How to Choose the Right Type Of Window Blind

When choosing blinds for your home you need to consider a few basic things. You are going to want the blinds for just one, or a few of the following 4 reasons -

1 - to control the light coming in to the room
2 - to be private
3 - to control heat
4 - to be fashionable

Lets start with perhaps the most versatile of blinds, the Vertical Blind. A vertical blind has louvres that slide out on a headrail to cover the window. Close the louvres and they make a "wall" of fabric. Open them and you can see through the gaps. Put the louvres at an angle and you can stop people seeing in or out from one direction, but still let light in. They are also the most economical for covering a large area. Many people still think of them as office blinds, but things are changing with a large choice of leather effect, suede, PVC etc.

Next in line, the Venetian blind. This blind goes horizontally across the window. The blind can be up or down, and the slats turned to control the light. With these blinds you can tilt the slats to stop people looking up or down, but still let light in. The main problem perhaps is that they can collect dust. One of the best ways to clean them however, is with a feather duster.

Wooden Venetians are incredibly popular at the moment as they are very natural and give a warm feeling to a room.

Roller blinds are the most basic of blind. They are either up, down or somewhere in the middle. You get little chance to control the light other than blocking in completely. Still very popular as they are quite contemporary with clean lines, they can also come in lots of patterns and colours including some very good blackout options for people who like to be kept in the dark.

Roman blinds are a variation on the roller but are much more luxurious (and therefore expensive). A piece of fabric folds upon itself. Again, you can't really control the light, but for fashion they are very good.

If you are looking to control the heat you can get most blinds made of a fabric with a special backing to reflect the heat. The most common place to control the heat is a conservatory, and pleated blinds come into there own. These blinds are basically rollers but with a fold every 25mm or so. These are used 95% of the time on conservatory roofs.

I hope this helps.

By Paul Turner