With all
the windows in your home you are faced with the choice of
which soft furnishings and décor items you will use
to cover the windows e.g. at night, to shut out light, or
for privacy. While curtains are an obvious choice they aren’t
always the best in terms of price, ease on installation, ease
of use, maintenance or and replacement.
The ‘Drawbacks’
of Curtains
There are actually more considerations
that you think when putting up and using curtains. The measurements
need to be right, and since curtains are usually folded
to an extent in terms of width, you will need to allow for
this in your width measurements. Also, the drop (the height)
needs to be accurately calculated for the curtains to look
right. The material e.g. the weight, thickness and type
of the material will also determine how good the curtains
look and how they operate. Also the curtain pole needs to
be the right type, length, strength and distance from the
wall. One side of the curtains, even when they pulled back,
is still exposed to the light and therefore is prone to
fading and discolouration. The act of closing and opening
the curtains for most people involves handling them. This
makes the curtains dirty. Also as they are fabric it is
difficult to remove dust from curtains, and they tend to
harbour odours.
The Advantages of Vertical
Blinds
The fixings for vertical
blinds, like curtain poles, are easy install, but as
well as being fixed to the wall or window frame, vertical
blind brackets can be fixed to the ceiling. This means that
blinds can be installed in all manner of situations e.g.
where space is limited.
The head rails, fixings and brackets
for vertical blinds
come in different colours e.g. brown and white. This means
that they can be better matched to the colour of the blinds
and the design / colour scheme of the room.
Vertical blinds can often be simpler
to open and close than curtains. A single wand control to
the side of the blind means that closing them is physically
quick and easy. Also, there is no need to touch the blinds
themselves, so there are fewer opportunities to make them
dirty.
Vertical blinds are made up of
many individual slats. This means that cleaning can be done
gradually, regularly and easily. Whereas you would have
to take at least one of the curtains down to clean it properly
thus affecting your privacy, with blinds you can clean and
replace one or only a few slats at a time. This makes the
whole process more manageable and practical.
If slats are discoloured or damaged,
it’s just a case of replacing the individual slats
relatively cheaply – this would not be the case with
curtains.
Changing the colours in your room
and / or design theme can mean buying new curtains which
can be very expensive. With vertical blinds on the other
hand, it’s simply a case of replacing the slats and
not the fittings. This can save a lot of money and hassle.
For more information about the
advantages of vertical blinds, call 01604 671189,
or contact
Blind Corner online.