Venetian Blinds

Blending Effortlessly Into Your Room

Venetian Blinds are a stylish yet practical option for window dressing, offering a balance of light and privacy control compared to other types of blinds. They consist of slim, flat, horizontal slats suspended at regular intervals down the length of the window using specially designed “ladder” cords. They can be raised or lowered easily as well as tilted to face forwards and backwards to vary the amount of light in the room (as well as the amount of privacy a room has). It is this which is the main advantage of these blinds compared to something like roller blinds, which can only be raised or lowered.

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For example, on a bright and sunny day tilting the slats backwards to face the window will deflect and diffuse strong sunlight. This reduces glare and makes your room cooler and more comfortable, as well as helping to protect any soft fabrics or furnishings from sun damage and fading, such as sofas and chairs. Similarly, on a dull day the blinds can be tilted forward slightly to direct more light into the room.

What are Venetian blinds made from?

Venetian Blinds are commonly made from wood, aluminium and wood-effect materials with a myriad of colours and finishes. The most common are aluminium blinds which are a particularly great option for kitchens and bathrooms as they are splash proof and won’t warp easily with moisture or temperature changes, plus they are relatively easier to clean.

However, wood blinds can bring a softer, more organic and rustic feel to windows which could be ideal in older properties. Whilst a natural wood can create a great look, it may not be suited to some rooms such as bathrooms, kitchens or conservatories, where the moisture in the air could warp the wood. In which case an alternative could be faux-wood blinds which looks like it’s organic counterpart. There are also options to have all three materials in a variety of different colours, shades and finishes if you want your blinds to fit in with your rooms’ colour scheme.

Other things to consider:

Slat and stack depths
Slat depths are the thicknesses of each individual slat within the blinds – thinner slats mean that there would be more slats in the blinds from top to bottom in order to cover the window. This in turn would mean more cleaning than thicker slats and potentially the blind could weigh more too. It is also worth considering the number of slats in terms of the stack depth.

When the blinds are fully open, all of the slats will be at the top of the window, forming the “stack depth” of the blinds. Whilst you may think thinner slats results in a thinner stack depth, if there are more individual slats this could actually result in a thicker stack depth than if you used fewer thicker slats which could create an unsightly stack at the top of the window.

A general rule of thumb is the larger the window, the bigger the slats as a large window can look crowded whereas large slats can overwhelm a small window.

Perfect Fit Venetian Blinds
Another consideration is whether the Venetian Blind is to be a “perfect fit” or is fitted outside the window recess. Perfect fit Venetian Blinds offer a sleeker finish using a made to measure frame that clicks between the glazing and beading of windows, removing the need for drilling. However, this type of venetian blind will have a small allowance taken off the recess measurement to ensure they fit without any contact with the window recess. However, this could be problematic if minimising light penetration into the room is your main goal.

It is also worth noting that though Venetian blinds are constructed to overlap each other a fraction, the fact there is a tilt in the slats means there will always be some light penetration filtering through the gaps between the individual slats so if you are looking to create a “blackout” environment – you may want to consider roller blinds or using curtains to provide further window dressing.

Cords or Tapes
A Venetian Blind uses several cords to both operate the blinds and also to suspend each slat. The suspension cords are often called “ladder cords” as they space out each slat at regular intervals and resemble a rope ladder. When these cords are pulled up, they fold into a concertina that looks like a sideways figure 8 arrangement, which is visible from both sides of the blind. Though this doesn’t look unsightly, it doesn’t look particularly decorative either.

In comparison, ladder tapes perform the same function as ladder cords but when the blind is raised, they form neat pleats or folds which fall horizontally in line with the slats which can create a cleaner and tidier look if that is the overall preference.

Whether simple and classic, or bold and impactful, our fabulous Venetian blinds are versatile enough to blend effortlessly into the rest of the room. Also, they can be the ideal way to add a bold splash of colour in what is otherwise a fairly neutral décor scheme.

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Venetian Blinds Features