The 411 on Fire Retardant Draperies

Fire retardant draperies are required by most State Fire Marshalls as well as by the NFPA 701 standards in certain government and housing settings. Such situations usually involve federally subsidized facilities like: HUD, senior resident housing, or public areas. If these laws and guidelines are not followed, citations and fines could be levied and subsides could be revoked. I hear you, “What does this mean to me, the average consumer?” Well, this means that the government understands how important fire retardant draperies are in protecting people and property. Let’s examine the different qualities of retardants and the different options of fabrics made from fire retardant materials.

First, be sure to only buy fire-retardant drapery fabrics that are inherently flame-resistant or fireproof fabrics. This means the fiber itself will not sustain or continue to flame. For example, draperies constructed with mod-acrylic material would be an excellent choice. You absolutely do not want to waste money buying a drapery fabric that has been artificially treated or one subjected to a chemical in order to make it fire-retardant. Usually, this type of treatment can easily be inadvertently lost after only one or two cleanings as it literally washes out the drapery.

Fire-retardant draperies also have great use in other ways as well. For example, many fire-retardant fabrics provide thick, rich, elegant draperies. This type of drapery tends to wear well because of its durability. Also, these fabrics often come in a great selection of weaves, patterns, and textures. For timeless, elegant styles and superior quality, choose the only website where you can buy direct from the factory and save hundreds of dollars per window, saving you 50 to 80% off per window!

Why Draperies?

Draperies are the secret to a designer’s touch. By layering windows with draperies they offer several outstanding advantages that just wood blinds simply can’t provide. Draperies offer far superior insulation ranging from 50 to 80 percent compared to blinds which only offer about 10 percent insulation value. While some may think blinds look modern, they can make your home look “cold and office like” whereas draperies offer a warmer more inviting decorative appearance. Draperies offer superior privacy.

Finally, drapery can generally handle years of normal wear and tear in your home. This makes them very cost effective. Finding high quality window treatments may be difficult. There are specialized web sites, like Factory Direct Drapes where you can find many possibilities of texture, colors, and fiber content our fabrics can fit any style of home. For timeless, elegant styles and superior quality, choose a website where you can buy direct from the factory and save hundreds of dollars per window.

What About the Lining?

Everybody understands the importance of a designer window drapery. Draperies do serve a purpose. They give you privacy. They can eliminate a light issue. They can even serve as insulation against the elements of the weather. But, what about the lining? Ignored and often misunderstood, the lining is often forgotten.

Whether privacy or light is the purpose for your window coverings, I would suggest making sure your draperies have either a standard lining or blackout lining. The addition of a cloth lining to the back of the fabric creates many distinctive advantages over unlined draperies.
Lined draperies have superior insulation value against winter cold and summer heat. They can thereby help reduce your utility costs which is a good thing wherever you live. Up to 50% of conventional heat loss in a room can be saved through the use of a nice heavy, lined pair of draperies.

Lined drapery can also dampen or reduce sound from outside sources. They also offer you complete privacy and comfort.

Because the lining protects the face cloth from damaging sun rot, lined draperies can last 10 to 15 years longer than unlined draperies.

Lined draperies greatly reduce the light pouring into your rooms. If you want to darken the room, just add a blackout lining to your drapery. Blackout lining is a thermal foam-type lining that will keep out light, hot damaging sun and the heat on a cold winter’s night.

Draperies tend to hang well with lots of body and shape when lined with standard or blackout lining. For timeless, elegant styles and superior quality, choose the only website where you can buy direct from the factory and save hundreds of dollars per window - FactoryDirectDrapes.com!

A New Look at Factory Direct Drapes

Factory Direct Drapes™ recently performed a major redesign and launch of their website www.factorydirectdrapes.com with a modern, cleaner, and more usable interface. The eye-catching new imagery and design of the new home page introduces visitors the latest trends in window treatments and the hottest new promotions available. Mary and Lisa’s new Video Tips section provides links to free educational videos on a variety of different topics ranging from Blackout and Insulated Drapery to visual step by step instructions on How to Measure for drapery.

The new design also makes contacting support even easier. Customers now have the ability to chat with us online, while they order, or just for general decorating advice. Factory Direct Drapes™ makes ordering custom drapery online a snap and provides the tools, assistance and advice to allow their customers to make more informed decisions when decorating or remodeling.