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3 day blinds vs. Home Depot/Lowes vs. Smith and Noble
For those of you that have experience ordering window coverings (shutters, blinds and/or curtains) from these retailers, how would you rate the quality and service?
We just bought a new (to us) home and moved in the end of January. The only windows with proper blinds right now are my boys rooms...and this is because I could buy off the shelf. The rest of our windows will need custom sizes and I am procrastinating b/c I don't want to make the wrong choice in terms of quality and time it will take to get the product.
For example, I want to put shutters in our living room...but all the places I named above do shutters - so crap, who do I go with? To be honest, I want to pick one place and use their design service to do all the windows.
I'm attracted to 3 day blinds b/c of the speed, but don't know anything about their quality.
Likewise I'm attracted to S&N b/c of their products...but heard it takes forever to get the product.
Help!
Signed,
Indecisive Central over here by way of Married Life 
Re: 3 day blinds vs. Home Depot/Lowes vs. Smith and Noble
I don't have experience with Smith and Noble. Both Home Depot and Hunter Douglas hire qualified designersnto do consultations. There is a lot of room for error in window coverings so you want it done right the first time and you want the work to be waranteed. You are smart to do it all in one place.
I like Home Depot in that they are cost effective (I.e they carry a lower end but yet quality hunter Douglas product.) They are quick also, and have a lot of things in stock. You can choose in stock product, have it measured and cut in the same day. I've never used their design service obviously but I have been impressed by their installs. I have heard good things about their design services and have known many qualified designers who cut their teeth there.
Alternatively, there are interior designers who specifically specialize in window coverings. It might be worth it to hire one so that you can ensure that your goals are met in terms of cohesion and making sure you are using the proper materials in the proper application. What you pay for in consult fees you will likely make up for in their discounts and kickbacks.
Thank you Quesera -- I know Miso had a good experience with S&N, but the online reviews are scary to me in regards to how long it took people to get product. I was hoping to hear good things about Home Depot b/c frankly, that's the "easiest" option for us due to proximity, etc.
I'll give them a call and see how a design appt goes.
If anyone has had a good experience with S&N, I'd still be interesting in hearing about it!
Did you use their in home design service or just order strait out of the catalog?
hey foggy -
i used costco home services and got the hunter douglas faux wood blinds in 2.5 inches (i think that's the size i got -- they look very similar in size to your standard california shutters).
they were quick to come out and measure (probably within the week). and both time i ordered from them, they were installed within a couple of weeks. so, not super fast, but certainly not too slow (especially considering that we had cheapy gross blinds on our windows for YEARS, yes years, before i made my decision, lol).
anyway. i didn't shop around much b/c i find home depot to be a nightmare. and there wasn't anywhere else to go except some other store called blinds to go. idk. i should have shopped around, but i am sometimes lazy that way. if i call and you give me good service and you are knowledgeable and i can afford it --- i sometimes just pull the trigger.
Ohhhhhhh - I forgot about Costco! My mom told me they have great prices on Hunter Douglas and I completely blanked that.
I did end up calling Home Depot to make an appt but I'm already annoyed b/c they told me it will take up to 48 hours for a scheduler to call me back and at least a week lead time to get an appt with them once they call. I just want to be able to make one phone call and have my appointment scheduled.
My friend order from S&N catalogue and was pleased. I was thinking about using their in-home consultation services but the review online are horrible!
I have ordered 2" wood, custom size wood blinds from www.justblinds.com was was thrilled with their service. Google says they have 5/5 stars from ~300 reviews. Free samples. The woman on the phone was really helpful I called (I had lots of questions since I'm not familiar with blinds and such) and she helped steer me in the right direction).
When I received the order everything was clearly labled as far as which set of blinds were for which window. Everything was the right size, color and delivered 100% as expected. Time for delivery really wasn't that long. I can't remember the exact timeframe but I do remember there were no delays.