Choosing Blinds : A Buyers Guide
This guide outlines the difference between blinds and shades, along with detailed information on a range of blinds and shades including Venetian Blinds, Vertical Blinds, Roller Blinds, Bottom Up Blinds, 50:50 Blinds and Roman Blinds.
Blinds are considered "hard" window treatments. They have slats, or vanes, that tilt or angle to control the amount of light entering a room. They can also be fully opened, or pulled up, for an unobstructed view. Today, most blinds come with a rod that twists to tilt the vanes and a pull cord that lifts them. Cords need to be tied back or used with a child safety devise which is normally provided to ensure child safety. Blinds can have horizontal or vertical vanes (narrow ones are often called mini-blinds).
• Venetian Blinds: This type of blind consists of horizontal slats, and is available in a range of materials including wood, faux wood, aluminium and PVC in a variety of slat width. These blinds are best suited to windows that do not need to have the blind completely out of the way. They can be raised into a neat stack at the top of the widow and lowered down to cover the window fully. Their main feature however is the tilting rod that allows you to tilt the slats whilst the blind is in the closed position. This enables you to limit the exact amount of light and privacy created.
Aluminium and PVC venetian blinds are best suited for bathrooms and wet rooms as they will not be affected by moist conditions that can damage wooden venetian blinds. They are widely available in a huge array of colours, finishes and textures, including wooden effect finishes that provide the best of both worlds.
Venetian blinds offer some security benefits as well as the user can see out of the property whilst obscuring the view of people outside. Furthermore they will present a physical barrier against potential intruders.
• Vertical Blinds: Blinds that hang vertically offer a fantastic level of light control as the blind can be both traversed across the window and tilted from left to right in order to limit the exact amount of light allowed into the room. Verticals blinds consist of vains that hang vertically from a headrail each attached to their individual pivot point. Vertical blind vains are available in three different slat widths - 89mm and 127mm which have linking chains at the bottom to keep each vain in its correct position. Vertical blinds are also available in a wider width vain of 250mm. These blinds do not have linking chains at the bottom because they would drag on the floor when the blind was tilted closed due to the larger distance between each vain.
The 89mm and 127mm width vains have traditionally lent themselves to the office environment, French windows and large patio windows. 250mm vertical blind have created another solution as the vains are large enough to create a panelled effect offering themselves as room dividers, full wall coverings and to windows with very deep recesses.
As room dividers 250mm vertical blinds create a distinct look in open plan rooms allowing you the ability to temporarily separate off different areas whilst maintaining the open space through their versatility as they can be stacked neatly out of the way.
Vertical blinds are available in a range of different materials most commonly polyester amongst other fabric compositions which are available in a wide range of colours and designs. Wooden vertical blinds made from a finger jointed bass wood to avoid warping and twisting that has been attributed to previous methods of manufacturing wooden vertical blinds ensures a light weight and stable composition. The wooden grain effect is created by wrapping the bass wood in a paper laminate similar to one used for laminate flooring. This means that the colour and grains can be reliably manufactured within very tight batch tolerances – A feature that is not possible when using real wood as no two trees are the same.
Blinds are considered "hard" window treatments. They have slats, or vanes, that tilt or angle to control the amount of light entering a room. They can also be fully opened, or pulled up, for an unobstructed view. Today, most blinds come with a rod that twists to tilt the vanes and a pull cord that lifts them. Cords need to be tied back or used with a child safety devise which is normally provided to ensure child safety. Blinds can have horizontal or vertical vanes (narrow ones are often called mini-blinds).
• Venetian Blinds: This type of blind consists of horizontal slats, and is available in a range of materials including wood, faux wood, aluminium and PVC in a variety of slat width. These blinds are best suited to windows that do not need to have the blind completely out of the way. They can be raised into a neat stack at the top of the widow and lowered down to cover the window fully. Their main feature however is the tilting rod that allows you to tilt the slats whilst the blind is in the closed position. This enables you to limit the exact amount of light and privacy created.
Aluminium and PVC venetian blinds are best suited for bathrooms and wet rooms as they will not be affected by moist conditions that can damage wooden venetian blinds. They are widely available in a huge array of colours, finishes and textures, including wooden effect finishes that provide the best of both worlds.
Venetian blinds offer some security benefits as well as the user can see out of the property whilst obscuring the view of people outside. Furthermore they will present a physical barrier against potential intruders.
• Vertical Blinds: Blinds that hang vertically offer a fantastic level of light control as the blind can be both traversed across the window and tilted from left to right in order to limit the exact amount of light allowed into the room. Verticals blinds consist of vains that hang vertically from a headrail each attached to their individual pivot point. Vertical blind vains are available in three different slat widths - 89mm and 127mm which have linking chains at the bottom to keep each vain in its correct position. Vertical blinds are also available in a wider width vain of 250mm. These blinds do not have linking chains at the bottom because they would drag on the floor when the blind was tilted closed due to the larger distance between each vain.
The 89mm and 127mm width vains have traditionally lent themselves to the office environment, French windows and large patio windows. 250mm vertical blind have created another solution as the vains are large enough to create a panelled effect offering themselves as room dividers, full wall coverings and to windows with very deep recesses.
As room dividers 250mm vertical blinds create a distinct look in open plan rooms allowing you the ability to temporarily separate off different areas whilst maintaining the open space through their versatility as they can be stacked neatly out of the way.
Vertical blinds are available in a range of different materials most commonly polyester amongst other fabric compositions which are available in a wide range of colours and designs. Wooden vertical blinds made from a finger jointed bass wood to avoid warping and twisting that has been attributed to previous methods of manufacturing wooden vertical blinds ensures a light weight and stable composition. The wooden grain effect is created by wrapping the bass wood in a paper laminate similar to one used for laminate flooring. This means that the colour and grains can be reliably manufactured within very tight batch tolerances – A feature that is not possible when using real wood as no two trees are the same.