Window Treatment Jargon Buster

Apron:	The part of a window casing below the sill.
Bottom Rail:	Rail located at the bottom of a horizontal blind that holds the cords and ladders and is drawn up and down by the lift cord.
Bracket:	Hardware used to support and hold a window covering in place.
Bamboo Blinds:	A roman-styled shade made of reeds.
Basswood:	A premium wood with a smooth finish used for making wood blinds and shutters.
Blackout Lining:	A layer of opaque material is sandwiched between two layers of cotton fabric. In this way, all light is excluded. Some are heavy and difficult to penetrate with a needle, while others are softer. Both will add to the weight but will also improve the draping qualities. Usually in a cream or white color.
Blind:	A horizontal window treatment that is used both as a decorative window cover and also provide privacy and protection from sunlight.
Bottom Rail:	Used to keep the blind hanging straight, the bottom rail is a heavier piece of hardware at the bottom of your treatment that is color matched to the rest of your blind.
Brackets:	Supports for a rod, pole, shade, or valance shelf.
Carrier:	Clip used to hold the vertical vanes inside the headrail of a vertical blind. Carriers are linked together and both tilt and traverse inside the headrail with external controls.
Casing/Frame:	The structural case into which a window or door is set, usually covered by a wide moulding.
Center Open:	Vertical blinds that draw evenly from the center and stack evenly on both sides of the window opening.
Cloth Tape:	Wide, decorative cotton braiding used in place of the nylon cord on a 2 horizontal blind. Can be ordered in a matching or contrasting color or can have a pattern or design.
Composite:	A mid-range material for manufacturing window treatments. Treatments made from composite have an alloy casing injected with grated wood and special adhesives, giving them thermodynamic properties superior to faux wood, but less than basswood.
Controls:	The mechanisms that allow you to lift the blinds up or tilt the slats.
Continuous Cordloop:	Looped cord and tilt control mechanism that allows a honeycomb shade to be raised and lowered easily without the use of a cord lock.
Cord:	A cotton or synthetic cable yarn that is used to hold together and lift/draw a blind or shade.
Cordlock:	Mechanism in the headrail used to hold a horizontal blind at the desired height by locking the lift cord into position.
Cornice:	A decorative structure with a flat surface, mounted above a window to hide the curtain rod and the top of the curtain or drapery. Made from painted plywood or from plywood or buckram covered with fabric, it can have either a straight or a shaped edge. Unlike a valance, it is firm.
Cutouts:	D?corative silhouettes cut out of the panel of a shutter, offering the ability to further customize pair of shutters; usually crafted into the uppermost panel on each side.
Decorative Tape:	Wide, decorative cotton braiding used in place of the nylon cord on a 2 horizontal blind. Can be ordered in matching or contrasting color or can have a pattern or design.
Depth:	Front to back measurement of a window.
DuoShade:	Two shade fabrics are combined in one treatment for complete versatility in light control and privacy.
End Cap:	Plastic cap placed on the end of the headrail or bottom rail.
Extension Bracket:	Used to extend standard brackets away from the wall to clear an obstacle such as a window crank or door handle.
Factory Deductions:	The reductions taken from the width and/or length of inside mounted window treatment. Deductions are necessary for the treatment to fit and operate inside the casing.
Fine Grain:	A preferred quality of wood typically found in old growth timber, resulting in a stable construction with minimum contraction and expanding.
Fixed Louver:	Any louvered shutter in which the louvers are stationary and do not move/pivot.
Flush Depth:	Depth required for a window treatment to fit completely inside the window opening without projecting into the room.
Galvanization:	The process of applying a coat of zinc onto the surface of metal to prevent rust and decay.
Hardware:	Screws, brackets and clips for installing a window treatment.
Headrail:	The long steel box at the top of the blind, holds and hides all of the working mechanisms and is made of lightweight, strong steel.
Hold Down Bracket:	Bracket used to hold down the bottom rail of a horizontal blind. Typically used on blinds mounted onto a door.
Honeycomb Shade:	A hollow, cell shaped fabric, made of seamless, extruded material designed to cover the glass and fold off to the top or bottom.
Inside Mount:	The placement of a treatment inside the window frame or casing.
Jacquard:	Jacquards are fabrics with an intricate woven in design.
Ladders:	Used on horizontal blinds to hold the slats an equal distance from one another and to tilt the blind open and closed.
Lift Cord:	Nylon cord used to hold together and raise and lower a horizontal blind or shade.
Light Leakage:	A term referring to the amount of light escaping through or around a blind, shutters or shade.
Light Stop:	Framing around a shutter panel, added to prevent light leakage.
Louver Direction:	The positions of the louvers tilt; historically, louvers tilt toward the house when shutters are opened.
Louver Pitch:	The degree of the angle at which the louvers are positioned.
Louvers:	These are the vertical strips of fabric that make up a Vertical blind.
Made-to-measure:	this means that every one of our blinds is made to your own unique requirements.
Mini Blind:	Hard window treatment consisting of 1 wide horizontal slats held together with a nylon cord. Blind can both lift and tilt.
Minimum Depth:	Minimum depth required to mount the treatment inside the window frame typically, at this depth, the treatment will project slightly.
Mortise:	A hole bored into the stile joint to accommodate the tenon.
Moulding:	A shaped strip of material, usually wood, used to decorate a window opening.
Outside Mount:	Treatment is mounted on the frame or wall surrounding the window.
Overlaps:	The amount added to the window opening size to adequately cover the opening when an outside mount is desired.
QuickShip:	Denotes a product with limited options that is designed to be fabricated and shipped within a shorter timeframe than other retailers offer.
Recess::	This is the measurement to use if you want the blind to fit inside a window recess. If you specify a recess measurement, we'll make a tiny adjustment automatically to ensure that your blind fits perfectly.
Reverse Draw:	Vertical blind that draws and stacks away from the controls. It is convenient for use in corners and hard to reach places.
Roller Shade:	A flat vinyl or cloth fabric attached to a dowel with a spring roller mechanism that raises and lowers the shade.
Routless:	The hole in a blinds slat is removed so as to eliminate light leakage through the slats.
Sash:	A frame for holding the glass pane(s) of a window or door, especially a sliding frame. The sash is the frame that holds the smaller rectangular units of a window.
Shutter:	Side hinged folding wood panels that have louvers in the center of the frame.
Sill:	The narrow shelf running horizontally at the bottom of some windows.
Sky Light Shades:	A shade provided with special hardware that is mountable to a ceiling window or skylight.
Slats:	A series of wood, PVC or metal slats in horizontal blinds, referred to as louvers in shutters and vanes in vertical blinds.
Stack:	The measurement of the blind when completely drawn open.
Standard Draw:	(One way) vertical blind that draws and stacks toward the control side of the blind.
Stile:	The vertical framing member of a shutter. Strap Hinge : A hinge typically secured to the top and bottom of the back of a shutter with a sleeve that fits over a pintail.
Swatch:	This is a small piece of fabric or slat that we'll send to you if you request a sample.
Tannin:	A natural resin present in cedar and other woods.
Tenon:	A projection on the end of a rail made to fit into a mortise, thereby creating a joint.
Tassels:	The plastic or wooden bead placed on the bottom of the lift cord. Also the nylon ornament attached to the poles of a roller shade.
Three on One headrail:	three separate blinds or shades, placed on one continuous headrail. These will (in most cases) operate independently.
Tile Cut:	Slats and/or bottom rail that have been cut narrower than the rest of the treatment so that it can fit into a window with tile that wraps into the opening. Typically found in kitchen and bathroom windows.
Tilt Cord:	Used instead of a wand tilt to tilt the treatments slats open and closed.
Tilt Wand:	Wooden or plastic wand used to control the tilt mechanism in a horizontal blind.
Tilter:	Mechanism located in the headrail used to tilt the slats of the treatment open and closed.
Top Down:	A shade that lowers from the top down to the bottom rather than having the standard bottom up lift.
Top Down/Bottom Up:	A shade that lowers from the top down as well as from the bottom up.
Two on One Headrail:	Two separate blinds, including slats and operating mechanisms, placed into one headrail. Used in large windows and on sliding glass patio doors.
Valance:	Decorative attachment used to finish the top of a blind.
Valance Clip:	Bracket used to hold the valance onto the treatments headrail.
Valance Returns:	Piece of valance that attaches to the front of the valance and forms a corner around the end bracket.
Vanes:	The slats or louvers made of plastic or fabric and mounted onto a headrail for vertical blinds.
Vertical Blind:	Hard window treatment consisting of 3 wide vertical vanes (slats) made of plastic (vinyl), metal or fabric mounted onto a headrail with both tilt and draw controls.
Window:	Opening constructed in a building or vehicle functioning to admit light or air into an enclosure, usually framed and having a pane or panes of glass in a movable frame.
Wood Blind:	Window treatment consisting of 1", 2" or 2 ?" wide horizontal wooden slats held together with nylon cord. Blind can both lift and tilt.
Window Jamb:	The wood that frames a window and is used to secure the window to the rough opening of the building.
Window Seat:	The area where the shutter rests in the closed position.
Woven Wood:	Strips of wood, stained or painted, which are combined with cotton or rayon yarns in plain or patterned weaves. They are made from a variety of woods including Bamboo, Reeds and Ramin wood and are available in a variety of colors and textures.