When selecting bamboo shades, one can consider among the many choices of patterns of bamboo materials available. The many style each may have a unique look and styling, but when used in a bamboo shade, many of these patterns create not only a distinctive style, but a many also create a technical effect worth considering. When lighting, privacy, or performance are all important, consider these in addition to how a fabric looks in a bamboo shade. The matchstick is one of the most basic of woven bamboo materials.
Bamboo shades made from a simple thin stick, usually about as thin as a standard matchstick, that is what these materials are called. Often a shade collection will have two matchstick options for bamboo shades. The colors will include a plain white, usually with white threads, and a natural color stick. Often variations of the matchstick shade will change the colors of the lifting threads to make for a more designer look. While most matchstick is okay for providing decent privacy, many patterns vary the spacing enough among the various sticks so that there are some patterns where privacy is not provided.
In addition to privacy, light control is also lost with some of these bamboo shades. Tortoise shell bamboo shades use the raw looking bamboo, which shows the beauty of the patterns of the real woods, and will present with either a brown, or perhaps a green, color scheme. The larger sticks, which are flat sections of real bamboo, usually enforce a more private and better light control bamboo shade.
Tubes of the real wood make the bamboo shades which use real wood among the most natural looking. Because the real wood pieces have never been cut, they have the natural shapes of the trees. When used in bamboo shades, these pieces often will have splices which make the pieces longer. The combination of the splices as well as the random assortment of the sticks cause bamboo shades made using tubes to have a bit less privacy and lighting control, particularly when compared to the tortoise shell. However, the natural look does make these bamboo shades look incredibly beautiful. There is style in bamboo shades called a privacy weave.
This is a special organization of the materials in such a way as to make a privacy style. This is created by using flat slats of the bamboo, usually about a quarter inch wide, or maybe a little more. These are woven into a pattern where one slat is slightly in front of another. There is an overlap on each slat of the bamboo shade, about an eight of an inch for each slat is covered by another piece of wood. In the end, this privacy weave also provides a bit of light control, but occupants will still see quite a bit of light entering between each slat.
Grass weaves are woven grasses, which are often not even sections of bamboo at all, but rather are natural grasses. This style of weave, while making light and attractive bamboo shade, does not provide much privacy or light control. There are many materials which are woven tighter, thus providing a bit more privacy, however, the fact that the grass sections have a twists and turns, these pieces are responsible for greater levels of light entering the spaces, even with a beautiful bamboo shade.
When selecting bamboo shades, the first look is going to be at the appearance of the materials. The styles often do provide other technical enhancements, like privacy or light control, however, these are usually later decisions, not considered until long after the pattern is chosen. However, if the bamboo shades must be made form a particular style of woven woods, there is a way to make the shades into privacy and light control shades. Simply purchase the shades with a room darkening liner, and that liner will solve your woes. The liner, when properly attached to the woven woods, will keep almost all of the light, and the prying eyes of unwanted strangers, out.
There is another benefit of the liner, which is that the beautiful pattern for the bamboo shade, the one that helped you make that purchase, is easily more visible, by not being overwhelmed by the light. So, when selecting a bamboo shade pattern, consider the style, and consider the effect of the style of weave. If you have selected a pattern for its beauty, and it does not have the privacy or light control you like, order it lined. Lined bamboo shades are beautiful.
Judith Persit is a natural design specialist and loves bamboo shades. You can learn more about shades at blindsfactorydirect.com.
