About Us

About The Shady Lady

Ellen Kaplan — Interior Design in Framingham, MA

My name is Ellen Kaplan, and I am the owner of The Shady Lady and a Certified Custom Window Coverings Consultant. My husband, Joel, and I have owned and operated The Shady Lady in Framingham since 1985. I can help you maintain your privacy, update and decorate your home, all at the same time. Our focus is on offering unparalleled customer service. Since we are the owners, you can count on us to be with you from concept design, through the application and the installation.

Ellen brings her store to your door, and you can view shading and fabric samples in the actual rooms you are designing. It is so important to see the samples next to your walls and in your own lighting. Ellen will take into consideration all of your privacy and light control needs. Our distinctive services also include professional measuring, experienced installation and stylish design advice.

WHY CHOOSE THE SHADY LADY

Convenience - A person who takes the time needed to educate you on what is currently available and what will look best on your windows.
Experience - A person who is confident, creative and welcomes a challenge.
Professionalism - A person who treats you with respect and will not pressure you to make a quick decision.
Dedication - A person who can make your window coverings experience a pleasant one, and follows up after the work is complete to make sure you are happy.
Quality- A person who offers the finest custom window coverings that are available, and will correct any problems in a timely fashion

Shady Lady Truck — Custom Window Coverings in Framingham, MA

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

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Hi Ellen,

I’m THRILLED with my new shades, I love the color, material, and texture of the shades and they totally pulled the living room together nicely. As an aside I’m so glad I took your advice and ordered the liner for the woven shades. Before I met you I think I looked at every option of shade/curtains that were available and just didn’t know what I wanted. You skillfully took my queues and came up with a solution that gave me the “look” I was after that complemented my floor, walls, furniture etc. The Duette honeycomb shades in the guest room came out great as well, I love the wider shade. Thanks, I now have the inspiration to finish decluttering that room!

Please pass along my appreciation to Patrick as well and feel free to use me as a reference. I’ve enjoyed working with you as well, many thanks again!

Gloria V
Lexington, MA

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The best company ever...have done more than 1 project at my home..someone stopped at my house today and was floored by all the work he saw..described it as stunning Thanks Ellen and Joel

Judy B. Framingham

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Hi Ellen,
We just love the shades. I’m finding it really hard to get out of bed in the morning - it’s too cozy down there now! Tom and his partner were great to - in and out so quickly leaving a great job behind.
Thank you so much for everything.

PS - Love the shade we picked out for our upstairs window too!
Barbara

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My wife and I have been customers of The Shady Lady, Certified Custom Window Treatment Specialists, for close to 16 years when we moved into our new home. We purchased from them our first set of custom drapes, Silhouettes and Cornices for 5 windows including the bay window in our formal living/dining rooms. We were extremely impressed with the quality, the look and feel of the fabric and the professional installation. Ever since our first awesome experience, we have continued to use Ellen to help us with many more high quality new shades and drapes throughout our 9-room house. The most recent was 4 motorized woven wood shades and a woven drapery, AC powered, for the kitchen sliding door. We’re so impressed with the Shady Lady that we have already engaged them to design and install all the window treatments in our second home. We would recommend the Shady Lady to anyone who is searching for custom window treatments.

Denise and Amin J. Holliston, MA

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Ellen!
I love the shades!
They all look absolutely fabulous!
Besides the product and the aesthetics being very awesome, I am really really really impressed by how you work.
You came to us with samples, helped make good, thoughtful choices, were very focused, measured and quoted at the appointment, then came on time and completed the work in under the 3 hour window you estimated.
SUPER impressed!!
If only every service provider worked like you!!

Yana B.
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Dear Ellen and Joel,
So good to see you in my inbox!! I think of you every single day. I have one window. And whenever I open and close my window treatments, I am grateful that I had the chance to do business with you. The fire happened a year ago. You gave me great advice, and I am very happy with the window treatment I chose with your guidance. It is nice to do be able to do business with experts you can completely trust. Thank you, Shady Lady!

Lianne

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Ellen,
Rarely are our expectations exceeded once, let alone twice by the same company. Ellen you outdid yourself with your suggestions for the window treatments in our new home. Everyone comments on them including the firemen who came to inspect our home. Aside from the fact that they are in many homes for inspections, when do men notice window treatments. That really surprised me.

They are all the perfect product and perfect color. It doesn't get any better than that Ellen except when you add Joel's expert installation. He is the only vendor who comes in with a ladder, a drill and a whole bunch of stuff and leaves without a trace except for the beautiful windows that he leaves behind.

Thank you again for your crisp, professional honest input that I know I can trust. We all want to make the sale but you want the sale to be the right sale. You are a mini-Amazon in customer satisfaction and delivery. Bravo "The Shady Lady"!

Best regards,
The Matraia's
(John and Geri)
My husband and I used The Shady Lady when we first moved into our new home and we were very pleased with the outcome with the silhouettes, duettes, and woven woods they did for us. We were now ready for our fabric treatments so we called them again. Ellen was very knowledgable and showed me wonderful solutions to all my window treatment needs. We were very pleased with the pricing as well. She looked at all my existing furnishings including our sofa, artwork, area rugs, etc and was able to choose a fabric that pulls everything together. When her husband Joel came to install, he was not only professional, but he was a perfectionist and made sure everything looked perfect. We would definitely use them again and will refer them to our family and friends.

Jennifer Corey
I have never worked with a more patient, knowledgable sales person. Ellen worked with my budget and I did not feel that pressure of your typical sales person. She gave great suggestions that I was not able to get from other companies I received quotes from. Her installer made the process quick and easy. To speak to the review by Michael Friedberg, both Ellen and Joel were nothing but professional. They come for free estimates, so they are definitely worth checking out.

Stephanie M.
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Rachel C.
5.0 star rating 10/3/2017

Ellen is very knowledgeable & creative. I recommend her to anyone looking for custom window treatments!
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Danielle B.
5.0 star rating 10/3/2017

Ellen is so patient, professional and kind. I am so indecisive and a complete procrastinator and she was able to work with me and create exactly what I had dreamed of! Thank you Ellen, I will be referring you to everyone I know!
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Laurie B.
5.0 star rating 12/31/2015

I first used The Shady Lady 27 years ago. I had recently purchased a townhouse and needed a lot of window treatments. Ellen was very professional and fun to work with and Joel did a great job installing everything. Well after 27 years it was time to make a few changes and the only people I called were Ellen & Joel, The Shady Lady. Joel did my installations and he was professional and did a great job. When the time comes for me to buy window treatments or have something installed they will be my only call. You can always buy cheaper goods from Home Depot or Lowe's but you get what you pay for there.
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Jordan M.
5.0 star rating 10/13/2015

Thank you Ellen and Joel for helping me find and install my window treatments. I love them! I found the Shady lady to be very accommodating, from fitting their appointments into my schedule to listening to my wants and needs and finding the best options for me. You can tell Joel knows how to install each type of window treatment and that he is a perfectionist about it. From the convenience, to the customer service and quality of product and installation, I do not feel I overpaid, and would recommend the Shady Lady to someone looking for an easy, professional, quality experience with their window treatments.
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Jennifer Corey

My husband and I used The Shady Lady when we first moved into our new home and we were very pleased with the outcome with the silhouettes, duettes, and woven woods they did for us. We were now ready for our fabric treatments so we called them again. Ellen was very knowledgable and showed me wonderful solutions to all my window treatment needs. We were very pleased with the pricing as well. She looked at all my existing furnishings including our sofa, artwork, area rugs, etc and was able to choose a fabric that pulls everything together. When her husband Joel came to install, he was not only professional, but he was a perfectionist and made sure everything looked perfect. We would definitely use them again and will refer them to our family and friends.
Lia M. Chestnut Hill, MA

This is my second time working with Ellen in our new home and my draperies turned out AWESOME!!! Ellen has an eye for elegance and immediately knew the look I was after. It took no time at all to choose fabric and hardware. She even made sure to have everything installed prior to a large party we were having. If you want unique window treatments by someone who is truly talented, Ellen ROCKS!!!
Hi Ellen,
We just love the shades. I’m finding it really hard to get out of bed in
the morning - it’s too cozy down there now! Tom and his partner were great
to - in and out so quickly leaving a great job behind.
Thank you so much for everything.

PS - Love the shade we picked out for our upstairs window too!
Barbara

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Dear Ellen,

We are so happy that we called The Shady Lady again. We love the kitchen shade. Thank you. It looks like it has always been there. Now I can go in the kitchen and enjoy mornings again.
The installer was great! He was done in no time. He knew exactly what he was doing and how to do it. Thank you for your expertise, knowledge and help. It was perfect!

Sincerely, Jackie and Henry D.
Holliston, MA

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