Graywind Fabric Sample for Blackout Roller Blind (Fabric & Designed Series)

Final Update: The wonderful customer service folks at Graywind have made things right and the final result is very close to my original vision. Getting the blind hooked up to my network was a bit tricky but sometimes my network makes things overly complicated. The app required to integrate with Alexa is having problems with my setup and never worked quite right, but the remote suits my needs for the most part. I feel satisfied enough, especially with the follow up service to increase my rating to 5. Update: The seller has been great about working with me to make things right with my order. They were having an issue with the particular fabric I chose and are procuring a new supplier. They suggested a different fabric type and increased coverage size and I went with a neutral valence color and the results were great. A couple of small issues remain which they seem wiling too resolve as well. I've updated to four stars and plan to update to 5 when I get the new part. I can now fully recommend the product as the folks in the service department are super friendly and responsive so if you do end up having any problems they will help you through it. Also I highly recommend talking to them to confirm your project so it turns out just the way you envision. Original review: A decent custom shade but the reverse hang external mount holds the blind almost an inch from the wall surface making huge gaps in what is otherwise a blackout blind. I dont know if i got the wrong mounts or what but was hoping for something much closer to flush. Sadly there was also an issue of a vinyl like chemical smell when it was exposed to direct sunlight. This persisted for a couple of weeks where i had to air out the room i was trying to keep the heat out of. Its better now but wish they could prevent that or at least warn you. Overall the blind works well which i control with a somewhat fiddly remote that comes with it tho smart apps are supported. I may add a star if i can get their CS to get me replacement mounts that work more like the pictures

When I first saw this roller shade listed on Amazon, I was very interested but was somewhat hesitant to attempt to customize it online without ever speaking to the seller Graywind in China. However, I continued, because I really liked the sound of their product. With emailed assistance from Graywind, I chose a fabric, a custom width and length, and chose to have the motor mounted on the left end of the shade's housing. After submitting the order, I received an acknowledgment from the Graywind which included very detailed specifications of what I’d ordered. I was then required to confirm that the specs were correct before they would continue to fulfill my order. Assembling my customized shade and shipping from China took less than 3 weeks from order date to delivery via FedEx. The order was packed very securely and arrived with zero damage. The Graywind people were extremely helpful before and after I placed the order. They sent me 2 sample fabric kits for which I paid several dollars, but I was reimbursed for the samples when I placed my order. Physically installing the shade was very easy. After carefully mounting the hanger brackets over my window it was simply a matter of snapping the shade’s housing into the spring-loaded brackets. I then plugged the shade in, put two AA batteries into the remote control, and tested the up/down motion of the shade. It worked great, except that the upper and lower limits were not set exactly where I wanted them to be. At first I had trouble setting the limits. So I emailed Graywind. They answered within a few hours and told me I had to remove the old limits before I could set new limits. After I did this, the new limits set immediately. The next set-up step was to get the shade connected to wi-fi. I first downloaded the Tuya app for my iPhone but had trouble connecting the shade to the network with it. Then I tried the Smart Life app and it connected nicely. I also have it connected to Google Home. I can say "OK Google, Raise the Roller Shade" to open it. Voice commands also work for closing it or stopping it at a certain % of the way down. As an unexpected treat, I was able to create a Routine in Google Home that automatically raises the shade a half hour after sunrise and lowers it a half hour after sunset based on my geographical location. I might fine-tune these times as I go along but the fact is that it works very well. One thing I was unsure about was the remote control. It seemed quite flimsy and fragile. It fell about three feet off a table and the front of it popped off. Fortunately I was able to snap it back in place. Actually, I will probably be using voice commands and timed schedules more than the remote. However, I was concerned that it might fail, as I might need it in the future to reset limits or change some other setup detail. I emailed my concern about the remote to Graywind and they promptly replied that they will send me a replacement. Overall, I am very happy with the shade and I hope it lasts me a long time. I am also very impressed by Graywind’s quick order turn-around time and their excellent customer service. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.

The shade is beautiful and works perfectly. Physical installation took 10 minutes and it worked immediately with the remote. The company even emailed me within a day of placing my order to check measurements and to make sure I wanted the hardwired power instead of rechargeable battery. Getting it to work with Alexa, even with the specific dot/echo versions they recommend, took more work. You still have to install the Graywind app on your phone (which gave me anxiety b/c it has had very few downloads and mediocre ratings) and tinker some to get them talking. But now I have a blackout shade for the bedroom that I scheduled to go down every night at 11pm and up at 7am. No longer will our neighbor's dumb, super-sensitive, strobe security light wake us up 25 times a night - and we can still have daylight in the morning to help wake us up! I am extremely pleased with the purchase and will be getting more soon for the other bedrooms on that neighbor's side of the house.

This was by far the cheapest custom-sized smart motorized roller shade that I could find. Everything else was at least double the price. These are actually really nice though. The shades themselves feel expensive and block the light really well. The motors are quiet and smooth, again giving the impression of quality. The tubes make it a bit difficult to install though because they don't leave much clearance if you install them inside the window frame. Also, I'd recommend you order the valance if you are installing this way. The shade tube hangs a good couple of inches below the top of the window frame, leaving a gap for light, which wasn't clear to me when I was ordering. Thirdly, you might want to specify an extra couple of inches in window height, rather than giving the exact dimension. Our shades don't quite reach the bottom of the window opening, leaving a slight gap. Overall though, I'm very pleased with these!

I hoped these shades would provide much needed shade on our west facing patio doors. They do a great job! They look really good, were not too difficult to install (thank goodness for a handy son-in-law), and operate without a hitch. I highly recommend them.