15 November 2024

A New Way to Shade: Origami Window Coverings

When writing about motorized shades, the words “breathtakingly beautiful” may seem like an overstatement. They may be elegant and convenient, enhancing your home’s environment, but breathtaking may be best suited for those rare sunsets when fire lights up the sky—or the stunning images from the latest OLED TVs.

But that was before Origami shades from Screen Innovations (SI) came out. These angled motorized shades seem to defy the physical world, disappearing when not in use while aligning perfectly with unique architectural windows.

Here, we’ll explore this latest innovation from one of our preferred partners at Wipliance, and how homeowners throughout Seattle, WA, are integrating this unique window covering.

Origami Defined

Origami is a Japanese art form. An origamist can fold pieces of paper in such a way as to create incredible works of art resembling animals, plants, humans, and geometric objects. Almost anything you can dream of has been sculpted into existence using origami techniques.

SI’s new motorized window coverings are aptly named as they fit precisely with and cover all types of windows. From angled triangles to trapezoids and pentagons, their design features sound like a geometry lesson. Up to 12 feet in width and length, these Origami shades can cover any sized or shaped window.

Fabrics and Designs

The fabrics that make up Origami shades come from some of the industry’s most respected manufacturers, including Mermet, Phifer, and Wilson. Like most of SI’s window treatments, you can select from light-filtering, sunscreen, and blackout fabrics.

Translucent shades offer a subtle view of the world outside your windows while diffusing sunlight. Blackout shades that block the light come in an incredible selection of fabrics, from bone to egret and silver fox. Glare reduction is best achieved with dark-colored fabrics. Light-colored fabrics are ideal for heat control.

The Combined Power of Origami and Nano Shades

SI’s Nano shades also blend into your windows and are a perfect accompaniment to their new Origami line. Nano shades are housed in the industry’s smallest cassette while providing maximum coverage and, like Origami, provide ultra-quiet operation due to SI’s noise-dampening components.

The Controls

Wired or wireless control enables our integration experts at Wipliance to design and install these window coverings in home renovations and new builds. SI’s shades integrate with the major home automation platforms, including Control4. This allows users to control their shades from the same touchscreens, remotes, and keypads that manage their entire home.

We can also automate these shades to respond to time, activity, or your location. For instance, they can automatically open at sunrise and lower at dusk. When you leave for the day, locking the doors and arming the security prompts your motorized shades to lower. When you press an ‘Entertain’ button, every shade responds exactly how you want it to, creating a design element framed by your windows.