The real slim shady: How to choose and fit blinds
finds blinds to distil and control light with her choice in made-to-measure online bargains
Twiddling our thumbs for a bit of self-determined décor daring, are we?
Precision light control, managed privacy, even an indulgent proscenium — blinds can raise the aesthetics and practical talents of any window. Historically, budget level blinds offer better value than all but the cheapest sheer curtains.
Expect to pay €14 for a 180cm x 160cm roller (complete with DIY 'effing and blinding) to over €150 for a vast double-sided Roman sail in a new-season collection produced in collaboration with a prestigious fabric house (all bought online).
There can be up to 25% off selected collections, which are generally meaner in colour and print choice.
The up-tick to made-to-measure blinds, designed precisely to your window sizes and bought online, is as little as 30% per unit.
This is a worthy investment to dodge shortening metal headrails with a hack-saw and nibbling through hundreds of nerve-mincing cuts to the slats of a slithering Venetian bought off-the-shelf (and currently in limited supply). When it comes to installation, if you’re unfazed by a drill, a screwdriver and a level, putting up standard blinds without a complex incline or mechanism is a starter project. Pull yourself together, measure obsessively and take things slowly.
Follow the supplier’s instructions meticulously on safety measures for cords and other elements (see our useful online guide).
Gaze at the window and the view beyond.
Your blind can either sit flush against the glass inside the reveal (a recessed or fitted "glazing" blind) or outside it, lying softly against the surrounding wall.
Consider interrupting annoyances like sockets etc. If your windows open inward from the top, an exact blind will pull up, well out of the way. If you use your windowsills as shelves, a recessed slender slat Venetian or roller of 25mm will leave the window-board available. There’s a marked difference in look so ramble through online galleries.
Adjustable perfect-fit type fabric blinds, clip directly onto the glass within a supplied frame, providing an interesting option for PVC glazed windows and doors. No tools required, they pull up and down with tab deployed in singles or doubles. Honeycomb polyester pleat types will warm up the glazing too; from €33 for pleats to €88 for rollers ordered online. Luxaflex offers intriguing "bottom up" operation, luxaflex.ie.
Used alone or flanked by curtains, rollers are neat, tailored, and contemporary.
Treated fabrics that slough off damp are ideal for humid situations, and unfurled, dramatic digital art-prints can mask a desperate outlook. Fit those blackout and thermal blinds snugly to the wall or recess and double up with curtains. Online and bespoke are expect choices in a single or double-fabric alignments. Scroll through products in virtual "real room" settings, and take the time to order in those free fabric samples.
New architectural solar blinds for walls of glass – burr softly by remote and are ingested almost completely into the top edge of the reveal. You really deserve more professional input here — try the technical fabrics and expertise at a firm like corkwindowblinds.ie.
Roman blinds display an exquisite slice of colour and texture even when pulled up. Beyond seriously lovely budget choices, a €100 a metre fabric may exceed the €300 mark, with double (finished) sides, the bottom edges trimmed with fringing or winking gems. Standards? Expect €23–€30 for a diminutive faux-silk ready to hang.
Add interlining, and Romans are excellent insulators, and some firms offer blackout and thermal properties as standard. Home-made? Nostalgic Swedish blinds can be attached to even individual casement windows in a double-sided panel of pretty fabric. Stalk Pinterest.
Romans pulled completely clear of a view make an elegant marriage to soft furnishings, delivered in say a historic ticking stripe for shade or shelter.
Soft, vertical panel blinds are a contentious choice, with inescapable commercial overtones. They do include some useful light filtering materials but avoid vandalising the line of a beautiful window. Crossing the Venetian/roller divide, fabric ‘duo’ or night-&-day blinds include sheer voile strips and opaque roller fabric strips that can be lined up to edit the view and illumination. See Enjoy by blinds2go.ie from just €23.65.
Venetians have an urban rhythm viewed from inside and out and can’t be bested for directing light and the available view.
The price cascade starts with PVC, from just €13 DIY. Aluminium, genuine wood, beefier slat sizes and decorative vertical tapes will push up the price. PVC and non-rusting aluminium are ideal for wet areas like bathrooms. Sealed wood gloss slats will wipe clean of grease spatters, with stable, kiln-dried basswood offering ultimate structural stability in a wide 50mm variety. Venetians have flat, dirt-grabbing surface area. Resign yourself to fidgety cleaning.
When ordering a recessed blind, leave at least 1cm from the width to avoid the blind scraping the wall.
The cloth of a roller blind will be 3cm-3.5cm narrower than the width of the blind mechanism.
Not all windows are square: take three width and length measurements using a metal tape for accuracy. For Venetians, an extra 2cm of length provides a centring anchor on the window-board. Structured Roman blinds in clumsy lengths will wink open in a leery mess.
For exacts, decide the amount of the surrounding wall you want to be covered and how much the blind will clear the window. That might be 45mm to the side (a sensible minimum) or 15cm for a seriously present showy fabric with a glorious repeat.
Child safety and blinds
Remind yourself of the advice surrounding buying and installation for any blinds, especially where young children are in the household.
- All blind or curtain cords should be installed for safety and will clear the floor by 1.6m. Check any other strings, tapes and fixings anywhere on the blind are safe and out of reach Cords should never be looped, ensure they are cut and finished in a break-away tassel instead. Kids and cats will strum Venetians. Rollers and perfect fit styles will draw less attention.
- Keep sofas, chairs and tables away from all blinds, and never hang a blind within reach of a cot or child’s bed, even for a very young baby that cannot yet stand
- There are tension devices to make safe existing blinds. If in doubt get professional advice or replace the blind
- Pull tab varieties of pleated blinds are very safe as they simply do not include a cord or chain
- The NSA advises to check that a blind includes a safety device such as a breakaway device, an accumulation device, a non-tangling device or inner cord stops which prevents the formation of a hazardous loop or a tensioning device for keeping the cord out of the reach of children
- Check that the safety device meets the safety standards EN 16433:2014 and EN 16434:2014 and that it is fitted at the same time that the blind is installed.
- Check that written instructions for assembly, installation, use and maintenance are provided, and follow them to the letter if you are installing the blind yourself.
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