5 Tips for Choosing and Installing Great Blinds

by Mary Butler

Choosing the right window fashions for your home can be an overwhelming task, due to a dizzying variety of options in blinds, shades, and other coverings. But if you follow these five easy and fail-safe tips, you should be on the right track.

Tip #1: Evaluate Your Needs
Evaluate your needs room-by-room and window-by-window. Naturally, window fashions ought to compliment the interior design of each room, but they also should be functional. In a child's room, you might seek to keep out as much light as possible, and for safety purposes, cordless blinds are a popular choice. Consider solar heat gain and loss and how much insulation you desire. Wooden blinds, for instance, traditionally provide better insulation than vinyl blinds--fabric roman blinds are typically great at insulating and absorbing sound.

Tip #2: Choose the Right Material
Choose materials that compliment the look and feel of each room. Wooden blinds offer timeless elegance, come in a rainbow of colors, and are available in large and small slat sizes. Aluminum, vinyl, synthetic, and fabric blinds are less expensive options and also come in a wide array of styles and colors. Fabric roman blinds, which drape in soft folds when raised and fall flat when down, usually do not let in as much light as traditional slatted blinds. But roman shades are the most versatile decorating choice because they are available in bamboo, as well as in fabrics including sheer, weaves, solids, textures, and patterns. Roman shades offer the soft, warm feeling of curtains, with the off-the-floor ease of blinds.

Tip #3: Consider Size, Shape, and Function
Match the shape and function of blinds to the size and placement of each window. Motorization and specialty track systems allow for remote control operation of blinds in hard-to-reach spaces.

Tip #4: Measure Correctly
Decide whether your blinds will be recessed (hang inside the window), or be mounted on the outside, covering the molding. Measure each window using a steel measuring tape. You should not assume all windows are the same size. Be precise in your measurements. Round down to the closest 1/8-inch, and remember that covering more of a window is better than covering less. For recessed blinds, measure from the inside edge of the trim to the opposite inside edge. For outside-hung blinds, measure the width of the window, including the trim.

Tip #5: Think About Professional Assistance
Consider hiring a profession to install your blinds, especially if your home includes many large and hard-to-reach windows. A professional installer can do the job quickly and ensure that blinds are hung straight and operate correctly.

Source:
Chicago Sun-Times
Lowes
HGTV

About the Author
Mary Butler writes and edits feature articles specializing in home and garden.