A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
A free quote appointment is the point where ideas about your windows turn into real choices: which treatment goes in which room, in which fabric or finish, and how it opens and closes. It costs nothing to ask, and a little thought beforehand makes the time far more useful. You do not need to know what you want. You only need to know what bothers you about each window now, and roughly what you would like instead.
This guide covers what to have ready, what we look at, what gets decided and what you can leave to us.
Four Steps Before We Visit
- List the rooms. Walk the house and note every room you want to change. For each one, jot down what bothers you: too much morning sun, a neighbour who can see in, a cold draught from old sash, a television lost to glare.
- Take a photo or two. A photo of each room, or a picture from a magazine of a look you like, helps us match colours and styles. A fabric swatch from a sofa or a cushion helps even more.
- Skip the tape measure. We measure every window ourselves in your home, so you do not need to. Rough sizes are welcome if you have them, but the measurements we use are our own.
- Write down your questions. Special requests, worries about a particular window, a child’s room that needs cordless operation: bring them all.
What Helps Us Most
Beyond the list of rooms, a few things make a free quote appointment smoother:
- How each room is used. A bedroom for a night-shift worker needs different fabric from a guest room. A home office needs glare control more than darkness.
- Which way the windows face. If you know which rooms get the hot afternoon sun, tell us.
- What you want to keep. Fine woodwork you want on show, a view of the water, drapes you love that need a shade behind them.
- Who uses the windows. Young children, pets or hard-to-reach windows all point toward cordless or motorised options.
- What you do not like. Knowing you dislike a look saves time just as much as knowing what you do like.
What We Look at in Your Home
When we come out to measure, we look at each window’s size and shape, the depth of its frame, the trim around it and anything that sticks out, such as a latch or a crank. We look at the light it gets through the day and how the room is used.
Older houses add their own details. The tall sash in the mill-era three-deckers and Victorians in Fall River and Pawtucket often has deep trim that changes how a treatment is mounted. The historic sash on College Hill and Newport’s Point can be slightly out of square, so we measure each opening on its own. The small windows under the roof slope in the cottages and shingled capes near Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet, and the wide picture windows in the 1950s capes and ranches across Somerset and Seekonk, each call for their own answer.
What Gets Decided
By the end of a free quote appointment, most people have settled four things for each window:
- The type of treatment: blind, shade, shutter or drape, or a combination
- The fabric or finish: colour, texture and how much light it lets through
- How it operates: by cord, cordless lift, wand, or motorised with a remote or wall switch
- How it is mounted: inside the frame or over it, which our guide to inside or outside mounts explains
You do not have to decide everything on the day. Some people settle the bedrooms and come back to the living room after seeing samples in their own light. That is fine, and we stay in touch until the job is done.
Ready to Get Started? Book Your Free Quote
Call the Swansea store for a free quote, or come and see the samples in person.
Making a Showroom Visit Count
Some decisions are easier in the Swansea showroom, where you can see and handle the full range side by side, including the Norman range the store carries. To get the most from a visit:
- Bring the same list of rooms and the photos you took
- Bring a cushion, a paint chip or a scrap of carpet if colour matching matters
- Try the operation for yourself: raise a cordless shade, tilt a wand, run a motorised shade from a remote
- Hold fabric samples up to the showroom windows to see how light passes through them
- Note the samples you like best, so we can bring them to look at again in your own rooms, where the light is different
Some people visit the showroom first to narrow the choices, then book measuring in the home once they know the direction. Others start at home and visit the showroom to settle the fabrics. Either order works.
Questions Worth Asking
Every good free quote appointment includes your questions. A few that often help:
- Which rooms would you treat differently, and why?
- Where is a cordless or motorised option worth it in this house?
- Which fabrics will hold up at a sunny or damp window?
- Will this treatment suit the trim I want to keep on show?
- What warranties are offered on what I am choosing?
- How does installation work once I order?
There are no wrong questions. The more we know about how you live in the house, the better the plan fits.
After the Appointment
Once the choices are made, you have a free quote for the whole plan. When you are happy, the order is placed for the treatments made to the measurements we took in your home, and our team installs them.
We have been doing this since 1988, as a family store in its second generation, and we stay in constant contact with you until the job is done. If anything comes up between the free quote appointment and installation, just call.
Treatments You Might Ask About
Bring any of these up at your appointment. Each links to more detail.
Custom blinds
Slats that tilt to set the light and privacy at each window.
Plantation shutters
Louvred panels fitted to the frame, a classic finish.
Roman shades
Soft fabric folds that raise and lower smoothly.
Roller shades
A clean roll of fabric, from sheer to room-darkening.
Cellular shades
Honeycomb fabric that softens the light and holds warmth.
Woven wood shades
Natural textures woven into a warm, soft shade.
Free Quote Questions
Is the quote really free?
Yes. Quotes are free.
Do I need to measure my windows first?
No. We measure every window ourselves in your home.
Can I visit the showroom instead?
Yes. You can start in the Swansea showroom and book measuring in the home afterwards.
Should I have decided what I want before the appointment?
No. Knowing what bothers you about each window is enough. We will help with the rest.
Can I get a quote for just one room?
Yes. A quote can cover one window or the whole house.
Book Your Free Quote
Use the call button to book a free quote, arrange measuring in your home or ask about installation. Have your list of rooms and a few photos ready, and we will take it from there. You are also welcome to start at the Swansea showroom.