The Natural Eco Friendly Choice
Of Bamboo Shades

Perhaps one of the most sustainable choices we can make when it comes to dressing the windows in our home is implementing the use of bamboo shades. Bamboo is not only the eco friendly choice, it offers a plentiful array of energy benefits that can reduce utility costs and as an added bonus bamboo window coverings are exquisite in presentation. They can turn an ordinary room into an exotic escape.

Bamboo shades are widely available in retail stores, home improvement centers and online. They come in as many color, texture and design choices as do traditional shades in the home. Whether you are searching for bamboo roman shades, outdoor bamboo shades to add a special touch to a patio or gazebo, roll-up shades for the living room or bedroom, woven wood bamboo shades or even an unusual yet beautiful bamboo lamp shade, you are assured to find a style that will compliment your home.

As luxurious as bamboo shades sound, the title does not necessarily translate into expensive. There is a variety of cheap or discount bamboo shades available that will look great, be extremely durable and fit the décor of your home.

Many bamboo window shades can be custom ordered, allowing you to choose the texture, hardware, color and style that you wish to incorporate. Bamboo shades can be made with valances to match the shade, with backings that provide extra insulation and operate in the same manner as traditional window shades.

Whether you prefer top-down, bottom-up, top-down only, roll-up, water-fall or even coil-free for those households with small children, there is an economic option available for everyone.

Bamboo can provide varying outdoor light elimination of 25%-100% and they are adept at providing complete privacy from the outside even at the lower percentages. One of the nice functions to using bamboo is that by eliminating heat from the sun they can reduce cooling costs in the summertime and help maintain indoor heat in the winter.

Outdoor bamboo shades are the perfect fix for making eastern, southern or western facing porch endurable in the hot summer months. They also go miles to shield your outdoor gazebo or patio from neighbors or a nearby road.

Since bamboo is an organic fiber, it will wear much like wood does, deepening in texture and color but withstanding humidity, moisture and cold temperatures. The lightweight material of bamboo can make them an excellent choice for installation without the need of installing further structural support. Since they come in many sizes and are easily able to be cut or altered you are assured to find a bamboo shade that will perfectly fit into your outdoor living space. The unique look and feel of bamboo fits in well with the outdoors and can turn your favorite spot into a tropical paradise.

For indoor decorating, bamboo shades are also ideal for many applications. Whether you room is traditional, Asian or contemporary in style, they improve the energy function of the home and are available in colors from light tans and neutrals to dark and rich browns and burgundies.

They blend in well with the wood tones of furniture that you already have and give windows simple looks that do not overburden a room. Many of the shades are available in a woven or basket-weave texture that adds the feeling of warmth. Whether you want to allow some light in or block the nuisance of the sun, they are a great way to ensure that the carpets and furniture in your home are not prone to bleaching from excess light.

Bamboo is lightweight yet durable and is a cinch to install on either the interior or exterior frame of the window. Like mini blinds the bamboo shades can be used in conjunction with sheers, valances or other window dressings.

Some of the most beautiful bamboo shades are matchstick style; which are intricately pieced together with bamboo wood. They provide intense and natural warmth to every room with the injection of a vivid earth-tone color. Many allow the grains of the natural plant to be seen and they have as much functionality as all the other sorts of bamboo window shades.

It is obvious that bamboo is beautiful and exquisite choice for any homeowner that wants to bring an element of the outdoors inside. What adds to their appeal however is a behind the scenes look at the sustainability and "green" factor of bamboo itself. Growing wild and in abundance all over the Eastern World, bamboo is a key resource that is naturally renewable, as it keeps right on growing again even after being harvested.

There is no worry that this resource will be easily exhausted. Crops are not clear cut in order to produce the product and as the plant re-grows, after being cut, it processes considerable amounts of the greenhouse gas, CO2.

The entire bamboo plant is used in the fabrication of textiles meaning there is no waste of the plant. In addition, much of the power used to factory this crop is human propelled and bamboo mills have extremely low emissions of toxins in to the environment. Bamboo grows extremely fast without the need for pesticide or chemical enhancements.

And probably most efficient and eco-friendly is that bamboo shades, with the exception of the small parts of hardware, are completely biodegradable.

With the Earth facing so many environmental obstacles for its sustenance it becomes more and more obvious that for every problem there is a cure in nature. Bamboo quite possibly could be that solution!

Regardless of whether you are decorating a patio, bedroom or looking for a new, economical, beautiful and easy way to add some atmosphere to your home, bamboo shades are the way to go.

The look can be complimented by using other bamboo inspired home décor products like bamboo lamp shades, bamboo rugs or bamboo furniture in and around the house to give your home a natural appeal. Bamboo textiles are a great renewable resource that is cost efficient, energy responsible and gorgeous to use inside and out.