Wednesday 10 April 2019

Day & Night Blinds

Day and night blinds have become really popular over the past twelve months and it's easy to see why.

What Is A Day & Night Blind?

Day and night blinds, or night and day blinds as they're sometimes called, are a modern twist on the more traditional roller blind. Whereas a traditional roller blind can be raised or lowered, a day and night blind consists of a continuous length of fabric made up of bands of opaque and translucent fabric that can be aligned to either give total privacy or to diffuse daylight in addition to being raised or lowered.

The magic happens thanks to a clever roller type bottom bar. as the control is operated, the fabric rolls off the top rail and is weighted by the rolling bottom bar. Check out the video below to see this in action.



Are Day & Night Blinds Child Safe?

All window blinds sold in the UK now should be child safe. Some blinds have breakaway connections built into the cords and chains that are designed to break apart if under tension however as day and night blinds are on a continuous loop, the blinds are fitted with roller cleats to prevent any accidents.

Where Can I Buy Day & Night Blinds?

Day and Night Blinds can't be easily cut down and so are generally not available as anything other than made to measure. For the best value day and night blinds in the UK check out the Just Blinds Online Shop. 


Cheapest Day & Night Blinds







Sunday 7 April 2019

Blinds for Patio Doors

blinds for patio doors
Patio doors and French doors lend themselves to different types of blinds but they also prevent a few problems.

Lets have a look at the options available when choosing blinds for patio doors and french doors and the points you should consider before ordering.





Roller Blinds for Patio Doors and French Doors

Roller blinds can be fitted to french doors but not to sliding patio doors as they would prevent the doors from sliding. If your french doors open outwards then you need to consider that your roller blinds may collect a lot of dirt and even get wet sometimes. Roller blinds would be fitted directly onto the door leaf itself. If your french doors are upvc then although it is ok to fit blinds to upvc you need to consider that if one day you decide on a different type of blind then you would be left with screw holes in your doors. 

Perfect fit blinds for Patio and French doors

Perfect fit blinds are sometimes called no holes blinds. The each have their own separate aluminium subframe that fits over the pane of glass using special brackets that simply slide under the gaskets. Again, these blinds would be suitable for French Doors but not for patio doors as they would prevent the door from sliding. Perfect fit blinds would still share the same problem as roller blinds on an outward opening french door but on an inward opening french door they would be ideal. Be aware however, Perfect fit blinds are very expensive and we would recommend that because of the exact measurements needed that you get a reputable blind company to measure and install them. They aren't a job that you can do yourself. 


Vertical blinds for Patio Doors and French Doors

Vertical blinds lend themselves well to both patio and french doors. In fact, they are the only sensible option for sliding patio doors as you can specify when ordering made to measure vertical blinds both the control side (left or right) and the draw. So if your sliding door is on the right you would order your vertical blinds to draw to the left therefore allowing unimpeded access through the opening door. 

Vertical blinds also work well with French doors for the same reason. The brackets would screw into the head of the frame and you can specify extension brackets to ensure that the blinds don't foul the door handles.

Best Blinds for Patio Doors

So in summary, unless you have a large budget, the best blinds for patio doors are vertical blinds. Click the link to see a full range of made to measure vertical blinds for patio doors.



Thursday 28 March 2019

What are the best blinds for a conservatory? - Buying guide

A conservatory on the home serves many purposes, choosing the right conservatory blinds is important if you are to get the most out the conservatory not just in summer but in winter. Let's take a look at the points to consider before you buy conservatory blinds. Fortunately given the advances in conservatory roofs, those hideous pleated insect traps that cost a kings ransom otherwise known as roof blinds are now out of vogue. In this article we'll concentrate on blinds for the windows in your conservatory.

Roller Blinds for Conservatories

roller blinds for conservatories
Roller blinds can look great in a conservatory depending on how you use them. If you have one roller for each "section" of window then you can create nice effects by raising or lowering the rollers to different levels as the sun moves during the course of the day. Rollers are available in a wide range of colours and fabrics at various prices.  Roller Blinds can be retracted fully for ease of cleaning. They are relatively light in weight and so won't put undue stress on the window frame onto which they are attached. 

The downside to roller blinds is that during the Summer months you may have them set at various heights but rarely will you have them fully closed. Come Winter when you want to close them for privacy and insulation reasons then you will notice that because they have been in full sun they will have faded quite badly. If you have had them slightly down, covering your top lights for instance you will now be left with odd looking and unequally faded blinds.  In addition, because most of us will have our conservatory windows and french doors open all during the warm season you will find that you get a lot of insect traffic and dust, insects have a tendency to get trapped in roller blinds leaving unsightly blood stains. 

Roller blinds suitability for conservatories:


Looks                    80%
Light Control         60%
Insulation               80%
Cost                       65%
Durability              40%
Suitability Score   65%

Roman Blinds for Conservatories

Roman blinds for conservatories
Roman blinds have changed considerably since they first became fashionable some years ago. Gone are the fussy home made wooden headrails and wooden dowel rods and in their place are modern aluminium headrails and fibreglass rods. Roman blinds have become popular as although expensive to buy made to measure, if you have sewing skills you can buy your fabric and then purchase cheap Roman blind kits that contain the headrail, rods and controls. Roman blinds are perhaps the best choice for insulation during the summer months. Because virtually any fabric can be used the choice is endless. 

The drawbacks to Roman blinds for conservatories however are many. Much like the Roller blinds they are like magnets for dust and insects. Even when fully retracted they have a deep stack height meaning that much of the window will still be covered which not only restricts your view but also makes cleaning difficult. Roman blinds are usually lined with a blackout fabric. Whilst this will bring light control benefits it also means that they are incredibly heavy. Most people these days have UPVC conservatories and although contrary to popular belief it is ok to fit blinds into upvc (see our article about fitting blinds to UPVC conservatories) you really don't want to start fitting heavy blinds into what is essentially just twin wall upvc. Roman blinds can look stunning in the home but as a conservatory blind they just don't fit the bill. 

Roman blinds suitability for conservatories:


Looks                    80%
Light Control         80%
Insulation               80%
Cost                       30%
Durability              40%
Suitability Score   62%


Venetian Blinds for Conservatories

venetian conservatory blinds
For clarification, we are discussing aluminium venetian blinds here, Real wood blinds simply aren't able to stand the intense heat and often quick changes in temperature that conservatory blinds are subjected to. Whilst we're on the subject PVC venetian blinds aren't able to stand the heat either. In fact, If anyone has chosen to fit these cheap pvc venetian blinds into a conservatory please swallow your pride and send us a photo like the one in this article that shows a melted plastic venetian blind. 

If you are looking for venetian blinds for a conservatory then aluminium venetian blinds are the ones to choose. Venetian blinds do look rather chic and even when not drawn up they offer superb privacy whilst still not impeding your view. They won't discolour and with the various devices available for just a few pounds from the likes of Betterware they are easily cleaned. 

Aluminium venetian blinds are quite light and so won't put stress onto the UPVC window frames to which they are fixed. The colour is anodised and so they won't fade in the sun. When fully retracted they have a medium stack height so cleaning should be relatively easy.  The choice of colours and even patterns of venetian blinds is quite breathtaking. See the full range of venetian blinds here.

Venetian blinds offer excellent light control, superb privacy and reasonable insulation. They aren't that expensive either. Perhaps a good choice overall when choosing conservatory blinds.

Venetian blinds suitability for conservatories:


Looks                    90%
Light Control         80%
Insulation               70%
Cost                       70%
Durability              100%
Suitability Score   82%


Vertical blinds for Conservatories

conservatory blinds - vertical blinds
Vertical blinds are always a popular choice for the conservatory and it's easy to see why. Vertical blinds offer excellent light control especially if you opt for blackout vertical blinds. The many draw options and controls allow for endless light control. insulation and privacy provision. 

Vertical blinds aren't too heavy and so again won't put undue stress onto the UPVC frames. We've already discussed the dust and insect problems in conservatories but depending on the fabric that you choose vertical blinds can be easy cleaned. You can even buy washable vertical blinds and will more than likely be able to find a conservatory blind offer for buying more than one vertical blind. 

Vertical blind slats will fade with time however unlike roller or roman blinds the fading will be uniform and not patchy. The one unique feature of vertical blinds is that in a few years time when the slats are beginning to age you can simply buy replacement vertical blind slats from as little as 50p each! 

Vertical blinds suitability for conservatories:

Looks                    90%
Light Control         80%
Insulation               70%
Cost                       90%
Durability              90%
Suitability Score   84%

The Best Blinds for a Conservatory

So to summarise, Conservatories are very demanding environments. It would seem looking at the above results that the best blinds for a conservatory would be vertical blinds or venetian blinds depending on your personal choice. 

Click the link to visit our online blind shop and see for yourself our range of vertical blinds for conservatories. Read one of our other articles if you're worried about fitting blinds to a upvc conservatory

ultimate conservatory blinds