Choosing the Right Blinds

With a wide range of blind styles available, choosing the best option for your windows can feel overwhelming. Our blinds buying guide includes all the information you need to make the right decisions.

Before choosing colours, patterns, or textures, think about what the blinds need to do. Consider the room, how it’s used. Do you need to block out light? Is privacy important? Will the blinds be exposed to moisture? Do you want the blinds to sit inside or outside of the window recess? All of these things will influence your choice of blinds.

Roller Blinds

Roller Blinds are a simple, space-saving solution suitable for a wide range of windows. With various fabrics to choose from, such as blackout, sunscreen, and thermal fabrics, they can provide a variety of functions to block light, reduce glare, or retain the heat in your room. More and more people are opting for electric roller blinds for effortless control with the touch of a button.

Wood & Faux Wood Venetian Blinds

Wood and faux wood blinds are made with horizontal slats that open and close using a cord. Our real wooden blinds come in a range of natural wood finishes and painted colours. Faux wood blinds have the same look as real wood but are water-resistant, making them ideal for bathrooms and kitchens. You can choose from different slat sizes to control how much light comes in. For a softer finish, you can add decorative tape, and motorised options allow you to adjust the slats with a remote control.

Roman Blinds

Roman blinds are good choice for creating texture in a room and are a good alternative to curtains. Our roman blinds come with blackout lining as standard, so they're ideal for bedrooms and living rooms.

Metal Venetian Blinds

Metal Venetian blinds are made from metal slats that can be tilted to control light and privacy. They are easy to clean and moisture resistant, making them ideal for kitchens and bathrooms. With a range of slat widths and slat finishes and colours, they are a popular, budget-friendly choice.

Vertical Blinds

Vertical Blinds are ideal for large windows or glass doors and comprise of vertical louvres or vanes that rotate and move from left to right, and can be stacked out of the way to maximise views out of your window. You can choose from different fabrics including blackout fabric for privacy and light control, and thermal fabric for heat retention and saving energy.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated Blinds come in a range of types including free hanging and tensioned, allowing them to be used for angled or horizontal windows. They're ideal for conservatories and skylight windows. Like many of our blinds, they can be motorised, making them perfect for windows that can't be easily reached.

Bottom Up Blinds

Bottom up blinds raise up from the bottom of the window. This means you can cover the lower part of the window for privacy whilst still letting natural light in through the top. They're ideal for windows that are close to the street or windows that are overlooked. Our tensioned pleated blinds can be installed and operated as bottom up blinds. The fabric can be stopped at any point so you can control the amount of light and privacy. Choose from sheer, dim out, blackout or thermal fabric.

What are the best blinds for tilt and turn windows?

We recommend Clic pleated blinds for tilt and turn windows. Our Clic pleated blinds fit into the UPVC window frame and create an integrated look and move with the window so they don't interfere with tilting or turning your window. They are super easy to install without the need for screws or drilling. Our Clic pleated blinds come in a range of fabrics, including dim out fabric, blackout fabric and thermal fabric for energy saving.

What are the best blinds for large, expansive windows?

We recommend roller blinds or vertical blinds. Our roller blinds can cover window areas 300cm wide and 400cm high. They are sleek and space saving and come in a range of fabrics, including sunscreen, dim out, blackout and thermal fabric. Choose electric roller blinds for easy operation with a remote control or smart-home control.

Our vertical blinds have a slim track that can fit within small recess depths. The louvres can cover areas that are 500cm wide and 340cm high. The vanes can be tilted or drawn open or closed, providing excellent light and privacy control. They vanes can stack to one side keeping the view clear and creating a spacious feel.

What are the best blinds for bifold doors or sliding doors?

We recommend roller blinds as they cover large areas, are slim and won't interfere with the doors opening. We would also recommend vertical blinds as they also cover large areas and the louvres can be angled for excellent light and privacy control, and can be stacked to one side to provide a clear view.

Alternatively, you may choose tensioned pleated blinds which can be fitted within the frames and will move with the bifold or sliding door.

What are the best blinds for skylight windows?

Skylight windows are often hard to reach, so we recommend motorised blinds that can be operated with a remote switch or control or can be synced with a home control app. We would opt for tensioned pleated blinds as they can operate at any angle, thanks to the tensioned wire system. The fabric sits close to the glass and won't sag. The fabric can be stopped at any point so you can control the exact amount of light and privacy. Our tensioned pleated blinds come in a range of fabrics, including sheer, dim-out, blackout and thermal fabrics.

If you have Velux skylight windows, you can order Velux blinds that fit perfectly to your windows. Look for the code on the window to help you choose the appropriate Velux blinds.

What are the best blinds for total blackout?

Total (photo-lab) blackout is actually hard to achieve, but our blackout blinds with cassette and side tracks will achieve a high level of blackout, and a lot more than blackout blinds alone. The cassette and side tracks (sometimes referred to as side channels) block light leakage around the top and sides of the blind and there's the option to install a bottom track to block light leakage around the bottom. If you're a light sleeper or a night worker, then they'll help to create a dark bedroom for sleeping. For the best cassette blinds with side tracks, check out product page here.

What are the best blinds for bay windows?

Roller blinds, roman blinds, venetian blinds and vertical blinds all work will with bay windows as they can fit within each angled bay, giving a clean look. You'll need to consider the space for the brackets and the depth of the window recess to avoid gaps between the blinds when they are down.