All We Know About Window Blinds

In Praise of Renegade Conservatory Guy

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:18:42 +0000

It’s not all blinds blinds blinds here, we occasionally venture out in to the wider world and think it is about time we shared some of the more interesting sites we happen across.

One of our current faves is Renegade Conservatory Guy who, quite modestly, claims to be probably the best double glazing blog in the world. We would have to agree, the blog will give a fascinating insight in to the double glazing industry, plenty of controversy and even a few laughs.

Our blog is very much concentrated on what our company is doing, we are happiest talking about what we know. Mr Renegade covers a much broader spread and would be of interest to both customers looking to buy conservatories or double glazing and also industry insiders.

Well worth a visit and don’t forget to take a peek at Mr Renegades business websites, West Yorkshire Windows and Conservatory Outlet.

A little bit of history

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:19:54 +0000

The use of slatted blinds can be traced back to Roman and Greek times. In Pompeii, for instance, archaeologists have uncovered homes that have fixed marble slats in the window openings. What we now call Venetian blinds are believed to have originated in Persia (although this is speculative), the style of this window covering impressed the traders of Venice whose name has now become synonymous with the style of blind. Freed Venetian slaves are then thought to have taken the idea of the blinds with them to France where their popularity increased (incidentally the French name for Venetian blinds is Les Persienes).

Things then become a little vague, certainly the Venetian blind was popular in Europe and featured strongly in English and Dutch interior designs of the 15th and 16th century given its strong references to Italian Renaissance. However fully documented references to the window coverings are sparse and mostly only evidenced in paintings (one such painting is Jan Van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” painted in 1434)

These original incarnations of the Venetian blind were simply opertated by hand and in some instances by a central rod in the same way that traditional shutters operate. The current geared method of tilting the slats is credited to American inventor John Hampson who was granted the U.S. patent for the tilt mechanism in 1841. This was the final development in the mechanics of the product that you find today. There have been numerous moments in recent film history where the venetian blind has featured quite prominently, it’s hard to find a 1940’s film-noir detective who didn’t have Venetian blinds lining their office and of course the classic Alfred Hitchcock film “Rear Window” with James Stewart cautiously peaking through his Venetian blind.

The Venetian blind is a design classic of the truest sense, guaranteed to be gracing our windows for the forseeable future.

Our New Ranges

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:05:09 +0000

It’s been a while since we updated our blog and the credit crunch has been to blame! It seems that as money has become tighter people are increasingly looking for quality AND value, that inevitably leads them to us and we have been extraordinarily busy for the past few months.
We have also been extremely busy improving the range of blinds that we offer. There are plenty of new products and we have dropped a few of the older ones, I’ll run through the recent changes with you.

Vertical Blinds

We have updated all of the vertical blinds with the introduction of the new exciting fabric ranges, the featured ranges are:

Valencia

Plain simple fabrics but of the highest quality and available in colours specifically chosen to match the current décor’s and themes.

Malaga

Striking jacquard fabric designs at an extremely competitive price, available in a smaller colour range but this is taken from the most popular colours and caters for both traditional and modern interiors.

Ibiza

A stunning collection of modern fabrics with a subtle texture. There are some really contemporary colours featured in this range that will make a definite feature of the windows they cover.

Madrid

The Madrid range of blinds are patterned designs made from very high quality fabrics. Each design is available in white or cream so as to emphasise the elegant pattern of the fabric.

All of these new ranges directly replace the former Roma, Milano and Porto fabric’s that we used to advertise. However if you are looking for vertical blinds to match ones that you may have ordered from us previously, simply call our office, we can still supply the blinds in the former fabric ranges.

Wooden Blinds

I’m really excited by the introduction we have made into our wooden blinds range. The new Wood Impressions range is made from recycled materials (recycled wood oddly enough) which are pressure formed to make the slats.

This makes these blinds perfect for conditions where you would not normally be advised to use a wooden blind, such as a bathroom or a conservatory. The slats are extremely hardwearing, waterproof and resistant to high temperatures. They are also absolutely consistant in colour, for example the Kalim blind is pure white, something that cannot be achieved with a timber slat as the grain and natural colour of the wood shows through. However the blinds look like genuine wooden blinds with the texture of a wooden slat painstakingly recreated. I definately suggest using our free sample service so you can see the quality of these products for yourself.

Roller Blinds

We’ve not quite finished with the new range here as our IT department are still tinkering with the code but very soon we will have a new range of roller blinds available. The new range is being produced from the same range of fabric as we use for the Valencia vertical blinds which means that for the first time, we will be able to offer fully co-ordinated fabrics in both roller blinds and vertical blinds. While the IT department do their bit, we are able to take orders for these if you need them urgently, simply call our office to place the order and we can send you both roller blinds and vertical blinds in the same fabric of your choosing.

That is currently all of the updates so far. However, watch this space as we have plenty more exciting releases coming very soon.

A little something we found

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:49:43 +0000

We like to spend a little time searching the internet for all things related to blinds. Every now and again we come across something unusual such as this,

through the blinds
sliced a wedge
of moonlight…

This concise poem is written to the rules of Haiku, a Japanese form of poetry that has three lines and seventeen syllables. It is certain well worth a look and a read though some of the outstanding examples on the various websites dedicated to this style of poetry. What really made us take notice is just how many of these poems are written about blinds! There’s even a book of Haiku poems entitled Sun Through The Blinds!

The example featured was written by Carole Mathys and was found here

What on Earth is Basswood?

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:51:06 +0000

You will have noticed that we keep referring to ‘Basswood’ being used for the majority of wooden Venetian blinds. This timber is from the ‘Tilia’ family of trees, these being native throughout the northern hemisphere and known in the UK as a ‘Lime’ and the USA as ‘Linden’ trees. It is known in the trade as Basswood, particularly in North America. This name originates from the inner bark of the tree, known as bast which has many uses in it’s own right.
Basswood is ideal for use in wooden Venetian blinds as it is very pale in it’s natural colour, the tree grows fast and straight so there are very few knots in the timber and being a hardwood, it is very durable, especially when it has been kiln dried (as all the timber used in our blinds has been) yet in it’s ‘green’ state is soft enough to be easily milled and sawn.
The paleness of the natural timber makes it extremely accepting of stains and colourings. This in combination with very little grain results in it being possible to produce stained timber that resembles an extremely wide range of other timbers. This is important as obviously many trees are now endangered due to over logging and should not be used (and are often protected) and others, such as Oak and Ash are slower growing and are therefore far more expensive.
It used to be that ‘Ramin‘ was the timber of choice for furniture manufacture but due to some unscrupulous timber suppliers, this was being sourced from protected rainforests in Vietnam and Indonesia. As this was a major cause for concern, there has been an almost unanimous move within the industry to use Basswood instead. Basswood is easily managed due to the speed that it grows, of which means that there is very little impact upon the environment.

Drum Roll Please……………………………

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:37:29 +0000

After many months of negotiation and development, we have finally unleashed our brand new website Poles 2go upon the world wide web.
Featuring some of the most recognised names in the curtain pole and track industry, Poles 2go offers all of our usual trademarks, great service from experienced staff, the best prices available and quick delivery to your door step.
So if you are after a metal curtain pole, a curtain track or a sturdy wooden pole to support your luxurious window dressings, then it has just become that little bit easier!
The ranges currently cover brands such as Swish and Sunflex with additions from Harrison Drape and Universal coming in the next couple of weeks.
As well as offering these poles and tracks, we are also offering the full range of Swish parts, both for the curtain tracks but also for their ever popular mix-and-match metal pole range.

Simply Splashing!

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:47:16 +0000

There’s no doubt that bathroom windows need blinds but with so many different types of blind being available, which ones are ideal and which should be avoided?
Bathrooms are notoriously hard on blinds. The combinations of heat and moisture followed by cooler temperatures and the abrasive chemicals that are commonly used in cleaning mean that any blind that is situated in a bathroom has a hard life. Often you will see blinds in bathrooms that have faded or yellowed in colour, that have spots of mould edging the bottom of the fabric and that are cracked or broken because of the constant expanding and contracting as the temperature alters.
This is mostly because of the wrong type of blind being used. We have listed below the best and worst of the blinds currently available:-

1) Bathroom Roller Blinds

These blinds have to be at the top of the list as they are the only ones designed especially for the job. They are made from PVC and use an aluminium pole and chain. This means that the blinds are 100% waterproof. There’s no chance of rust marking the fabric and there is no purchase for moisture to settle in making the blinds resistant to mould growths. The extra thick material remains supple in extremes of heat and cold, this makes the blind perfect for use directly over a bath or even used in place of a shower curtain!

2) Aluminium Venetian Blinds

Coming in at number 2 is the classic aluminium Venetian blind. It is more than likely that you will have seen these used in a bathroom before. They must be made from aluminium which is a non-ferrous metal and therefore doesn’t rust. (If they were a cheaper alloy then they may rust and this can be extremely difficult to remove from the surrounding décor.) There is a huge range of colours available in this type of blind which makes them very popular. A Venetian blind takes slightly more maintenance than a roller blind because you have to protect the cords from moisture, however this is easy to do by simply applying a wax based polish to the cords on a regular basis (once every couple of months of so).

3) Painted Finish Wooden Venetian Blinds

In third place are the wooden venetian blinds with a painted finish. These look great and offer fantastic light control but care must be taken when using them. Wooden blinds can warp if they are left wet or in a room that is particularly steamy (no good in the sauna I’m afraid), so avoid using them if the window in question is in direct contact with spray from a shower or over the bath where they will be surrounded by steam whenever a bath is run (if the window is in this position, use either option 1 or 2 above). However, in a window away from the bath or shower they will be fine. The same precautions should be taken as with aluminium blinds, take care of the cords by regularly protecting with either silicone spray or a wax based polish and you will have no problems. The combination of a painted finish and 50mm wooden slats will result in a blind that looks stunning, is easy to clean and offers perfect privacy and light control.

The Ones To Avoid

This is quite simple, avoid any fabric that is not entirely water proof and make sure that all the fixtures and fittings are also water proof and resistant to rust. Fabric Roman blinds are a definite no-no, they will get wet and unless they are taken down, washed and then dried immediately, they will develop mildew and other forms of mould. Whilst this can be resolved, it can damage the colour and finish of the blind and is best avoided. Vertical blinds made from fabric suffer from exactly the same issues and have the added problem that if left wet, they can shrink and end up an odd shape.
As always, if you are not sure whether the blind you are considering is suitable or not, call us or drop a comment here on the blog and we will do our best to advise you.

The Blinds Bar Easy Guide to measuring an angled bay window

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:45:07 +0000

We are often asked “How do I measure an angled bay window for blinds?” and the answer is very simple but quite lengthy and difficult to explain over the telephone. To resolve this we set about drawing up this handy guide that shows you in five easy steps, how to measure an angled bay window so that blinds will sit perfectly side by side.

Click here to see the full guide.

Note: The guide is based on an angled bay window with three panels but the same principle applies to any bay window regardless of the number of panels.

And now for something different

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:00:33 +0000

Have you ever found yourself working in an office where you can’t see a window from your desk? Whilst surfing the internet in search of all things blinds related, we came across this great piece of Japanese innovation and think it could be a perfect solution to dark offices or fluorescent tube lighting.

Made of electroluminescent (EL) sheets, Makoto Hirahara’s Bright Blind simulates a window where none exists.

In all other respects, the artificial blind functions in exactly the same way as a regular blind - ie turning the plastic stick controls the brightness, etc.

As of this writing, this piece is made by hand, so it’s available - but will take some time (and money) to create.

Wonderful Wooden Blinds, The Latest Additions!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:53:59 +0000

As always, we try to be right there on the edge with the very latest in products, this is no different as we introduce five fabulous new timbers to the already impressive Hereford range.

The Ivory is a high quality painted timber in a beautiful creamy off white colour, currently available in 25mm, 35mm and 50mm slats. The painted finish makes the blind easy to clean, ideal for use in offices or busy homes.

Burnished Oak adds another beautifully warm timber to our range. An almost perfect match for Oak effect UPVC windows. With the slat sizes of 25mm, 35mm and 50mm, this is already proving to be popular with our designers.

To really appreciate the stunning quality of this timber, we strongly recommend using our free sample service to order a swatch. The emphasis with the Rowan is on the combination of depth of colour and grain, this is achieved by only using the 50mm slat size to showcase the beauty of the wood.

The Tuscan Oak timber is a warm, golden tinted timber. The pronounced grain adds texture to this timber which would fit in very nicely with antique or Ercol furniture. As with the Rowan, 50mm slats are used so as to best demonstrate the elegant natural grain of the timber.

Canadian Maple has long been recognised as a beautiful timber for home furnishings. We have used a 50mm slat size to create a classic pale timber Venetian blind that looks simply stunning in any environment, modern or traditional.