While some may enjoy being woken up by the sun, others argue that sunlight dramatically affects their sleep quality. For those of you that cannot stand being woken up by sunlight, you’ve come to the right place. Beyond light control, blinds help with energy efficiency by trapping the air and providing insulation, blinds increase your privacy, are easy to maintain, can add to the aesthetic of a room, and come in a wide variety of styles, colors, and shapes. But how can you be sure you’re picking the right set of blinds if you’re not familiar with all the options you have? You can’t! And that’s exactly why I’m here..writing this for you! 🙂
Things to consider prior to purchasing blinds:
1. Blackout or no blackout blinds?
If you want blackout blinds, you need to make sure they are manufactured from a blackout fabric. And just because the fabric is “blackout” does not mean the blinds have to be a dark color. They can be any color, light or not, as long as the fabric used to make them is blackout.
2. Aesthetic
What color are the walls in your room? Do you have any art or accent pieces in your room? Do you want your blinds to match the colors? Do you want a neutral color? A dark color? Remember, you can achieve the blackout effect with any colored blind, so don’t limit yourself.
3. Cord or cordless?
Do you have children or pets? What kind of blinds were you thinking of putting in your children’s room? For safety reasons, I would recommend cordless blinds. Instead of pulling down the cord, you just pull down the blind instead.
4. Budget?
Are you buying blinds for your bedroom or for every room in your home/apartment? How much are you looking to spend on your blinds? If you’re on a budget, you should consider looking into vinyl blinds and ready-made shades as they are less expensive. If you don’t have a budget, I’d recommend getting custom blinds that you can remote control up and down. Either way, you should know if you have a budget or not prior to considering any specific blinds.
5. Are you looking for blinds or shades? Or both?
The difference between the two are that blinds are normally made from vinyl, wood, or metal and shades are normally made of soft fabric material. Because shades are made from one material, they can be adjusted up and down, but not side to side.
6. Size of your windows
Know which windows you need blinds for and know each individual measurement. This will make it so much easier for you when it’s time to make your purchase. To measure the windows properly, measure from the top to the bottom of the window. If you feel like you’d measure incorrectly, I’d recommend hiring a specialist.
Materials:
Wood
Pros: variety of colors, work with almost any sized window
Cons: difficult to maintain in rooms that have a lot of moisture (bathrooms), are expensive
Metal
Pros: reflect light and heat, durable, easy to maintain, affordable
Cons: can be noisy, have sharp edges
Plastic
Pros: affordable, different colors and textures, they are flexible
Cons: don’t look very fancy, aren’t that sturdy
Types of blinds:
Roller blinds
Yes, these are the ones you’re thinking about in your head. They’re the classic ones you see in people’s apartments, homes, and in hotels. Their simplistic design makes them appropriate for any room, but they are most popular for bedrooms because of the “blackout” effect they offer. You can of course purchase roller blinds that do not have the blackout effect if that’s not what you’re going for. These blinds are normally pulled down by cords but if you’re willing to spend a little more, you can pull them up and down by remote. They come in a variety of different styles and materials as well.
Various roller blind options – Prices vary
100% Blackout Classic Roller Shades – $45.25
Thermal Insulated 100% Blackout Waterproof Fabric Silver Back Custom Window Roller Shades – $69.99
Vertical blinds
Vertical blinds use large and individual slats (the pieces that you tilt, raise, and lower to use your blinds) that are mounted to a track, which makes it easy to open and close them with a cord. Depending on which ones you get, they can open from side to side, or by parting in the middle. If you have floor to ceiling windows, vertical blinds are blinds you should consider.
Deluxe Adjustable Sliding Room Darkening White/Gray Vertical Blind – $175.99
Room Darkening White Vertical Blind – $186.99
More vertical blind options – Prices vary
Vertical blinds from blindster – Prices vary
Horizontal blinds
These kinds of blinds are more commonly used on large and narrow windows. The slats are anywhere between 1 to 2 inches. They roll up from the bottom up as opposed to sideways. Most often used on medium sized windows.
Custom Made Cordless Room Darkening Chelsea White Horizontal Blind – $98.99
Wayfair horizontal blind options – Prices vary
Horizontal blinds from Amazon – Prices vary
Venetian blinds
Venetian blinds have horizontal slats that are usually made from plastic, metal, or wood. They originally came from Venice, Italy, hence the name.
Luna Room Darkening Venetian Blind – $45.99
Symple Stuff Custom Cordless Faux Wood Blinds-Outside Mount – $134.99
More Venetian blind options from Wayfair – Prices vary
Panel blinds
Instead of having multiple thin slats, these blinds move along a track and have four wide sections.
The shade store panel blind options – Prices vary
Design Deluxe Adjustable Sliding Panel Track Blind 45.8″- 86″ W x 96″ H – $139.99
Blackout Adjustable Sliding Panel Track Blind 45.8″- 86″ W x 96″ H – $134.32
Panel blinds from the home depot – Prices vary