LIGHT
~ Nature’s Natural Mood Transformer ~

If you have any doubts about the emotional effects of light, ask Dr. Judy. According to world-renowned radio advice host Dr. Judy Kuriansky, it can increase your energy, elevate your mood and when properly controlled, it can facilitate more healthful sleep patterns and create a romantic atmosphere. Window coverings play a crucial role in controlling light. “The key to a good relationship is creativity and flexibility and that is also what to look for in a window covering,” Dr. Judy advises. Perhaps most widely known as a radio call-in therapist, Dr. Judy is an adjunct professor at the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University Teachers College and at the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia Medical Center.

“Light has a tremendous effect on mental health,” she says. “There are early birds and night owls.” Dr. Judy asks that people think carefully about both their own circadian rhythms (the 24-hour psychological rhythms associated with the 24-hour cycle of the earth’s rotation), and those of their significant other. “It is important for people to feel that they have control over their environment and some window coverings enable you to do that,” she says. Dr. Judy advises consumers to be assertive about their needs when shopping and favors Hunter Douglas products for the variety and flexibility they offer in controlling both light and views from wide open to the outside sunshine to the glow of diffused light, the dramatic effect of deflected light and to the warmth of screened light. If in order to get a good night’s sleep you need a window covering that will totally block light, demand it!

She encourages people to experiment to see what gives them the most pleasure with light control as well as romance! Continuing its tradition of award-winning innovation, Hunter Douglas has recently introduced Trio® Convertible Shades, a window covering that offers so much flexibility in light control that it invites experimentation. This soft window covering features 1 1/8-inch individual, hexagonally shaped horizontal vanes that “open” (compress) and “close” (expand), even when the shade is partially raised. Vanes close for soft, diffused light
and complete privacy; can be adjusted to anything in-between for full control of an environment; and open for a full view-through. A single operating cord both opens and closes the vanes and raises and lowers the shades – allowing the product to transform itself from a shade to a blind in one smooth motion for options in light control never before available.

Dr. Judy notes that there is a segment of the population that is so seriously effected by light deprivation that during the short days of winter they may suffer serious bouts of depression. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects an estimated half a million people every winter. It is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypolthalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter. Hunter Douglas window coverings can help alleviate this disorder because many of the products beautifully soften and diffuse through two fabric layers or gently filter incoming natural light, rather than simply blocking it, so that its positive effects can be felt without its harsh glare and heat.

Cheryl Terrace of New York City-based Vital Design, an advocate of green, or ecologically sensitive design, is so acutely aware of the emotional effects of light that she advises friends and clients to take a walk on the sunny side of the street every day. For window coverings, Terrace likes Alouette® LightLouvers, one of the newest products from Hunter Douglas – it has a shutter-like look without the heavy framing. This innovative window covering consists of soft fabric 2 ¾” rotating louvers that are elliptical and cellular in shape with a headrail that pivots with the louvers to virtually disappear. Because the louvers consist of two layers of fabric with space in between they soften and diffuse light while controlling it. Terrace also favors natural fibers, like woven woods, especially bamboo for the texture they add to décor. Provenance® woven wood shades from Hunter Douglas has unique designs in bamboo, reeds, grasses and wood slats, and has expanded its offerings to 65 fabric options.

Christine Baumbach, an interior designer in Oak Park, Illinois, says, “The winters here are long and dreary, so people need as much light as possible, but in the summer my clients are concerned about light and heat control.” Moreover, although Oak Park is a suburb, houses are frequently only 20 feet from their neighbors, so Baumbach generally specifies top-down / bottom-up window coverings for all first-floor rooms and for second-floor bedrooms to give rooms privacy and still allow them open to be open to sky and sunlight. Hunter Douglas recently introduced its popular Silhouette® window shadings with the Top-Down / Bottom-Up
TiltAnywhere™ feature for ultimate flexibility. Silhouette shadings provide a soft diffused light with its two layers of sheer fabric with rotating fabric vanes between. Baumbach also likes the flexibility provided by Alouette LightLouvers.

Eminent Atlanta-based designer Nancy Braithwaite admits that as a young designer, she favored “the clean look of no window coverings at all.” Several years and many complaints from clients later, Braithwaite has come to appreciate the light-diffusing qualities offered by some window coverings. Braithwaite found woven wood shades to be a good solution to the afternoon glare in a sunroom and now understands that there are a variety of products that offer a clean look plus light control, a big plus in Atlanta’s climate.

Dr. Judy suggests that another important emotional factor to consider in selecting window coverings is that the window is your access to the world. Some people like the sense of enclosure provided by layered window dressings, while others want open access. Dr. Judy says to ask yourself, “When you are at home do you need to feel part of the world or do you prefer to escape?” Los Angeles designer, Peter Dunham says that most Californians like to bring the outdoors in, yet there is a need to filter light for heat control. He is partial to window treatments that “dress the room without blocking the light,” such as products like Silhouette shadings that offer top-down / bottom-up flexibility. Baumbach notes a generational difference among her clients, saying “my older clients like the sense of privacy and concealment provided by layered windows, while my younger ones want to be open to the outdoors but still have privacy at night. Hunter Douglas gives me both the reliability and variety I need for all of my clients.”
When selecting a window covering, Dr. Judy advises to also analyze and express your personal style. “It has a lot to do with fantasy,” she says. “Are you the French maid or cheerleader type? Classic people tend to like traditional relationships and traditional decoration as compared to people who prefer experimentations, surprises and wild colors. Remember that in your home you are the subject of the painting. Do you prefer the chiaroscuro of the Old Masters or the light-filled canvases of the Impressionists?” Whatever your needs and desires, Hunter Douglas has a window covering that’s a perfect match.
Hunter Douglas Inc. is a national sponsor of Habitat for Humanity, covering windows in every Habitat home built in the U.S. and Canada.