Fun Ways to Ring in the New Year With an Awesome New Year's Eve Party!

Celebrate the New Year right!

New Year’s Eve, the biggest party event of the year, is approaching quickly! Whether you’re reminiscing about the year gone by or looking ahead to all those resolutions, memorable parties are the best way to celebrate. Everyone loves a glamorous, fun party to watch the ball drop at midnight. The team at ABC Sun Control loves a good party, so we’ve gathered our favorite ways to ring in the new year!

To Theme or Not to Theme

Choosing a theme (or not) is the biggest decision you might make for your party. A theme defines your drinks, entertainment, activities, and more, but you also don’t need a theme to pull entertain your guests. If you do want a theme, popular choices include vintage, exotic locales, a black and white ball, or the year in review, and put your own spin on it.

Set the Atmosphere

Whether or not you go with a theme, creating a cool atmosphere is important. You can stop by your local discount decor store to pick up all sorts of NYE decorative items, but you can also take it up a notch. Think about your walls, windows, and floors, and consider getting eye-catching window and wall film that’s created just for your party with unique graphics. ABC Sun Control’s creative team will design an immersive party environment for your entire space.

Killer food and drinks

From classic cocktails to the most popular drinks of the year, great drinks make a great party. You don’t even need a huge selection—just a few that really capture your party along with high-quality ingredients. Food is important too and a potluck is a great way to get a variety of food for everyone to enjoy.

Party activities

Before the ball drops, keep your guests entertained and talking with fun party activities. Games include matching resolutions to the guests who made them, group games like Cards Against Humanity, truth-or-dare, or scavenger hunts. Ice-breaker games like year-in-review card prompts will keep the laughs rolling until midnight.

Music and entertainment

Finally, there’s no party without some great music and entertainment in the background. Whether you’re playing mixes off of Youtube or bringing in a live band, your guests will love listening to awesome tunes tailored to your party. Playing movies in the background is also a great option. Classic NYE-themed films like When Harry Met Sally…, Trading Places, or Holiday Inn really set the seasonal mood. Throwing a fun party is easy with a little planning and imagination. Contact ABC Sun Control to give your party space a face-lift for the big night so you can focus being a great host.

Spring is the Perfect Time to Consider Home Window Tinting

Some days it may not feel like it, but Spring is just around the corner! With warmer weather on the way, this is the perfect time of year to consider home window tinting in Seattle, Washington from ABC Sun Control. So, while you wait for the sun and warm weather to arrive, consider these three reasons you should consider home window tinting for your Spring home improvement project.

Three Benefits of Home Window Tinting

• Greater Energy Efficiency - Modern window films can be used as a retrofit to nearly any window to improve their energy efficiency. By improving the insulating properties of your window unit, window film improves the comfort of your home while reducing the load on your air conditioning system. The result can be a more comfortable home with lower utility bills.
• Protect Furnishings from Fading - UV rays, heat and glare from the sun can cause sun damage to your floors, carpets and furniture. Home window tinting works to block the contributors to fading and extend the life of your furnishings.
• Add Privacy and Decor - Decorative window films can be used on any window where additional privacy is needed. From bathrooms to entryway windows, there are many options to add privacy without sacrificing looks. These films can also be used to add a custom decorative element to nearly any glass panel.

We hope this brief article gave you some ideas on how home window tinting can be the perfect addition to your house this Spring. If you have any questions or would like more information, check out the link located HERE and call us at 800-488-5099 or email us at sales@controlthesun.com. We would be happy to provide a free, no obligation consultation and estimate of implementing window film solution in your home this Spring.

Reduce Glare and Harsh Light Making Your Home More Comfortable this Winter?

If You Need to Reduce Glare and Harsh Light, Window Film Can Help!

Most people think of window film or window tinting primarily as something that helps in the Summer. However, Winter is often the time when glare and harsh light become big issues. Is there a way to reduce glare and harsh light while maintaining your views? The answer is yes, but first let's look at why this problem may be worse in the Winter.

There are three reasons this is the case:

1. The sun is lower in the sky during these months which means that it is shining more directly into your windows versus from a more overhead position in the Summer months.
2. There are no leaves on the trees to block the sun. Many homes and commercial properties have foliage in the Summer that serves to offer some shade. In the Winter, with this gone, they have to deal with glare issue that are not present at other times of the year.
3. The refection of the sun off of the snow. When there is a layer of snow on the ground, it acts like a big mirror to reflect the sun's rays. This can make any harsh light issue even worse at this time of the year as it is actually amplifying the light coming through the glass.

So, What Can Window Film Do?

The window film we offer is likely not like the picture in your head of a darkly tinted car. Technology has enabled current window films to block a great deal of glare as well as heat without restricting your view. In fact, like a high quality pair of sunglasses, the innovative technology found in window film today actually serves to enhance your views. The harsh light and glare is eliminated allowing your eyes to relax and your home or commercial space to become a more comfortable place to be.

We hope this article served to "shed some light" on how window films can be used to reduce glare and improve comfort in the Winter. If you would like more information, check out the link located HERE and call us at 800-488-5099 or email us at sales@controlthesun.com. We would be happy to provide a free, no obligation consultation and estimate of implementing window film solution in your home or commercial space.

How Can Window Film Be Part of a Healthy Lifestyle in Seattle?

Many people begin a new year with a resolution to live a more healthy lifestyle. People begin things like new exercise programs and start being more conscious about what types of foods you eat. Just look at how the organic food industry has exploded as people understand the negative impact that certain things can have on their overall health. However, like most things, making good choices usually happens once someone has good information regarding why they should make those choices. Our team at ABC Sun Control wanted to share some good information with Seattle, Washington and the surrounding areas about healthy lifestyle choices as it relates to sun exposure and how window film can help. In 2018, most people understand the risks and dangers of overexposing their skin to the sun's UV rays, many are unaware of how much and when they are being exposed to them. Subjecting yourself to these UV rays without proper protection can lead to premature aging of the skin and the potential for skin cancer. Most people are likely wearing protective clothing and some type of sunscreen when enjoying the outdoors. However, have you ever thought about the exposure you are getting in your car or sitting beside windows at work and in your home? Most people don't consider the exposure to these harmful UV rays when they are behind a piece of glass.

This is precisely why window film can become part of a healthy lifestyle. Even though you are behind a piece of glass, you are still being exposed to the UV rays that you need protection from. Applying a window film to that glass can block these rays from getting through. Window films have been given The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation. This is what they had to say in a recent article:

"While it’s understood that taking sun safety precautions is important outside, few people realize they can sustain sun damage indoors, too. While both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun can harm the skin and lead to skin cancers, UVB is effectively blocked by glass. However, at least 50 percent of UVA rays can pass through windows. Window film is an increasingly effective solution, offering substantial indoor protection by blocking up to 99.9 percent of UVA radiation. Although they are less intense than UVB, UVA rays are 30 to 50 times more prevalent and are present with relatively equal intensity during all daylight hours throughout the year. Window film can help prevent harmful UVA rays from damaging your skin."

You can check out this entire article and other great sun safety tips at The Skin Cancer Foundation's website by clicking HERE

We hope this article helps shed some light on how window film can play a role in you adopting a healthy lifestyle in 2018. If you would like more information, check out the link located HERE and call us at 800-488-5099 or email us at sales@controlthesun.com. We would be happy to provide a free, no obligation consultation and estimate of implementing window film solution in your home or commercial space.

Resolve to Have a More Comfortable and Energy Efficient Home in 2018

With 2018 just getting underway, why not resolve to have a more comfortable and energy efficient home this year? While your home's windows open your space to natural lighting, warmth and views of the outside world, there are also the downsides. Unfortunately these same windows also open you up to high energy costs, heat build-up, excessive glare, and the premature fading of interior furnishings. Implementing a high quality home window film solution can improve the comfort and increase the energy efficiency of your windows and allow you to bask in the sunlight, worry-free.

Some of the Benefits of a Home Window Film

• More Energy Efficient Home - According to the EPA Energy Star Buildings Manual in the United States, approximately half of a home’s utility bills are wasted by loss of heat and heat gain through untreated windows. Home window tinting can significantly improve energy efficiency. With a thin, virtually invisible addition to your home’s existing windows, window films can help you save up to 50% on cooling costs.
• Improved Comfort by Reducing Heat and Glare - Open your blinds, shades, or draperies and let the sunlight in. In addition to blocking heat, home window tint reduces glare by up to 87%, making it easier for you to watch television or work on a computer in the comfort of your home. Because home window films are made with ultra-clear, distortion-free materials, you won’t even know it’s there.
• Reduce Hot and Cold Spots Throughout the Home - Window films can help eliminate hot and cold spots within your home by using film that reduces heat gain coming through the glass in hot areas. This will create a more balanced temperature across the space and reduce the load on your air conditioning system.

If you would like more information on how you this can be the year that you have a more comfortable and energy efficient home, click HERE and then contact us by calling 800-488-5099 or emailing us at sales@controlthesun.com. We would be happy to arrange a free, no obligation consultation and discuss how you can implement a window film solution in your home.