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Number 42 | DECEMBER 8, 2000
© 2000 Designer Blinds

Especially noticeable on Silhouette^® Bonsoir™ and Nantucket Misty Harbor
Vanes Don't Close Tightly On
Silhouette^® and Nantucket^®

When the vanes of a Silhouette or Nantucket^® shading are closed, they overlap each other. They allow the shading to provide privacy and block the view, but  the vanes do not contact each other along the full length of the shading.  You will see from a side view, as shown in the diagram here, that the vanes are closer together and closed more tightly at the top of the shade than they are at the bottom. The vanes do not form a perfect seal against light leakage.

In the Hunter Douglas Reference & Price Guide, this characteristic is defined as "vane closure."  The closure varies with the particular Silhouette or Nantucket fabric. In order for you and your customer know what to expect, the closure is measured as the distance between the front and rear fabric facings 6" up from the lowest point of the bottom rail, with the shading fully lowered and the vanes fully closed.

For all Originale 2™", Toujours™ and Naturelle™ fabrics in Silhouette and for Front Street™, Surfside™ and Sea Breeze™ in Nantucket the vane closure is 5/8 " for shadings under 60" in length and 7/8" for shadings over 60" in length.

For Bon Soir in Silhouette and Misty Harbor in Nantucket the vane closure is 5/8 " regardless of length, and for Originale 3", the vane closure is 1".

On most Silhouette shadings, the vane separation toward the bottom of the shade is not all that noticeable.  On Silhouette Bon Soir and Nantucket Misty Harbor, however, it is more noticeable because these vanes have a room-darkening characteristic.

Looking at a Naturelle™ shading from the front, you probably won't notice that the vanes aren't touching...	...But on a Bon Soir™ shading, the light coming through is more visible because of the room-darkening vanes.

Even though the vanes have room-darkening characteristics on Bon Soir and Misty Harbor, they are not the perfect choice for someone who wants to block all light when the vanes are closed, but they will significantly reduce the light entering the room.  If your customer's priority is complete room darkening or "blackout," you may want to consider using a Duette^® DuoLite™, which uses two separate fabrics, usually a sheer fabric which produces a look similar to Silhouette shadings, is combined with a 99% room-darkening opaque Duette fabric.

Duette DuoLite™