FAQs

Q) Why FLATR shades?

A) Roller shades are a great solution for both daylight control and privacy. Compact and unobtrusive when retracted, so as not to detract from your view, while offering sleek, clean lines when deployed for that modern, minimalist look. Important to maintaining this look is proper design and installation. Improper design can lead to fabric not hanging flat but sagging in the middle. This fabric sag creates unsightly shadows that can make your roller shades look more like drapery and damage the fabric on roll-up. Poor installation can also result in fabric rolling up crooked and getting frayed against the brackets. Flatr shades is dedicated to your shades hanging flat and staying that way till it’s time for your next redecorate.

Q) Why automation?

A) Daylight control needs vary throughout the day. Automation and scheduling are the most efficient ways to ensure your minute-by-minute needs are met, giving you one less thing to worry about. Whether it’s that afternoon sun fading the furniture or needing a little daylight first thing in the morning to help you get out of bed, this functionality can be at the press of a button or set and forget. Recent advances in app control have brought the integration of shades to the masses as part of total smart home control solution.

Large window openings can get unwieldy to operate manually and hard to reach windows are just… hard to reach. All solved with motorization. Even if the house is not prewired, there are great retrofit options available. These also come with the advantage of still being able to operate if the house loses power. 

Q) What system do you use/ recommend?

A) I have worked with Lutron, Crestron, Somfy, Rollease and Nice motors. There are many systems currently out on the market, and all have their advantages and disadvantages. The higher end systems tend to offer the most functionality, but this comes at a price. The cheaper options can be questionable regarding motor and fabric quality. Currently, my go-to brand for small to medium sized projects is Rollease Acmeda. Their bi-directional radio motors/ smartphone app control provides the level of functionality generally needed for most residential/ small-scale applications these days, at a reasonable price point. They also have good retrofit options available for when no wiring is in place. They are a large, local and multinational company that has been around in the industry for many, many years. See the below link for more Rollease Acmeda product info:

https://www.rolleaseacmeda.com/us

For fabrics, I first recommend viewing the Rollease range of fabrics, which can be found on their Texstyle website:

https://www.texstyle.com/

As well, Rollease offers a handy tool for visualizing how fabric openness and color affect your view from inside, and privacy from outside, both day and night:

For interior shades see Texstyle website here:

For exterior shade applications see here.

I also recommend Mermet or Phifer:

https://mermetusa.com/
https://www.phifer.com/