Clean and contemporary looking, blinds bring out the architectural proportions of a room and are perfect for any type of window — large, small or problematic, says Jane Drew
1. Creating atmosphere
What you hang at the window plays an important role in pulling a decorative scheme together. Formal dress curtains can look out of place in a modern setting, where plain simple blinds will fit the bill.
2. Controlling light
A blind will never block the light entirely but you can reduce glare with Venetian or other slatted blinds made of wood, cane or bamboo. If, on the other hand, there is too little light in a room, make the most of what you do get by using pale-coloured fabric blinds with smooth or shiny surfaces.
3. Combining with drapes
Although blinds work on their own, they can look as good with drapes, which need not function as such but merely consist of lengths of fabric caught back at the sides. Blinds are also good teamed with sheers for a more delicate effect.
4. Prioritising privacy
If you are overlooked or need to block out an ugly view, blinds are an ideal solution. Exclude the view but keep the light by choosing one of the many slatted blinds available (particularly louvered ones). If a blind will hang permanently at a window, you can even tack it in place using decorative pegs painted in contrast to the window frame.
5. Keeping it practical
Blinds always work well in small rooms and on small windows where the amount of fabric in a curtain would be overpowering. A blind’s unobtrusive lines are particularly suitable for kitchens and bathrooms, where drapes are not always a practical solution.
6. Fooling the eye
Blinds can be used in a number of ways to help conceal a room’s architectural faults. Windows will look wider if you extend the width of the blind beyond the actual opening. Vertically striped fabric blinds, meanwhile, will suggest greater height in a low-ceilinged room, and sill-length blinds, patterned in a striped horizontal design, will make a high ceiling seem lower.
7. Maximising a view
When the view is worth looking at, blinds are ideal since they can be rolled right up, allowing the window to act as an extended frame around a picture. For a barely-there effect, have blinds made up in a fabric or material that blends in with the surrounding walls.
8. Providing eye candy
Blinds have been popular since Georgian times and they can be very decorative. Requiring only a small amount of fabric, Roman blinds pull up into softly folded pleats that look neat without being stark. For an even more elaborate effect, festoon and Austrian blinds pull up into softly ruched swags, and usually hang fairly low on the window from a gathered heading.
9. Dressing up
Choice of fabric is important as many designs, particularly large round motifs, do not look good with the geometric effect of a blind. Both vertical and diagonal stripes on the other hand work well, as do plain fabrics or fabrics that have a definite texture.
10. Problem solving
Blinds cannot cover a window wider than 80 inches without sagging, but this need not be a problem as a series of narrow blinds can work equally well on large expanses of glass. Thin blinds are also a great solution on awkwardly sloping windows.
Related Links on Squarefoot.com.hk
Home and Property Stories via our International Network
