Eric's Bright Idea!
This week, my good friend Eric Beard, who also happens to be the Designer Blinds Production Manager for Hunter Douglas Vertical Blinds, came to me and asked if there might be a way for him to show that assembling the valance for new Cadence Verticals is much easier than it looks in the instruction book.  So I invited Eric to give me a hand with this week's tip:

Assembling Cadence Valances
With Many Happy Returns!

It Looks Different Right Out of the Box...
"The partially assembled valance"	"The returns?  I think."	"It's all in here somewhere."

When you first take the Cadence DualFold™ Valance out of its box it may look a little intimidating.  It's different than other valances.  But in just a few simple steps you'll have it all put together.  Eric says that, "Everything you need to know is in the installation manual, but like most manuals it looks harder than it really is."  

What Eric and his team have done to make assembly a little easier for you is clip together the vanes that make up the face of the valance and place the returns into the clips that attach the returns to the face of the valance. 

You Have to Know Where You're Going In Order To Get There...

The finished valance.	Lay it all out upside down.

Since the Cadence Valance is so different and new, you may not have seen one before.  With the unique shape of the Cadence vane, it's hard to tell which end is up.  The picture (above left) is to give you an idea of what the fully assembled valance will look like.  The looped side of the vane is oriented towards the bottom of the assembly and the flat end to the top.  The flat side of the lower vane is tucked up underneath the upper vane. 

Eric says, "It's much easier to assemble if you lay it all out in an upside-down position, then put the installation manual in front of you and soon it will all start to make sense.

Getting Attached...

Get started by attaching the returns on one side of the assembly.  The returns are marked "RIGHT" or "LEFT" inside the clip.  Here, we took a close-up picture of the mark inside the left clip, but, because Eric is working with the valance in an upside down position you can tell that this is the right clip being attached.  You can start by attaching the returns to whichever side you prefer.  As you look at the clip from the outside, you'll notice that the side of the clip that shows is slightly frosted while the rest of the clip is clear.

Slide On Over...

Getting started...	...Keep sliding...	...It's in there!

Now it's time to slide the standard dustcover valance into place.  This is what holds it all together and lets you attach the valance over the blind the same way all of our other vertical blind valances are attached.  Note that there are no returns needed on the dustcover valance.  Start the dustcover by engaging the grooves on the face of the dustcover valance over the assembly clips holding the Cadence Valance together.  The assembly clips should be evenly spaced across the pre-assembled Cadence Valance.

Near The End Another Return...

Attach returns on the other end	You've got it all together, now!

All that's left is to attach the returns on the open end.  Once that's done it's attached and ready to install on standard valance clips. You'll love the look of Cadence Verticals with the DualFold Valance and Eric hopes you'll be making many happy returns. Thanks Eric. Good idea.

Oh, and just in case you want to take a look at the Installation instructions, you can download them here:

Cadence Installation and Care Instructions

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