After a visit to a park, or a camping trip, so may people want to extend that visit by using some design elements of nature in their homes. Some will bring in house plants. Others ay change from metal or laminate furniture to wood furniture. Some may even use paintings or other art. While all of this is fine and well, it can also be easy to use the natural design features of bamboo shades, and when using real bamboo, it will not only be a beautiful product, but it will also be an ecologically kind window treatment.
Bamboo is a natural product, the result of one of the fastest growing trees in the world. The bamboo used in real woven bamboo shades will have been selected from trees that can grow as much as four feet or more each month. This rapid growth allows consumers of bamboo shades to feel ecologically right while bringing some of this natural beauty into their homes.
The natural stylings of bamboo shades comes from, among other sources, the fact that the pieces are woven together in a traditional style. The process is not much different from the actual weaving of fabrics, but the bamboo shades use full bamboo sticks as the fill, so the “fabric” is a random looking assortment of various colored bamboo reeds and tubes to make a real fresh from the jungle look.
In addition to the above, bamboo shades look natural because of the way in which the sticks are colored. While most traditional wood products are stained or painted so that they hide any imperfections, the real bamboo processing which is used for the sticks in bamboo shades is done in a manner to try to maintain the many imperfections in the wood itself. The rough edges, the hard bamboo grain, and the large bumps and joints all lead to an inconsistent finish, and make the sticks unable to accept a uniform coating of the colorants. This means that every stick will have an entirely unique color and appearance.
The actual production of bamboo shades, the fabrication, creates a final product that has the look of a custom crafted hand made product. Do not get this wrong to think that you will see horrible flaws and defects, and that there will be glue dripping all over. On the contrary, these will all be captured and cleaned, and the end product will be a unique customized design, and this uniqueness of the bamboo shades is what you are seeking. However, you will need to be willing to have a tolerance for many of these defects. Bamboo shades will often have a twist, a bump, or irregular folding. This is minor, and not unattractive, but just enough to help one perceive the custom crafted, mountain cabin style of the natural shades that are bamboo shades.
Of course, the sales of the designs, and the taste of the consumers are fully related. Consumers have voted their tastes with bamboo shades through their choices in colors. While there are a few white patterns available in bamboo shades, these happen to be the lowest selling colors in the category of woven wood shades. As white is the most important color range in shutter, shades, and particularly wood blinds, it is among the lowest in popularity for bamboo shades. Consumers are choosing these shades for their beauty and their natural appearances, as evidenced by the inverted sales of more dark colors than light paints, as compared to other products in this product group.
We should revisit, given that we have focussed on the natural look, what it means to take these beautiful trees and mill them into attractive bamboo shades. Unlike most other wood based products, the raw material used here is rapidly renewing. The fact that a bamboo tree can grow four feet in a month is only part of the story. These trees grow very aggressively, and new trees become available for harvest quickly. So, while you may feel that you are hurting nature to bring it inside, it is just not the case. Bamboo is nearly a miracle wood in natural resources. The wood in each bamboo shade is replaced quicker than it is used, and there are new techniques being developed to grow more bamboo, even in non native habitats.
Once you have elected your new and beautiful bamboo shades, you can rest easily. Mix up a little relaxation scene in your home with some calm music, maybe a cool drink. You can enjoy the new environment that you have created that brings you back to the visit you had to the mountains. The bamboo shades bring you back, and you are ready to enjoy it all.
Judith Persit studied bamboo shades for her interior design degree, and writes about
bamboo shades. Learn more about
shades at her website.
