturers but seems to have no voice in the halls of Parliament.  For commercial application, the importance of coverings has been addressed and aided some large multi-storey office towers to achieve accreditation – however there doesn’t seem to be any flow on effect into the domestic market.

Many of the fabric manufacturers can produce certificates detailing insulation, UV ratings, solar absorption, and solar reflection percentages – however this does not seem to bear enough weight to be considered.

It begs the question – how long will it take for the argument to gain momentum and the government to finally include this as an additional item on the energy efficiency score card?

 

1 Reference: Window Furnishings Australia magazine

The Environmental Fibre

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by Anne Sanker – Owner of The Coloured House

When you are thinking of window coverings for your home, do environmental issues come to the fore? Yes. When good quality coverings are in place they do mean better insulation for the home so less electricity use for the air con. So this is in fact a tick for the environment.

But what about the fibres that are woven into the yarns to manufacture the fabric?  How do we consider the environment when discussing the essence of the window covering?

Linen and hemp have been grown for thousands of years providing warmth, protection and comfort.  Hemp requires absolutely no chemical sprays at all during its growing cycle. Linen also grows well with minimal chemicals used in its production and requires significantly less than most other textile fibre crops.  Linen and hemp fields do not require additional irrigation other than that supplied by nature.

Fields of linen and hemp are gentle on the land and fit seamlessly into modern crop rotation cycles.  Harvesting and processing linen and hemp fibre uses very little energy and does not harm the environment.  Linen and hemp can be processed using the environmentally friendly dew-retting method.

In the production phase, spinning and weaving linen and hemp fibres has very little effect on the environment.  The weaving mills are constantly investing in new equipment and production methods, to reduce the need for energy and water, and are eliminating or recycling most of the waste.

One of these mills is a New Zealand based company – Hemptech.  As a source of energy, Hemptech’s mills use natural gas through reducing air pollution.  Constant improvements are being made on the spinning and weaving machinery to allow their mills to monitor and conserve the use of energy.

All bleaching and dyeing of Hemptech yarn and fabric conforms to strict European E.E.C environmental standards.  Their mills have invested heavily to process all waste water using state of the art biological water-recycling plants.

All Hemptech fabrics are 100% chloride free and are bleached by the environmentally sound alternative – peroxide.

Their printed fabrics are produced using high quality water based printing inks which provide high performance to add to the lifespan of the product.  It is not yet possible to print with natural inks and still achieve an acceptable product lifespan.

Once linen and hemp fabrics have reached the end of their useful life they can then be recycled into paper products or insulation materials.  Hemptech ships all its fabric cutting waste to the Paper Mill, a company dedicated to recycling waste fibre products into beautiful recycled paper gift items. (www.papermill.co.nz)

Here at The Coloured House we have proudly added Hemptech to our diverse range of drapery fabrics, as we recognise the need to commit to sustainability and best environmental practices.

 

 

We have the space – now we want a room!

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by Anne Sanker – Owner/Manager of The Coloured House

Tropical North Queensland with its fantastic climate and amazing weather… it’s difficult to find a home these days that is absent one back patio. This space lets our environment spoil us and is often the most used area by the family. However, it can often become a dumping ground for whatever doesn’t fit in the house or the shed – clothes drying racks, bikes, mowers, drinks fridge – you name it.

The time has come to clean up and get back to what a patio should be – an outside room that flows seamlessly from the inside.  A space that has walls of some description, giving you the feel of a ‘room’ – even if those walls are retractable.  This patio should be all about relaxing and entertaining, particularly in our climate, we want to make the most of the cooling breezes from the sea whilst we sip a cold drink and watch the world go by.  We should be making this room a perfect vantage point for not only viewing the backyard, but also feeling a part of it.

So where to start? You need to consider what constitutes the perfect outdoor living space for you and the family. What activities do you want to pursue whilst being sheltered in this spot?  Cooking, conversation, entertainment or relaxation – is it just one? Or a couple balancing harmoniously in the space that you have?  You want to ensure an increase of both value and enjoyment are added to your home.

Once you have made the decision of what to do in this room you then need to decide how to protect the items sheltered here from the elements – particularly the sun.  External blinds become a perfect choice to shelter your outdoor guests from the weather while creating your own sanctuary.  Imagine the ability to create an intimate space that you desire whilst protecting the furniture from harmful UV rays…

Imagination can become a reality with vertical drop blinds! These blinds are manufactured with sunscreen see-through fabric. The fabric’s most appealing characteristic is heat protection – reflecting and absorbing heat, stopping it transferring into your outdoor room and beyond.

What’s more – forehead creases eliminated! Glare protection is also an added advantage, which eliminates uncomfortable glare, making the view more visually comfortable – so you can see who’s having the most fun in the pool. You will get maximum solar protection while allowing natural light to filter in.  Even on the sunniest of days you can protect your guests from the heat without shutting yourselves in the dark.

And finally, (and perhaps the biggest factor…) is the UV radiation protection. The sunscreen will protect your belongings from damaging UV rays that can cause fabric and furniture to fade and also be harmful to your health.

  1. Abundant Colour choice? Check.
  2. Ability to be motorised and controlled with a button click? Check.
  3. Ability to keep insects out? (Yes you read correctly…) CHECK! There is a system that will act as an insect screen which means no more annoying buzz of the mosquito or fly!  Wow what a great idea for North Queensland… a retractable insect screen.

So whether you are imagining a BBQ with no flies, or a simple chardy on a Sunday afternoon without the glare and the heat of the sun– the creation of an outdoor room is indeed worthwhile investigating.

The Plight of the Venetian Blind

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By Kevin Finch, The Coloured House Consultant

The venetian blind has had an interesting history full of conjecture…

The early Venetians, who were great traders, are thought to have brought the idea of the blind from Persia to Venice. The Venetian slaves once freed are then thought to have brought the idea to France for personal comfort and as a means of livelihood. The first most noteable record of venetians being used in a commercial application was in St. Peters church in Philadelphia, in 1761.

Since that time, the venetian blind has become one of the most revolutionary window coverings to come about. The earliest ones were made of timber slats that consisted of thin cords to operate the tilt mechanisms, with the slats being unable to be lifted up. Different types of timbers were used, but the most successful was western red cedar as it is light and has an eye-catching, natural red colour with timber grain effect.

At the beginning of the 20th century the age of metals began to show its effect on many industries. The once timber venetian which was a luxury item was replaced by the much more modern aluminium venetian which had a blade width of 2 inches (50mm). This type of blind graced many homes and famous buildings, including the Rockefeller Centre RCA Building, better known as Radio City, with venetians fitted throughout the entire building to give that modern décor effect.

The venetian blind, like many blinds, has undergone many changes due to demand and competition. The 50mm had styles with stars, leaves and perforations on the blades to try to satisfy the décor demands of modern architecture. The blade size in the aluminium version has become available in 25mm and 16mm blades, with the colour range in these becoming larger all the time.

Like many trends, the venetian has come a full circle with the cedar venetian becoming popular again in the early 1990s with people trying to achieve that old world charm in their décor and once again demand meant more competition. This in turn resulted in prices going down and alternative finishes like painted and lime wash becoming available.

So from an industry that began with slaves, to the Venetian blind being painted in the picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this product that we often see being peered through by nosey neighbours in movies is still evolving, and remains one of the most efficient blinds in today’s market.

I hope you find this interesting! Next month we go outside to discuss awnings so stay tuned…

The Humble Holland Blind

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by Kevin Finch – The Coloured House Consultant

The humble Holland blind has been around for over 100 years to provide people with an easy solution to keeping the sun out of their buildings, provide privacy & beautify the look of their interior. As the name suggests this style of blind originated in Holland. It is ironic that many of the innovations made in the blind and awning industry originate from Europe considering the amount of and intensity of sun that we experience here in Australia. It suggests that blinds are an improvement to the look of a building as much as a sun and privacy device.

The reason that I refer to the Holland blind as humble is because the first versions of this blind where a simple roll down roll up system that was spring assisted, and quite often the earlier models where not that reliable in staying down in the position you required. As the years rolled on the demand for these blinds increased and subsequently the spring systems improved along with the range of colours and textures. In the late 80s a revolution in blinds occurred with the advent of the chain operated Holland Blind which then became known as the Roller Blind. This was a very exciting period for people like myself who at the time was installing blinds. It meant that you no longer had to manually tension the spring in the blind but the customer also had much more control over the position of the blind being fully down or partially down.

Since that period the roller blind has become one of the most marketable blinds available, this I feel is due its continual popularity which has brought about a vast range of fabrics that can cater to all needs – whether its to fully block-out the sun and light or to allow a translucent effect which is popular in living areas or even the bonded version in which a fabric of the customer’s choice can be adhered to a base fabric to match curtains or soft furnishings.

The introduction of the PVC sunscreen is I believe the most popular as the filtered light it allows into a room whilst allowing the view to be uninterrupted appeals to many people and the look suits both modern and contemporary decors. To facilitate the vast variety of needs the roller blind has a version that is the double roller system where both full block-out fabric is used along with a sunscreen or translucent fabric to allow the versatility of total sun and privacy control.

With the situation of safety in regard to the control chains and cord on internal blinds becoming more regulated due to the unfortunate deaths of children by strangulation the use of motorization on roller blinds is becoming more popular and subsequently more affordable as demand determines competition.

I hope you enjoyed reading my view on “the humble roller blind “ next time you see a scary movie and a young lady inside pulls up the roller blind to reveal a face at the window or you see a cartoon in which a character is pulled up with the blind and rolls around and around spare a thought for this wonderful blind innovation.

I will choose another topic next time but in the mean time you can talk to me about any blind or awning at the Coloured House .