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The
Many Different Types & Styles
of Window Blinds & Shades
When searching for the perfect blind, you have
more than likely been bombarded by countless
different types and styles of blinds.
Before you pull your hair out, there are
some very important facts to know about each
type of shade in order for you to pick the
perfect type of window shade for your window.
Roller
Shades
- These have been around for nearly 200 years.
Today’s roller shades are made of
opaque vinyl or fabric that is rolled around a
dowel. Roller
shades use either a spring mechanism or a cord
system to roll the blinds up or down. This type of blind provides excellent privacy, while
protecting your furniture from fading.
The end of the blinds can be finished
with either a straight or scalloped edge and
may also be trimmed with braid for added
decoration.
Roman
Shades
- This style of blind date even further back than
the roller shaded.
Roman Shades can be made out of fabric,
vinyl, or natural material such as bamboo or
grasses. When
these shaded are drawn up using a cord woven
between the materials, they fold up in an
accordion fashion.
Roman Shades also provide excellent
privacy for your home.
Venetian
Blinds
- Also referred to as horizontal blinds.
This type of blind is available in wood,
vinyl and aluminum.
These blinds can be adjusted to allow in
as much or as little or as much light into the
room. Venetian
Blinds are available in 1”, 2”, and
3”widths.
Pleated
Shades
- This type of shade operates in a similar
fashion as the Venetian blind except for the
fact that they cannot be adjusted to alter the
amount of light allowed into the room. In order to allow light into the room the shades must be
raised or lowered.
Pleated Shades are also available in the
“top-down” design which allows you to let
light in from the top of the window.
Vertical
Blinds - This type of blind is as their name implies in
that the slates hang vertically.
Just like Venetian blinds, you have the
ability to control the amount of light entering
the room by simply open them completely by
pulling them to one side of the window or the
other. A
wonderful benefit of this style of blind is
that they are available in several types of
fabric, giving the appearance of curtains
hanging to the window.
Cellular
Shades
- You may also see these referred to as honeycomb
shades. Cellular
shades are layers of fabric that are sewn
together in such a fashion the layers form
honeycombs.
Cellular window shades filter the light
as well as provide insulation to the room,
which makes this type of shade very energy
efficient.
Woven
Shades
- May also be referred to as matchstick blinds.
This style of shade is often made of
natural material such as bamboo, but can also
be made of vinyl.
Woven shades block direct light from the
room, while allowing some natural light to
enter the room through the narrow slits in the
weave.
Mini
Blinds
-These are a form of horizontal blinds.
These blinds are also referred to as
Micro-mini blinds and can have widths of ½”,
mini blinds have widths of 1”, and Macro
blinds will have width of 2” to 3”.
Because they are horizontal blinds they
can be adjusted to control the amount of light
entering the room.
Now that you know the difference between the many
types of shades, hopefully this will make your
search for the perfect blind easier.
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