Loads to do before Christmas? Let us take care of your windows.

With Christmas Day now less than three weeks away, are you sitting back and relaxing with your gifts bought, wrapped and hidden, and your tree up and twinkling away?

Or, are you not quite that organised? With all the presents still to buy and the decorations hidden away somewhere you’ll never find, which means buying more again this year? And on top of that, are you cooking for family, who are planning on staying for a few days as well?

Oh dear! It looks as though you have a hectic couple of weeks or so ahead. But don’t despair! If you need a blind for a spare bedroom, or would even like a new look for your kitchen or dining room this festive season, we can take care of that.

Yes, you’ve got until next Thursday 15 December to order your blinds and we’ll get them made and fitted in time for the big day. But it’s even better than that!  Remember, your local advisor will visit you at home, at a convenient time and while you choose from our range (take a short break from all the wrapping), your advisor will take care of the measuring.

When it comes to the fitting, your advisor will pop back, at a time to suit (although be warned – he or she may be very busy) to get your windows looking just perfect with brand new blinds.

Unfortunately your advisor isn’t on hand to pick up a couple of presents en route, but at least you’ll be able to tick one big job off your list of things to do. Good luck with everything else!

Everyone's a winner with our advent calendar!

Advent calendars seem to have been in the shops for what seems like months now. If, like me, you’ve put off buying yours until ‘closer to the time’ you’re probably having a slight panic now because, of course, you’ve only gone and forgotten. But don’t worry! Enter our competition instead.

Every day between now and 24 December, we’re giving away a fabulous range of goodies including iPads, iPod shuffles, vouchers for made-to-measure blinds and much, much more in a very lovely facebook advent calendar.

Unfortunately not everyone can bag themselves one of these great prizes. But the beauty of our advent calendar is that everyone is a winner with vouchers offering free upgrades and accessories for blinds you buy from us behind every door.

We’re giving away free stylish metal chains on roman or roller blinds. Free shaped hems on roller blinds. Free poles and pulls on roller blinds. Free beading or braiding on roller blinds and free beading on roman blinds. Plus there are money off and 10% off vouchers too!

So today I’m going to take the opportunity to encourage you to think about ways to personalise the blinds for your home. Take a roller blind for example. This is often thought of as a functional blind that’s ideal for a kitchen or bathroom. But add sparkly beading or braiding and you instantly have something a little more glamorous that will work just as well in a living room or bedroom.  Or why not simply add a twinkle to your bathroom window?

Co-ordinating beading on stylish Roman blinds gives them a boho-chic edge, just perfect if your tastes are a little more eclectic. And of course a sleek metal chain can co-ordinate with door handles, light switches and other accessories such as curtain poles (if you have them) in your room.

Your advisor will be more than happy to show you all of the accessories in our range – and don’t forget to make the most of your free vouchers. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the end results I’m sure.

From bold candy stripes and fun seaside stripes to this subtle design, stripes can be adapted to suit any home or style.

If you’ve been shopping to update your autumn and winter wardrobe recently, you must have noticed that stripes seem to be absolutely everywhere. I’ve talked about the close link between fashion and interiors in the past, and this is another great example of just how influential both can be on each other.

So if stripes are all the rage on the high street how should we use them in our homes? As with all classic designs, stripes can be adapted to suit any tastes. Follow our tips and you’ll find just the right style for your home.

Add interest to neutrals

Choose a plain fabric with a simple stripe running through it in a slightly different texture or shade and you’ll instantly add interest, and a splash of sophistication. This works especially well with white, cream and neutral fabrics.

Get the seaside look

Deckchairs and stripes go hand in hand so if you want to take your summer holidays home with you, stripes would make a great starting point. Blues and reds teamed with white or neutral shades look great – and we’ve more subtle options too in beige and linen tones.

Candy stripes

Think sugar pink, baby blue as well as lilac, limes and daffodil yellow. These colours make the perfect choice for a child’s room but can also add a feature to a plain white bathroom or kitchen and can bring a sense of fun to a living room.

Not to mention retro…

Still a key look for interiors, chinzy retro styles can feature stripes. We’ve a very pretty Roman blind fabric called Nostalgia Chintz that combines pastel shades, delicate florals and stripes to gorgeous effect.

The clocks went back yesterday, which means even darker evenings and the feeling that winter has well and truly arrived.  If you’ve not thought about it yet, now’s the time to turn your attention towards getting the inside of your home all cosy and inviting. 

So where to start?

How about the walls?  Choose a rich colour for your walls and you’ll add instant warmth to a room. Deep reds and berry tones, pumpkin orange and golden shades are all ideal and bang on-trend for the season ahead. Textured and patterned wallpaper are perfect for adding an extra dash of luxury.

Throws and cushions are essential elements of a room you want to spend time relaxing in. Throws look great tossed over the back of a sofa and are wonderful for snuggling under too. Cushions make chairs appear even more inviting, pile as many on that will fit.

During the autumn and winter months, rugs should feel warm and soft under foot.  This isn’t the time of year for sisal and jute – indulge yourself and go for thick-pile luxury. 

Lighting isn’t just about creating a mood, it’s essential during the darker months when many of us rarely see daylight while at home. Ceiling lighting is therefore essential but it can be harsh during the evenings when you want to be more relaxed.  So complement with lamps dotted around the room –there are so many options to choose from to suit every home.

Let’s not forget about the windows. Blinds are crucial at this time of year. You want to maximise the light coming into your room during the hours the sun is up but then block the outside world out once it’s cold and dark.  Fully-lined Roman blinds are perfect – the soft fabric neatly fold up when they’re opened but is great at helping reduce draughts coming into the room when closed. We’ve more than 140 fabric options plus gorgeous beaded trims to add a sparkle.

There's loads you can do to personlise your blind, such as adding beading as we have done here.

If there’s just one thing we can take away from the current trend for vintage style, it’s that today’s interiors are all unique and individual. No longer is there one look that everyone aspires to or one ‘must-have’ piece of furniture that sells out no sooner than it arrives in the shops. Not at all. Instead our homes are much more individual than they’ve been for a long time. We’re actually scouring flea markets, antique fairs and charity shops on the lookout for unusual items and when we find them we’re adding our own touch by painting them or with accessories.

We’re really pleased that our range of blinds reflects this trend for personalisation. Did you know we have more than 850 blind fabrics to choose from? But that’s not all. There are so many individual touches that can be made, which extends the range even further. So you can be sure there won’t be thousands of homes around the country with exactly the same windows as you.

Fancy a shapely bottom?

If a straight bottom edge is a little straight laced for you, take a look at the shaped bottoms available in our Roller blinds range. Two also come with poles. As well as these there are eyelets, pulls and braids including a lovely beaded range that adds a sparkle. With such a choice there are loads of possibilities for your windows.

How about a sparkly Roman?

Beaded braids are available on our Roman blinds too in a range of colours designed to co-ordinate with the fabrics beautifully.

Wood you believe it!

Gone are the days when having wood venetians at your windows meant choosing from a range of natural stains. Now we offer painted shades and colour washes in distressed whites, sophisticated greys and comforting creams. Plus tapes for an extra dash of luxury and metal pulls if you prefer too.

Let’s mix things up a little

Our new Harmony blinds cleverly combine a wood valance and bottom rail with a venetian blind slat and they are finished very neatly with stylish tape, usually reserved for our wood venetian blinds only. 14 co-ordinating and contrasting variations are available to create a practical yet unusual and elegant blind for your home.

Get the layered look

More than one blind at a window can be a practical choice, especially if one is a blackout blind. But combining two blinds at one window can look super-stylish too and it’s completely up to you to decide the combination you prefer.

So be inspired to try something a little unusual at your windows. There are so many options, it shouldn’t be hard to find something unique.

It’s an exciting day for everyone here at Hillarys. Not only is it beautiful and sunny again but we’ve also two new ranges launching.

Last week I told you all about our new ‘Family Favourites’ Roman blinds collection – 20 absolutely gorgeous fabrics that give a contemporary twist to traditional, rustic-style blinds. That collection is now available for you to buy via your local Hillarys advisor; I know you’re just going to love them.

Today I can tell you about our second launch, and that’s a brand new range of venetian blinds.

Venetian blinds are just about the most traditional type of blind you can get. They’re simple and practical and suitable for anywhere in the home. But that doesn’t mean they’re boring. Oh no!

Our new range includes 115 slat options in a fabulous choice of colours as well as finishes. There are gloss, matt, soft sheen, pearl and metallic options not to mention special finishes such as perforated and textured finishes.

And that’s not all. There are four slat widths to choose from that range in size from a super sleek 15mm to a bumper 50mm. This means that no matter the size of your window they’ll be a venetian blind to suit. I especially love the large 50mm option – it follows the current wood venetian blind trend to be as wide as possible, and looks absolutely fantastic.

If you like venetians but fancy something a little different it’ll be worth your while checking out our new Harmony blinds. These cleverly combine a wood valance and bottom rail with a venetian blind slat and are finished very neatly with stylish tape, usually reserved for our wood venetian blinds only. 14 co-ordinating and contrasting variations are available to create a practical yet unusual and elegant blind for your home.

So there you have it, two new ranges both launching today. I know you’ll love them, please, let me know what you think by commenting on this blog or visiting our facebook page.

Villa Pimento was one of lucky fabrics we chose to photograph.

The 20 fabrics that make up our brand new ‘Family Favourites’ collection of Roman blinds are so gorgeous that we couldn’t wait to photograph them. The problem was deciding just which ones to use in our photo shoot!

But decide we had to and after lots of to-ing and fro-ing we managed to narrow it down to eight fabrics in three room sets that encapsulate exactly what ‘Family Favourites’ is all about.

The product team here at Hillarys works closely alongside our photographer and stylist to build room sets that suit the fabrics we’re going to be featuring in our pictures. Of course, we want the blinds to be the hero of the photograph but we also want to give a good feel for what the rest of the room looks like as we know our customers find these inspirational.

Our new Roman blinds have a modern rustic feel. This is an emerging interior décor trend that combines homespun, wholesome style fabrics with contemporary design. Checks, chambrays, cocooning textures and leafy prints are at the heart of the collection, and we’ve given our rooms a simple yet welcoming feel to set them off to perfection.

We hope you like our photography. If you’ve been inspired to give your homes a makeover because of it, let us know via our facebook page. We’d love to see pictures of your room too.

Our new ‘Family Favourites’ Roman blinds collection launches on Monday 3 October.

Our customers wanted to see more checks in the range, so we're introducing this gorgeous fabric called Tatton in three colour options.

Hot on the heels of our new ‘Family Favourites’ collection of Roller blinds comes an update to our Roman blinds range – and we’ve called this ‘Family Favourites’ too!

‘Family Favourites’ Roller blinds have been a big hit, not just here in the product office, but also amongst our advisors and most importantly our customers. You all just love the quirky, chintzy and retro designs as well as the more sophisticated styles we’ve introduced. So we’re hoping you’re going to just as happy with these new Roman blinds.

There are cheeky checks, gorgeous printed designs, lovely textures and pretty chambrays to choose from in a great range of neutrals and on-trend colours. So whether you prefer a fresh feel to your home, or a cosier mood, there’ll be something to suit you.

Putting the range together is down to one of the product managers in the team. Before getting started they listen to what our customers and advisors are saying and look at the trends expected to be important for interiors in the months ahead.

Our customers told us they wanted to see more red in our ranges of blinds, and this collection has plenty in it. They also revealed their love of checks – so we’ve found a fab fabric called Tatton, which comes in three stylish colour options.

Our top tips for choosing new Roman blinds from our ‘Family Favourites’ collection:

Vintage Know-how

Granny chic takes the best things from the past – the knick-knacks we never throw away – and combines them with up-to-date styles for an eclectic look that’s as individual as you are.

Layer up to keep cosy

Layering doesn’t just apply to clothing, it’s all the rage for blinds too! Pick out a colour from your favourite patterned fabric and fit a plain blind in this tone at the same window for an extra dash of luxury.

Keep warm this winter

Fully-lined Roman blinds are a great option for insulating windows – perfect for keeping the chill out. Consider a blackout lining for bedrooms to help get a good night’s sleep.

Don’t forget the finishing touches

With beaded braids and a choice of metal and coloured operating chains, it’s easy to tailor your bind to suit your home exactly.

There are 20 brand new and very beautiful Roman blind fabrics in the ‘Family Favourites’ collection, which launches on Monday 3 October.

Grand Designs Live is at the NEC, Birmingham from 7 - 9 October 2011

Grand Designs Live, the consumer show inspired by the popular Channel 4 programme, gets underway next week (7 – 9 October) at the NEC, Birmingham, and once again Hillarys will be there.

We love this show. It’s packed full with ideas for anyone who loves their home. Yes, there’s loads of advice and information for people planning a major project, such as a self-build home or a big extension, but there’s also ideas for new-look kitchens and bathrooms as well as plenty of inspiration for a room makeover and lots of lovely goodies to buy for your home too. There’s even cooking demonstrations, which we can’t resist!

Believe it or not, an incredible amount of work goes into getting our stand ready for the show. There’s a lot for visitors to see and we need to make sure we stand out and are generally inviting, interesting and appealing to the crowds. 

Planning begins months in advance with the stand build, which must make the most of the space we have so we can show off our products and explain our service in a clear and concise way.

Then it’s down to the really difficult bit. While the stand is being built we choose the fabrics that are going to take their spot in the limelight. With hundreds to choose from, this is a time-consuming task but an important one too, as we want visitors to get a good idea of the extent of our blinds collections.

But that’s not it. The blinds must be made, brochures and other display materials must be created and then it all needs to be collected and delivered to the NEC to be built, dressed and generally tweaked to perfection!

As well as our blinds, we’ll also be showing off our gorgeous shutters, which are experiencing huge popularity at the moment. It’s important we take the time to get this great product looking perfect. We want visitors to get a real feel of how they’ll look in their homes.

As well as viewing our blinds and shutters, visitors to our stand will also be able to receive expert advice from our experienced advisors who’ll be at the show every day. Yes, a team of Hillarys advisors will be there to listen to what you need and talk you through the range. And what better way to discover what happens during one of our home appointments than with a real-life advisor!

The show is on from Friday 7 until Sunday 9 October and you’ll find us on stand L408 in the ‘Grand Interiors’ section. If you’re planning on visiting please pop over and say hello. And if you fancy discounted tickets, you can save up to £8 off every ticket bought in advance by quoting our special exhibitor code.  Either call the ticket hotline on 0844 854 1348 or visit www.granddesignslive.com and quote EXHIB11.

We’ll see you there!

Our fully-lined Roman blinds, such as this called York Damson, will make your room much cosier

So, the temperature is dropping and the nights are drawing in. Autumn has definitely arrived. Are you mourning the end of summer and already missing the sunshine, holidays, days out and leisurely weekends spent in the garden? Or are you secretly looking forward to cosy evenings indoors, snuggled up with the blinds closed and the heating turned up?

This is certainly the time of year to get your home ready for the cold months that lie ahead of us. And if recent weather reports are anything to go by, we’re all set for another chilly winter.

A great place to start is with your windows. Not only will updated blinds breathe new life into an entire room (add a few new accessories, cushions and a rug and it’s as though you’ve given the room a complete makeover) but choose wisely and you’ll help keep the cold air out too. Great!

Fully-lined Roman blinds are a lovely choice. The soft fabrics in our range have a real luxurious feel, great for escaping the outdoors. The lining provides additional insulation at your windows too. 

Alternatively take a look at our Pleated blinds. Perfectly suited to a conservatory as they can be tailored to fit the different shaped roof windows, Pleated blinds are available with a special lining that stops heat escaping during the winter as well as keeping things cooler in the summer. Pleated blinds aren’t exclusively for conservatories though – consider them at the windows of your home – team them with one of our PerfectFit frames that fit into uPVC windows without the need for drilling and screwing for brilliant draught exclusion results.

And while we’re on the subject of conservatories, remember, ignoring your conservatory over the winter is a huge waste of space. It’s definitely worth investing in Pleated blinds for the roof and your favourite style of blinds for the sides to keep things warmer and ensure you get year-round use out of this expensive addition to your home.