As much as we all might wish to live in large houses — with terrific views, on extensive tracts of land — the U.S. is a nation where more of us live in metropolitan areas, sometimes even in highrise buildings.
One of the greatest inventions for the shade industry is the top down bottom up shade. The one pictured above is pulled down more than half-way, but it illustrates the wonderful privacy versus light debate that you don’t necessarily have to address.
• Does your home border a sidewalk, with people walking by? Pull the top of the shade down just to above eye-level; no one can see in, yet you still see out!
• Does your bedroom or bathroom face the neighbor’s house? Crack open the top of the shade for light, but leave the rest of the shade down — or, open from both top and bottom, but pull the bottom to the sill only when you need to do so for maximum privacy.
• Do you live in an area prone to scorching summers and/or frigid winters? Minimize the amount of heat and cold coming through your windows by using a combination of the top down bottom up.
In warm weather climates, you would want to keep the upper portion of the shade closed, and either open the bottom or leave the full shade closed. This will give maximum insulation against hot outdoor temperatures wafting into your cooler interior. Sure helps with AC costs!
In cold weather climates, the opposite will work wonders on saving on those ever-increasing heating bills: rest the shade on the bottom sill, but open the top of the shade.
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We’d be interested to hear YOUR thoughts on uses for the TDBU (“top down bottom up”) shade!
