We fit uPVC windows rather than blinds ourselves, but the two decisions often happen together, particularly when an old frame is limiting which blind will fit.
What to decide before you pick a type of blind – By Dundee’s double glazing experts
Two factors decide which type suits you: light control, and how much privacy you need to maintain.
A roller blind gives you a clean on-or-off choice between the room and full natural light.
Venetian and vertical blinds trade that simplicity for finer control over light and privacy, since angling the slats gives you light filtering without blocking the window completely.
Which room you’re fitting it in matters too
Kitchens and bathrooms deal with moisture and grease, which rules out fabric options that stain or warp.
Bedrooms often want a blackout option. Living rooms and dining rooms tend to prioritise how the blind looks over anything else, since it’s on show most of the day.
Style choice rarely limits you once you’ve settled on a mechanism, since most window treatments come in sheer and opaque fabrics, solid colours, and patterns.
Mechanism and material are the real constraints.
Roller blinds
A roller blind is a single piece of fabric that winds around a tube at the top of the window, operated by a chain or a spring mechanism.
It’s the simplest mechanism of any blind type, and that simplicity is what keeps the price down.
Fabric choice does most of the work here.
A light-filtering fabric softens direct sun without blacking out the room, while a genuine blackout fabric blocks it completely. Bedrooms and home cinemas both use blackout blinds for that reason.
Roller blinds also handle large windows well, since a single wide roll looks cleaner than several narrow panels side by side.
Venetian blinds and vertical blinds
Both styles use individual slats you can angle open or closed, but the orientation is different. Venetian blinds stack horizontal slats and pull up like a roller blind.
Vertical blinds hang full-length fabric or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) louvres that slide open sideways. That suits a wide window or a patio door better than anything that lifts upward.
What Venetian slats are made from
Real wood blinds have a natural aesthetic and insulate slightly better than the alternatives, but wood warps in a bathroom or a kitchen with a lot of steam.
Faux wood blinds, a PVC slat moulded to look like real timber, handle moisture without the warping risk and cost less.
Metal blinds, coated steel or a lighter alloy slat, are the most durable option of the three and the easiest to wipe clean.
Offices fit them for exactly that reason, and the price sits between faux wood and real wood in most ranges.
Roman blinds and pleated blinds
A Roman blind is a single piece of fabric that folds into neat horizontal pleats as it lifts, rather than rolling around a tube. The folded fabric looks softer and more tailored than a flat roller blind.
A Roman blind suits a room that already has a lot of fabric in it, curtains or upholstery, where a hard-edged roller would clash.
Pleated blinds work on the same folding principle but use a stiffer, concertina-style fabric that holds its shape without a full lifting mechanism behind it.
They fit into smaller or angled spaces a Roman blind can’t, including skylights and some shaped windows.
Made to measure or ready made
Ready made blinds come in fixed standard widths and are the faster, more affordable route if a window happens to match one of those sizes.
Made to measure is built to your exact opening. That precision matters most once you’re dealing with anything other than a standard rectangular window.
A bay window is the clearest example.
Each pane usually needs its own blind cut to a slightly different width and angle, so a ready made set rarely lines up correctly across all three.
The same logic applies to patio doors or any windows or doors that aren’t a standard size.
Types of blinds for windows: your questions answered
This blinds buying guide covers the questions that come up most once you’ve narrowed the options down to a shortlist.
What are the main types of window blinds?
Roller, Venetian, vertical, Roman, and pleated cover the different types of blind available. Each one solves the light and privacy question differently, so the right choice depends on the room more than a general preference.
What’s the difference between blinds and shades?
In UK usage, the terms mostly overlap. “Shades” tends to appear more in American retail listings for what a UK supplier would just call a roller or Roman blind. The mechanisms described in this guide cover both terms.
Which type of blind is best for a bedroom?
A blackout roller blind is the most straightforward option if blocking light is the priority. Wooden or faux wood Venetian blinds work too, though slats never seal a room as completely as a genuine blackout fabric does.
Thinking about new windows too?
We supply and fit uPVC windows and doors, not blinds, but the two projects often line up.
From sash windows to casements to bay and bow, we have a variety of window opening types to choose from.
A free survey is a useful place to start working out which of those applies.
Call our Glasgow showroom on 01355 271 223 or request a free quote online.
