Window Blinds: A Comprehensive Selection Guide
There used to be a time when you had to settle for a limited range of household elements. Today, variety is the name of the game. On the one hand, this may sound like an unsustainable model of mass production, but on the other, such a trading landscape leaves a consumer with a wide palette of choices to assemble the home of their dreams. The minutiae you can go into and still have plentiful choices is quite staggering, and window blinds are one of such details. If you are determined to choose the exact right type of window blinds for your home, here is a comprehensive selection guide.
Let’s start with the basics
Slats, vanes (or sometimes dubbed stripes) connected to the cord that keeps them together and which is used to control the angle of the slats - sounds simple, doesn’t it? This is what is loosely defined as blinds and their wonderfully adjustable nature is what made them such a popular element in a range of households and companies around the world. You can adjust the angle to let just enough light into the room, or you can pull them up (or sideways) for a clear view of the exterior - and this is where the first decision you need to make comes in.
These stripes come in different widths according to your needs and the blinds can have a drastic impact on the appearance of a room according to this decision. Their width typically ranges from half an inch to two inches, and half-inchers are probably the most popular kind for households because they have this undeniably modern feel to them. The only downside is that the wider the slats are, the lower the price tag becomes since it is much less laborious to manufacture wider blinds. Take that into consideration if the price is an issue, though all types of blinds should be fairly affordable today.
An upside of verticality
The advantage of vertical blinds is that they can look much more stylish than the horizontal variety, especially if you choose the right colour. If you choose a hue that contrasts the surrounding walls, they can really, for the lack of a better expression, add verticality to the room. Typically, the practice for creating modern vertical blinds entails the inclusion of mould-resistant materials with a coating that has anti-static and dust-repelling properties, so you don’t have to worry all that much about the upkeep of the blinds.
Since they stack sideways, vertical blinds are an amazing solution for sliding glass doors and wall-high windows that cover the entire side of, shall we say, living room. Considering that you can easily purchase those that come with a remote control, you can adjust the angle just about any minute - much akin to the features you can have with horizontal blinds.
The choice of material
If we are discussing residential environment to answer the question of material, you should probably avoid aluminum blinds altogether since they have quite an industrial feel to them. Stripes with fabric texture have a warm quality that is more fitting for private environments. They can work especially well if you are going for minimalist interior design with modern and angular furniture and clean mono-colour walls without ornate prints and details.
Some companies even produce blinds made out of wood which are reasonably more expensive than the textile variety but they are also much heavier and harder to control. Plus, they are not as easy or cheap to replace if they are visibly damaged. Many people who want to emulate an “organic” or “natural” feeling simply go for vinyl blinds that are made to mimic certain natural materials (like papyrus). The upside of this choice is that you get the desired look for a low price.
What about colour?
As it has been mentioned above, you can contrast the blinds with the colour of the walls that surround them, and you can achieve this by choosing a colour that truly pops - a vibrant and refreshing nuance. However, this mostly makes sense if the room in question has either a modern or a deliberately eclectic look. If you are going for something more vintage, timeless, gentle, or all of the attributes combined, you should probably install neutral blinds. In this case, try to go with the hue that closely follows the colour of the window trim in order to avoid tasteless combinations.
As you can see, a range of window blind types to choose from but also a range of styles, tones and colours that can leave you flabbergasted. What may initially seem to be a bewildering list of choices is actually a blessing in disguise since such a wide range of options will actually make the process infinitely easier for you.
