Featured Project Protecting Hardwood Floors in an Eden Prairie Home Diane had just bought a home in Eden Prairie and loved the natural light pouring through it — which is exactly what worried her. Hardwood floors and furniture sitting in that much sun fade and shift color over time, and she didn't want to give up a single bit of brightness to prevent it. She called us in October to look at two areas: a formal living room with some tree shade out front, and a set of west-facing windows in the dining room. Those two rooms live very different lives in Minnesota — one gets filtered light most of the day, the other takes the full afternoon sun. Residential window tinting in Eden Prairie almost always comes down to that kind of room-by-room judgment, not one blanket answer for the whole house. Our job was to protect the floors and furniture without taking away the reason she bought the house. Key Takeaways THE CHALLENGE Diane needed fade protection for hardwood floors and dining furniture without losing the natural light she bought the home for. THE SYSTEM We installed VE 60 film in the shaded living room and ceramic 35 on the west-facing dining room glass for stronger solar control. THE RESULT The dining room is more comfortable in the afternoon, and Diane has stopped closing the blinds in there. Heat and light cause more than half of the fading you see on hardwood and furnishings, with ultraviolet accounting for the rest, so a film that only blocks UV leaves part of the problem on the table. That's why we treat a shaded north or tree-screened window differently than a west wall. As a Llumar Select Pro Dealer, we carry the lighter and more aggressive options on the van so the conversation can happen with real film on real glass instead of a sample card. Project Summary Client Profile: Diane, homeowner in a recently purchased home Project Location: Eden Prairie, Minnesota (Twin Cities metro) Primary Objective: Protect hardwood floors and dining furniture from fading while keeping natural light, using Residential Window Tinting Film Specification: VE 60 LLumar film at 55% total solar energy rejection in the living room, ceramic 35 at 59% total solar energy rejection on the west windows, both 99.9% UV blocking Home Window Film Key Outcome: A cooler dining room in the afternoon and blinds that stay open all day Sun Exposure in Two Rooms Walking the house, the formal living room read as the easier of the two. Trees and surrounding shade knock down the direct load on that glass, so a light film made sense there — something that protects the finish on the floors without announcing itself on the windows. We put VE 60 on the quote for that room. The dining room was a different story. Those windows face west, which means full afternoon sun hitting the floor and her high-end dining furniture day after day. Our recommendation there was a ceramic 35, a bit more tint in the glass for meaningfully better heat and glare control. Diane thought 35 would feel too dark, so we wrote the quote for a ceramic 45 and scheduled the work. Comparing Films on the Glass On install day the crew started in the living room with the VE 60, and Diane was happy with it right away — once it's on, you'd hardly know it's there. With that reference point on the glass, our installer Tyler held the ceramic 35 up on the dining room windows so she could see for herself what it actually did to the view. It didn't darken the room the way she'd pictured, and it clearly gave the furniture more protection than the 45 would. Seeing both films live, she made the call to go with the 35. ★★★★★ "Tyler was helpful in explaining his installation process, and he suggested a change in my original agreement that would result in better protection for my high end dining furniture. I was able to get an amendment to my contract immediately thanks to attentive office folks. The installation was flawless. I strongly recommend Solar Shield." — Diane Because we send written quotes by email before any work starts, a change at the door has to be documented the same way. Tyler called the shop, the office amended the quote, and the revised version was in Diane's hands before the crew finished — she knew exactly what was going on her windows and what it cost. The film swap itself was a trip to the van, since we stock the ceramic line alongside the lighter products for exactly this reason. You can see more finished work like it in our Residential Tinting Photos, and anyone weighing the same decision can start with a Free Window Film Estimate. More Comfort, Blinds Stay Open The living room came out the way we expected: the VE 60 is light enough that the room looks untouched, while cutting 55% of total solar energy and blocking 99.9% of UV. That combination is what slows the color shift in hardwood — oak turning red, maple going yellow — without changing how the room feels on a gray February afternoon. The dining room is where Diane noticed the difference first. She told us the room was already more comfortable in the afternoon, and that she's no longer closing the blinds in there — which mattered to her, because the natural light is why she bought the house. The ceramic 35 rejects 59% of total solar energy on that west glass, so the furniture gets real protection and the view stays open. Keep Your Light, Protect Your Floors We're a family-owned shop that has been hanging film in Twin Cities homes for more than 35 years, and rooms like Diane's dining room are our everyday work. We'd rather bring the films to your windows and let you compare them in your own light than talk you into a number on a page. Wondering what film belongs on your south or west windows in Eden Prairie? Give us a call and we'll come take a look. Solar Shield, Inc. 6161 Egan Drive, Savage, MN 55378 Call 952-226-2000 or Schedule Online Frequently Asked Questions Will residential window tinting in Eden Prairie make my rooms dark? No. A light film like the VE 60 we used in Diane's living room is hard to notice once it's on the glass. Even the ceramic 35 on her west-facing dining room windows left plenty of light — she stopped closing her blinds after the install, because a little tint cuts the glare your eyes were fighting. Can window film stop hardwood floors from fading? Film reduces fading, and on hardwood it's the heat and light that do most of the damage, not UV alone. All of our films block 99.9% of UV, which is what causes oak to turn red or maple to turn yellow. Adding solar rejection on top of that — 55% with the VE 60, 59% with the ceramic 35 — is how you make the change manageable on a sun-exposed floor. What if I want a different film on install day? That happens, and we plan for it. Diane changed from a ceramic 45 to a ceramic 35 after seeing both films on her own glass, and our installer had the roll on the van. The office amended her written quote by email before the crew finished, so the paperwork matched the work.