Ask Jennifer Adams: How to research, replace, or add window treatments to match your home’s existing blinds

Q: In my kitchen there are two windows, one of which has no shade at all. It seems odd for only one window to be bare, but I can’t find a new blind to match the ones on the other kitchen window and the rest of my house. Either the stocked sizes are all wrong, or they have different cords or a fake wood texture that doesn’t match. The blinds I have are plastic, white slats. How hard can this be? Is it ridiculous to have an in-store consultant come to my house for just one window?

A: What a great question! Yes, it is odd to have just one window without any kind of treatment at all. If all the other windows have matching blinds, I’d assume there was a professional consultant and installer involved.

Can you find out the manufacturer of the existing window treatments? Good quality blinds usually have the brand name someplace. Many slatted window blinds have a header piece across the top. See if you can gently remove that piece and look on the back for a label with more information, including the manufacturer, color, and style. Once you have that information, you can look up a local dealer. Many professional installers probably would not mind preparing an estimate for and installing just one blind, although this will be more expensive than just going to the local remodeling store and buying whatever brand in the closest size and color. Having a professional help you out, though, means they have access to the right information to get you exactly what you want and in the correct size. And they will stand behind their products, so that will help give you peace of mind and a great-looking kitchen that you will love.

If a custom solution is too expensive, or if you can’t find the information or a label on the existing blind, an option is to replace the existing blind and buy two new window treatments for your kitchen. Though these won’t match the blinds throughout the rest of the house, at least the two in the kitchen will match each other.

Have a design dilemma? Jennifer Adams is an award-winning designer, TV personality and author of the books “Love Coming Home: Transform Your Environment. Transform Your Life.” and “How High Can You Soar – 8 Powers to Lift You to Your Full Potential.” Send your questions to AskJennifer@JenniferAdams.com or for more design ideas, visit Jennifer’s blog on her website at www.jenniferadams.com.