Window Blinds

Simple lines and a structured design make for the perfect window dressing. A lovely window treatment doesn't have to rely on swathes of fabric.

The beauty of blinds for me is that they sit neatly in their designated space. You know where you are with them; there's no tweaking of tiebacks or messing with a pole and rings.

Once a blind has been installed it's a straightforward up and down, or down and up routine, and if you think they are too plain, then think again. A patterned fabric made into a blind can have just as much impact as a dressy curtain.

I have an intense dislike of wooden Venetian blinds. I think it's because they can be used at virtually any window so people use them far too much. I always feel that no thought has gone into the window treatment when I see it dressed up like this - it's as if someone has taken the easy option and hasn't even considered that a softer blind might be better suited to the room.

So please think about how you dress your windows. They may be at the very edge of any room but they can take up a large proportion of the wall space and need the same consideration that you give to your paint colour or choice of wallpaper. Which brings me neatly to a point that you will want to consider. If your walls are painted in a single colour, you can use your choice of blind to introduce an interesting contrast to the space. If you have chosen to hang a patterned paper, then a plain blind may be just what you need.

CHOOSE A STYLE

I'm not sure it is even worth discussing festoon blinds. Does anybody still choose this frou-frou style? Perhaps I'll just say that if you were unfortunate enough to inherit one when you moved into your home, then you should take it down this instant. Pin up a sheet instead. Roller blinds bring simplicity to a window - just a flat piece of fabric that neatly rolls away. Dress up a plain roller with a contrasting panel at the bottom, or if you are a fan of stencilling they provide a perfect canvas for your work. If you are thinking about a treatment for your bedroom and need to preserve your privacy, choose a bottom-up design. With a box fitted to the window sill (preferably), or outside the bottom of the frame (this can look bulky), you raise them up rather than drop them down. This means the bottom half the window can remain covered while the top is clear to allow light into the room. You also have the option of combining an opaque panel with another material, perfect for a lounge that is overlooked. One of the greatest new innovations for rollers is the huge variety of pulls from which you can now choose; wooden blocks, jute balls, leather laces and ceramic beads can all be added to the bottom of your blind if you feel the need to dress it up a bit.

All of my windows have Roman blinds. How boringly unimaginative of me. It's because I love their clean lines: the way that the pleats sit neatly when they are open and the way that the fabric lies flat when they are closed. I like to be able to choose any fabric I want so rather than buying from a catalogue I always buy my own material and then have them made up by a professional curtain maker. It's an approach I would recommend because it doesn't cost a fortune. You can buy an inexpensive fabric to compensate for the making-up costs and once it is up no one will know that's where you cut costs.

Reefed blinds make a more quirky statement but can end up being a pain to operate and keep looking neat. These are pulled up and down by cords, which run through eyelets at the top of the blind and loop down and around the fabric. This means you can pull them up very tight, but you often have to fiddle with the fabric to allow it to roll up neatly. It's the sort of blind to use at a window where it may stay half down for any number of days.

If you pick the right design of blind your windows will always look good.


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