After shopping mania on Saturday, I could not process all the information we were thrown about blinds. One of the great things about our house is the windows, and natural light that make it feel bright and open.
Natural light = Windows
Windows = Texas Heat Pouring into my House
Heat in Texas = Constant Air Conditioning
Constant Air Conditioning in Texas = Big Money.
We know that blinds + curtains are a must in Texas, and we don't want to pay the electricity bill without as much coverage as possible. I have already converted The Husband to a believer about the cost-savings of window treatments. Our current apartment has faux wood blinds and we were still paying a fortune each month to ensure we weren't sleeping in a pool of sweat. I purchased some heavy duty curtains for all of the windows and we immediately saw a significant difference in the hottest month(s) of the summer.
The builder had offered to put in blinds for $1,000 added to our financing. We tried to negotiate them into our price, but no luck. The blinds they offered were exactly what we had in our apartment. Not terrible, not great. However, being budget minded... my whole goal was to find these blinds (or something better) for under $1,000.
I love a good spreadsheet, so while I was shopping I created this one. HD and Lowes went back and forth on the best deal (depending on the size of the window), but overall - we got a higher quality blinds for the entire house for less at HD.
Here's my spreadsheet... with the grand total!
Yep... that's right $17.70 under budget.
(not sure that was worth the 3.5 hours of shopping... but, I'll take it).
They are better quality blinds than what the builder offered anyway. I'm quite pleased.
They are better quality blinds than what the builder offered anyway. I'm quite pleased.
Also, we could subtract an additional $120 (bringing the savings up to $137.30... which is going towards 'mac daddy sectional' fund) if I can talk The Husband into installing them ourselves. We are educated people... it can't be THAT hard, right?
Have you installed faux wood blinds? Pointers? We're going with "DesignView" Brand. If you have any first hand knowledge... please let me know!
We've never installed blinds, but just another suggestion... we installed solar screens on our windows last summer and it made a huge difference. Last June/July our electricity bill was almost $300 and then we put the solar screens on and our August bill dropped to $200. I wasn't a believer but hubby convinced me and it definitely is paying off.
ReplyDeleteon the electric bill front, i'd just like to say that in our 950 sq.ft. apt in the arboretum our bills were upwards of $250 in the summer and $200 the rest of the year. in our highly efficient 2100 sq.ft. house, i haven't paid a single bill over $180, including last summer! just having a new and efficient house is going to make a great difference for your wallet! (but window treatments are SO necessary regardless)
ReplyDeletegreat to know Jill! I know the builder brags and brags about the energy efficiency of the homes - and I had really considered how IN-efficient our current apartment probably is.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to cross my fingers and toes for a bill drop like that!!!