For Appeal, it’s business as normal (well, new normal) under Lockdown 2

Upgrade under Lockdown

Now is the winter of our discontent – but it doesn’t have to be a winter of discomfort. Since we have to hunker down for at least the next month, we again look to our homes as places of shelter and solace. And this time round, in winter lockdown with the clocks back to GMT and dark afternoons rolling in, we need our homes to be cosy too.

The contribution our windows make to making our homes feel snug and secure cannot be underestimated – especially in modern buildings, extensions or conversions, where large areas of glass are important. When it’s dark out and your own lights are on, the lack of privacy becomes more obvious. More importantly, in an uninsulated house, 20% of heat loss is through the windows. And that’s an average, kid’s drawing-style house… it’s more on a home with, essentially, glass walls. Heat loss is not only bad for the environment; it’s bad for your fuel bills too.

Appeal has over 30 years’ experience as a specialist in bespoke blinds. We not only offer blinds specifically designed for heat insulation, but can provide coverage for any shape, size or position of window, where other companies cannot reach the challenge. And – following strict protocols to protect you – we are able to operate within the government rules to deliver our service as usual during lockdown.

Depend on the Specialists

At Appeal, we have spent over 30 years ensuring we provide only the best, high-performance products to match our unbeaten standards in service. We value design excellence – both aesthetic and functional.

A great example in nature of beautiful, practical design is the hexagon. Be it the Giant’s Causeway or a beehive, it abounds because of its strength and efficient use of space. It is the inspiration for our Honeycomb Energy Saver fabric, which opens to create a thermal barrier of six-sided insulating air pockets, which keep a huge 80% of heat from leaving by the window. Yet the same hexagonal construction means that, when closed, our HES blinds fold away discreetly.

Alternatively, our aluminium-backed pleated blinds, which can be fitted to roof glass panels and other features of garden rooms, kitchen extensions and conservatories. Alu-Pleat provides year-round ambient temperature control, reflecting 85% of external solar heat in the summer, and doing the reverse in the winter. Because they are translucent, Alu-Pleat blinds are perfect for bright but freezing cold days, letting in the light and keeping in the heat.

Not only are all Appeal blinds tailor-made to your windows, no matter if you need large, small or odd shaped blinds, we also have shading solutions for “unreachable” windows … and our installers are unmatched for their skill and experience.

We can cover skylights, up to 2m wide x 3.8m long, with Appeal’s exclusive ClearView Lantern Roof Blind – the neatest (and best-value) solution available – an insulting pleated honeycomb blind with no unsightly guide wires. We have high gable-end windows covered too, with our ClearView pleated blind – the attractive and functional solution with no ugly guide wires or other compromises.

Choice, Control & Convenience

All of these specialist blinds and fabrics are available in a vast array of colours to complement your interior decor. And they are also available as powered blinds with ULTRA, ULTRA Plus or ULTRA Plus with voice activation.

ULTRA is the award-winning Smart Blinds system which gives you one-touch remote or wall-mounted control over a blind or group of blinds. Their smooth operation is powered via quiet, hidden motors by a rechargeable long-life Li-ion battery.

• ULTRA Plus is controlled by a phone or tablet app and means you can set timed scenarios. If it gets dark while you’re out on your daily exercise, ULTRA Plus will lower your blinds for you.
• Voice activation adds instant response to your commands via Alexa or Google Nest hubs. Programme it with silly commands such as “I am Boris and I order a lockdown” to close all the blinds… hey, we have to make our own entertainment at the moment.

Details matter

Appeal offers bespoke solutions tailor made for your home. And like the best tailors, we take the details seriously – they are what ensure quality. Take our shutters, for example.

Appeal offers full-length, two-tiered and café style shutters, with louvres or solid panels, bespoke shapes and sliding-tracked options, as well as a choice of materials and custom painting.

And the details that mean the difference?

• Kiln-curing: the premium wood used in our shutters is slow-cooked to combat post-installation shrinking and swelling, common to lower-quality shutters in the changeable UK climate.
• Mortise and tenon joints: far stronger and more long-lasting than the dovetail or dowel joints in many shutters.
• Hand-finishing: Our highly skilled craftspeople finish every shutter by hand, sanding and coating the surfaces with thin layers of stain or paint, not once but several times over. This is how we achieve the beautiful deep finish of Appeal wood shutters.

Business as (almost) usual

Under the current rules in the new lockdown, it is permitted to have work done inside your home. That includes our design consultants entering your home, as well as installers.

Rest assured, though, we do not take that opportunity lightly. We have responsibility to protect you, our staff and the wider community.

We follow an extensive and regularly updated list of protocols, in line with government and health experts’ guidelines. These include social distancing, PPE and providing COVID-safe product samples. For a full list of our protocols, click here.

However, if you are not comfortable with an in-home visit right now, we developed highly effective remote design consultations (via Zoom etc.) during the last lockdown and can offer that option.