Two Great Options To Cover Your Windows With: Blinds And Shades
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When looking for ways to treat their windows, many homeowners choose blinds and shades over other types of window coverings. Each style offers a different set of benefits yet both are simple enough to use with other treatment types to give a home that "put-together" look.
The Main Differences Between Blinds and Shades
Blinds are individual panels or slats strung together in some fashion so they can rotate and be pulled open or closed. The two most popular types are mini blinds and vertical blinds. Both of these can be considered your basic window covering and are great options for rented homes or apartments.
Because they are offered at discount prices their quality isn't as high, but they can easily be replaced when damaged. Both types of blinds can be made with vinyl and are very easy to clean. Mini blinds are most commonly ordered in neutral colors but are offered in a decent range of hues. Because vertical blinds have wider panels, there is more room for a pattern, texture or fabric to be used. This gives a homeowner more options to coordinate with their decor.
Wood blinds are a higher quality window treatment that have the same functionality as mini blinds. They are made of solid wood versus vinyl so they are more opaque and let in less light when closed. They give a more rich, natural feel to the room they are in but they also cost more than the traditional mini blinds. Bamboo is a nice, light wood used in window blinds that is highly popular.
Blinds can be used in many window shapes including arched windows, which is great for covering the top part of the window and gives the homeowner ultimate privacy.
The main difference between blinds and shades are when blinds are rotated in the open position, you have a clear line of sight to the outside of your home. Shades only give you that clear line of sight when they are drawn up.
More on window shades. This type of window treatment is one semi-transparent piece of material used to "shade" the sun. You cannot see through them like you can with mini blinds but they give off a much softer glow due to the fact that they are made of fabric.
They do come arranged vertically for a more modern look but are generally used in their horizontal form on taller windows because they are very light weight. The vertical arrangements are better for sliding glass doors or long spans of floor-to-ceiling windows.
There is a WIDE variety of patterns, designs, colors, and fabrics that can give this window treatment a custom look. Manufacturers such as Hunter Douglas offer honeycomb, cellular, pleated, single cell, and roman window shades, just to name a few.
The fabrics used in window shades can be pretreated so they do not fade or stain, yet can be easily washed. Shades add the softness of drapes with the simplicity of blinds. And if you don't mind the fact that you have to pull the shade up or to the side to see directly out of your window, then shades give off a very class, warm look as well as a nice sunlit glow.
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