Blinds or Curtains?

Blinds have come back into fashion in a big way over the past few years.

Bamboo Blinds aren’t simply for shutting at night - their great advantage over curtains is that they can be used to control the amount of sunlight coming into your home on bright days. Another big advantage is that although they do need cleaning you don’t have to take them down and allow time for them to dry before they can be rehung. Wiping your blinds down with a damp cloth is the easiest way to keep them dust free.s

A few years ago nearly all blinds were made of coated aluminium or plastic. Although they gather dust a little more easily, wooden blinds look classy in a way plastic ones rarely do - putting them up can be a quick way of giving a room some instant style.

Ready-made blinds are the best option if cost is an important factor. They come in a variety of materials and colours and can look great - if you can get the size right. Ready-mades are typically available in a range of sizes that approximate the dimensions of common window shapes. They are designed to be (relatively) easy to trim to length so that you can get them up with as little fuss as possible. They key to success is really precise measurement and exact marking-up. If you don’t chop off enough from the end of each blind you have to start all over again. If you chop off too much you have to discard the whole thing and buy a new set.

Remember that Venetian blinds aren’t the only option. Roman blinds - made from soft fabric which is gathered up by the blind mechanism - can look very cool indeed, although they’re a bit harder to keep clean than standard venetians. Roller blinds are cheap and easy to fit, consisting of just a single sheet of fabric that winds around a roller above the window. Roller blinds are particularly good for rooms where a complete blackout is desired, such as a child’s bedroom. However, they tend to look a bit functional and plain, so they’re not often the best choice for living areas.

Vertical blinds, which were once only found in office environments, are becoming increasingly popular in homes. Vertical fabric slats (called ‘louvres’) hang with their flat surfaces parallel when the blinds are open, then shut when the control rod is twisted. Many louvres are washable, so verticals are generally much easier to keep clean than venetians. The disadvantage is that they’re so associated with offices that they can give your living room a slightly odd appearance. Your best bet is to confine them to functional areas like kitchens and utility rooms.

As with curtains, accurate measurements are crucial. Although blinds can be purchased in standard lengths, more often than not they will have to be ordered trimmed to length. The usual practice is to measure the window itself from left to right and take a couple of inches off, leaving an inch of clearance at each end - assuming, of course, that you want the blind to lie inside the window recess. if you want your blinds outside of the recess, they need a little extra width to ensure full coverage.

Also, don’t forget to buy blinds that have the correct drop for your window. Too short, and your blind isn’t going to do its job. Too long, and you’ll have spare slats bunched up at the bottom in an ugly pile or louvres resting on your floor or inner windowsill.

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