Hunter Douglas Duette PowerView Gallery

Nothing wows in home automation quite like motorized shades, but for more unusual windows a system like Hunter Douglas' Duette PowerView can help solve a headache that could otherwise keep you out of a room. With top-down, bottom-up motorized shades, you can get a privacy strip in the lower half without losing natural light or the view above.

Hunter Douglas doesn't sell direct. Instead, there's a network of thousands of dealers – some large, some small – responsible for measuring up your windows, walking you through the near-overwhelmingly vast array of fabrics, styles, and colors, and then installing and configuring them for you. They're made to order, so there's a wait typically of around four to eight weeks.

Everyday control is via the Pebble remote, which can individually control up to six shades or operate them as a group. With a PowerView hub, you get app control, smart speaker integration, and Apple HomeKit support among other things. Connected via WiFi or ethernet, and with optional network extenders for bigger houses with lots of shades, the hub allows you to control individual or groups of blinds and activate preset scenes. You can also set up schedules, such as to open the shades at a specific time on specific days.