There is a lady I used when I lived in Calgary. They are Hunter Douglas style, but a fraction of the cost. I paid 1200 for 11 full size windows. I've recommended her many times and every time she gets good reviews from them. If you want, pm me and I will pm you details.
Keep in mind, though, depending on neighbourhood and price range, that could hurt re-sale. If it's just an average house in Woodbine or similar, go for it.
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Cordially as always,
Vlad the Impaler
Blind installation is criminal. I did mine myself, it's super easy. I had several places come in and quote it, and they were all 15-20k. It was ridiculous.
I took all the measurements, copied the style in all the quotes I got, and ordered it all online at blinds.ca. All in (for the same brand as the quotes) it was just over $4k and took me a weekend to put in.
Just do it yourself and save a boatload of $$$$$
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Keep in mind, though, depending on neighbourhood and price range, that could hurt re-sale. If it's just an average house in Woodbine or similar, go for it.
We had a house in Panorama, they looked near identical, and nobody questioned our sale value.
Expensive blinds will pull you around 4-5k, and I've been told by a few realtors that while nice, they don't matter in resale value. That being said, if they're terrible, it's like being in a poorly staged home. It will just make selling a bit harder.
I might be able to save you guys a lot of money on these. If anybody is willing to post exactly what they want (sizes and details of brand, style, colour, etc.) as well as what you are being quoted (minus installation) I'll see what I can do. I buy a lot of stuff for my business through a company that also sells blinds and curtains to all of the Calgary resellers and I may be able to save you some big bucks.
We had a house in Panorama, they looked near identical, and nobody questioned our sale value.
Expensive blinds will pull you around 4-5k, and I've been told by a few realtors that while nice, they don't matter in resale value. That being said, if they're terrible, it's like being in a poorly staged home. It will just make selling a bit harder.
I am not talking Panorama. I don't know where the OP is at, but if your house is expected to have a Subzero fridge etc, you better have HD blinds...
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Cordially as always,
Vlad the Impaler
I am not talking Panorama. I don't know where the OP is at, but if your house is expected to have a Subzero fridge etc, you better have HD blinds...
Lol, you've been misinformed if you think that's true. I mean, half the homes in Evanston have HD blinds. You get them at Sears. They're not some exclusive brand that affects resale.
I've used the first two in the past. They have their own cheap brands and also offer some of the name brands, and usually so much cheaper than buying locally that you could hire someone to come install them and still be way ahead money wise.
When I did the blackout cellular blinds in my basement ordering online cost 1/3rd the lowest quote I got from a local company for the same brand.
Thanks for the links! Noticed that none of these sites sell HD...any online budget place that you can get HD from?
Lol, you've been misinformed if you think that's true. I mean, half the homes in Evanston have HD blinds. You get them at Sears. They're not some exclusive brand that affects resale.
I was going to add "or better" to my post but left it out. Happy pappy?
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Cordially as always,
Vlad the Impaler
Depending on the type of blind, installation is crazy simple. I was a little apprehensive ordering 4K worth of blinds that couldn't be returned, but after measuring everything, labeling everything on the order form by room, and then going through it all with a sales rep for blinds.ca it was actually pretty easy to do. All my blinds arrived properly labeled (kitchen, bonus room, BR#1 etc etc) so I put them all in the correct rooms, and went to work.
I had roll blinds, blackout blinds, top down/bottom up, single cell, double cell and a few other random types that were all about 5 minutes per window to install. The hardest part was moving the ladder around so I could get the brackets in. I also googled "blinds.ca discount code" and found a 20% off one of the brands (pretty sure it was HD but I can't remember). That there saved about $800.
Also, don't make the mistake of paying $10-15k on window coverings thinking you will gain it back on resale, because you won't. When I sold my place downtown I had about $10k worth of wood blinds installed, and my listing realtor told me it wouldn't matter. The house was listed with "window coverings included", and while it looked really nice it didn't increase my home value. I would have been better off having Home Depot throw in faux wood for a fraction of the cost.
I used a guy who was a friend of a friend who has a small business on the side doing blinds. Price was reasonable (a bit over 3k for a townhouse, minor percentage over cost and a small installation fee). At first I thought I over paid (wondered if he had gone to a more expensive supplier for the blinds), but now that I see more cellular blinds in people's homes and whatnot and asking prices, I can tell a visual quality difference in look and I paid maybe only a few hundred more than others. I agree with others, I think that installation costs are a huge portion of unneeded costs in blinds.
I do wish I went with no draw strings, but no way I was going to dish out nearly $1k+ for that difference. Cafe style blinds have ridiculously long draw strings. Not a huge issue to tuck the strings behind the blinds though.
Sorry to bump an old thread, but we are in the process of rebuilding our home and are at the blind-selecting stage. We are leaning toward Hunter-Douglas but they are obviously very expensive (and the quote we got from one store today proved that).
Does anyone have any suggestions on where to shop for blinds in Calgary? Any good options that might be a bit cheaper? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
I got my blinds from Costco, you can order them online. Its totally DIY though as you have to measure, pick the color/style etc. But I saved big, I got a quote initially from a consultant for around $5k but with Costco I paid around $1200 for comparable quality blinds
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I've got my eye on some cool blinds that I can schedule, like hunter Douglas or Lutron, but man are they expensive. I'm wondering what's the best place to get these for the least amount of money. It seems like a pretty protected market (tough to shop around). Anyone done all the research and point me in the best (cheapest) direction?
Go over to RGO. The largest dealer in Western Canada. Their business is mostly commercial but they sell to the public too.
I'm actually in the market for blinds as well, mainly cellular shades. Here's our research:
We got a quote from Hunter Douglas through Costco...costs an arm and a leg for each blind. No thanks.
Next we got a couple quotes from independent third party retailers, Calgary Blinds and Shutters and WinDecor. Both were fairly reasonable, had very good reviews on Google. Cost a couple thousand less than HD.
Then we priced it out DIY method using various online stores, Costco Bali , Lowes Bali, and Blinds.ca. They all have some price and then a 24/7 sale that reduces the price to an average that all three of them share. For example: Costco $410 regular price, Lowes $405 on sale price, Blinds.ca $390 on sale price (this is all on Bali brand).
Our decision is to go with DIY method using Costco Bali blinds (mainly because we trust Costco the most).
Just like flooring, why would you buy window coverings at retail outlets? Go see the commercial outfits, most also sell to the public and their prices are considerably better.
Last edited by rotten42; 07-13-2018 at 09:50 AM.
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