July 2015 - Blinds On The Net: Buy Cheap Discount Blinds Online Australia Wide

For anyone seasoned in the search for blinds online it’s by now very apparent that there’s a blind for every need and application. You may be searching for roller blinds online, for their great practical qualities, or roman blinds online for their classic appeal. Blinds are available for every room of the house and every imaginable function; they can also be tricked up or toned down by pairing them with curtains or sheers.

However, amid the great abundance of online blinds, there are a couple of old favourites in the world of window coverings that, having taken a back seat in recent years, deserve a second look: timber blinds, (also known as timber venetian blinds) and vertical blinds. While superficially different, these two blinds operate according to a similar principle; the ability to control light and heat entering an interior due to their slatted structure.

Of course they also each offer their own unique properties:-

Regarded as a failsafe classic, good timber venetians look great in any room of the house and have added functional benefits, providing shade in the warmest months, while allowing the sun to shine in during winter and enabling views to the outside. Installed correctly and considered in line with the dominant décor of the house, they create a classic look that also manages to be contemporary, adding an understated touch of beauty to any home. If you’re looking for venetian blinds online, make sure to invest in high quality timber blinds made from premium grade timber such as Cedar and built to last. Lower quality versions can often be prone to bowing, warping and splitting, which creates an unsightly appearance and also compromises the functionality of the product.

Another classic, vertical blinds are increasingly being sought due to their useful combination of blind and curtain, blending the functionality of a flexible light control due to variably movable vertical blinds and providing solar protective features with a clean, no-nonsense aesthetic. While they’ve previously been reserved for more functional applications such as offices and commercial buildings, their merits in residential décor are becoming apparent. For one thing their vertical thrust elongates windows, making them and any room in which they’re installed, appear higher than they really are. Consumers can now purchase vertical blinds online in different contemporary colours and designs and they are in fact highly suited for current trends in interior design in which clear lines are dominant. Another benefit of vertical blinds is that they can be easily installed and can be either inside or outside mounted. Most come with a valance, which is used to cover the top mechanism of the blind.

For those searching for blinds online Australia has a great offering of both venetian blinds online and vertical blinds online. Given the clean, no-fuss aesthetic of many Australian homes and the demands of the local climate, it certainly makes sense to consider either or both of these two reliable, cost-effective and useful window coverings as part of your décor scheme.

Whatever style of blind you decide to purchase, whether holland blinds, venetian blinds, roller blinds, honeycomb blinds or panel blinds, you’ll need to ensure that the blind is properly installed to make the most of its appearance and performance.

If you’re handy, you may well have the confidence to take a DIY approach. If you’re not, it’s worth appointing an installer to do the job for you. Most good retailers should be able to recommend a blind installer and there are a few things you should look for in an installer. As a start, images of previously completed installations and testimonials from satisfied clients are great way to judge an installer’s proficiency.

Good installers often have a background in a trade such as cabinet making and are used to dealing with precise measurements. And a really good one will be able to think creatively to find solutions to common challenges such as windows with no reveals or locks that cause obstructions, skirtings in reveals or out-of-square reveals (common in older buildings).

Whoever is installing your blinds, there are a few tips to bear in mind. Firstly, the most important element of any good installation is accurate measuring. A metal measure should be used and measurements should never be ‘rounded up’ or ‘rounded down’. Measurements should be as accurate as possible, so an installer who talks in terms of millimetres rather than centimetres is clearly the real deal. Measurements should be presented in terms of width x drop. Every window needs to be measured individually, as any variation, however small, will affect the final outcome. It’s also worth noting that measurements on house plans are rarely accurate, so ignore those and re-measure!

How an install is measured and approached will also depend on the type of blind. For example with venetian blinds it’s essential to measure the window cavity before mounting brackets for the blind on either side of the cavity, opening the catches and inserting the blind.

Meanwhile roller blinds can either be face mounted – fitted outside the window frame, or recess mounted – fitted inside the window frame. For face mounting, measure the width from the outer edge of the frame to the opposite edge, then the drop from the top of the frame to where the blind should end. If your windows don’t have frames, measure the opening and add at least 100mm to ensure that the fabric overlaps with the opening on either side of the window. At least 100mm should also be added to the drop to ensure that the blind covers the opening vertically as well as horizontally.

For recess mounted roller blinds, the width from the inside of the window frame from the left side to the right side should be measured, as well as the drop from the top to the bottom of the inside recess. It’s also crucial to make sure there’s enough depth to mount the blind snugly inside the frame so that at no point is it visible outside the profile of the window.

Monthly Archives: July 2015

All about verticals and venetians

Measuring and installing your blinds