Blinds 4 U

Blinds 4 U, custom window treatments in Chicago

Blinds 4 U is a Chicago window treatment business led by Charlie Kim, who signs the company's presentation as president. The firm describes itself as an authorized professional dealer of Graber and Comfortex window fashions and states that it has been working with a detail-oriented approach since 2000. Its stated focus is not the size of the job but what it calls honest coordination and personal attention at every consultation and installation.

The company frames window coverings as more than a way to block light: in its own words, treatments have become a style element that gives a room a timeless look. Selected custom-made products it sells are, according to the company, made in the U.S.A.

Brands and product lines

Graber, described on the site as a leading brand of Springs Window Fashions with a history dating back to 1939, supplies the designer treatments the dealer offers in current styles and colors. Comfortex appears through its PERSONA line, which allows a shade to be customised: customers can recolor one of the available patterns from a full color palette or submit their own photograph, graphic or design for custom printing.

• Custom-printed shades through PERSONA by Comfortex, using either the brand's patterns or customer-supplied artwork.
• Solar shades, including GREEN GUARD certified versions.
• Vertical blinds and 2-inch wood blinds.
• 1-inch aluminum mini blinds.
• Sliding panel track systems for wide room dividers.

Certified materials for sensitive spaces

Part of the company's work has involved window coverings certified for indoor air quality. Blinds 4 U states that it supplied GREEN GUARD certified solar shades throughout Old St. Mary Catholic School, a facility in Chicago's South Loop serving more than 250 children, and notes that this certification sets strict chemical emission standards suited to educational and day care settings. For two senior housing complexes run by Korean American Community Services, the company installed treatments carrying the GREEN by NATURE certification.

Reference projects

The company lists several installations that illustrate the range of its work:

• Old St. Mary Catholic School (South Loop, Chicago): complete supply of GREEN GUARD certified solar shades for a school serving over 250 children.
• Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, at 401 N. Wabash Ave.: solar shades in a number of residential units, chosen to preserve the city views while protecting furniture from sunlight.
• Moo-Goong Terrace Senior Housing, at 4848 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago: vertical blinds and 2-inch wood blinds for 78 apartment units plus offices and lobby, all GREEN by NATURE certified.
• Ko-Ram Senior Housing, at 4444 N. Harding Ave., Chicago: 2-inch wood blinds and 1-inch aluminum mini blinds for 65 apartment units, offices and lobby, also GREEN by NATURE certified.
• King Sauna & Spa, at 809 Civic Center Dr., Niles: a 384-inch (32-foot) sliding panel track system used as a room divider, allowing spaces to be separated while keeping the floor clear.

The two senior housing projects are described as complexes for Korean seniors funded with support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Who the dealer works with

The record shows a client base spanning private residences, a school, senior housing operators and a large spa facility, with jobs ranging from individual condominium units to multi-unit buildings where dozens of apartments, offices and common areas were fitted at once. The company presents itself as a dealer rather than a manufacturer, working through the Graber and Comfortex product programmes and, where required, through certified low-emission materials.