What Are The Different Types of Window Blinds?

Different types of blinds explained.

There’s more to a window blind than fabric and barrels. I mean, sure, that is kind of the gist of it if you’re talking about roller blinds, but there is actually a lot of additional features that come together to create a superb window shade for your home.

We have a broad choice of blinds to choose from, and you’d be forgiven if you were a little daunted by it – where do you begin?

This short guide will talk you through the basic features of each type of blind and the options these blinds come with. I’m certain you’ll be ready to face the wide world of blinds afterwards!

Screen Fabric, Dimout Fabric or Blackout Fabric

Before we look at all the different types of blinds available here at DotcomBlinds, we should have a quick refresher on fabric types. At DotcomBlinds, our fabrics can be broken down into three major types: Screen Fabric, Dimout Fabric and Blackout Fabric.

The different fabric types denote how much (or little) light the fabric will allow to pass through it, which will have an immediate effect on the lighting of the room they’re used in and their suitability for use in different rooms.

Screen Fabric is the most “open” type of fabric, allowing the most amount of light to pass through it, this fabric is ideal for keeping a room nice and bright, while preventing annoyances like screen glare. In terms of privacy, you can partially see through screen fabric but it will still partially obscure your home’s interior from the outside.

Screen fabric is best used in spaces you’d like to keep nice and bright throughout the day, such as a home office or living room.

Dimout Fabric is the next step up from screen fabric, still allowing some light to pass through the fabric, but filtering out much more than a screen fabric would, giving a more “dimmed” level of brightness in your interiors. In terms of privacy, outsiders should not be able to see in through the fabric, but at nighttime when lights are on inside, passersby may see shadows and silhouettes from inside.

Dimout fabrics are best used in spaces where you’d still like some natural light and a bit more privacy such as a bathroom or ground level rooms.

Blackout Fabric is the thickest and most opaque type of blind fabric, with a blackout fabric no outside light will pass through the fabric at all, creating a ‘blackout’ effect which is ideal for dark spaces like bedrooms or home theatres. In terms of privacy, a blackout fabric will completely obscure your home’s interiors from the outside, giving you the highest level of privacy.

Blackout fabrics are best used in spaces where darkness and privacy are needed, like in bedrooms or home cinema rooms.

Now that we have covered off the main fabric types, let’s look at the different types of blinds we have available.

Roller Blinds

A standard roller blind is quite possibly the most common variety of blind, roller blinds are made up of your blind fabric and a rolling metal tube. Using a chain or crank, the rolling tube can be rotated, which will pull the fabric up to let light in or allow it to drape downwards to cover the window.

Roller blinds are excellent for quite a few reasons, their simple design and ease of use being one of the major reasons, another is that roller blinds are cost effective making them a budget friendly blind and that they’re an easy type of blind to install.

Roller blinds can be used in every room of your home, just make sure that you choose the right fabric type for the space to ensure they shade the room effectively.

Electric Roller Blinds

If standard roller blinds don’t seem snazzy enough for you, then perhaps you’d be a fan of our Electric Roller Blinds these blinds work exactly the same as normal roller blinds, but rather than being operated by a chain or crank, they’re operated via remote control.

Electric blinds are great for windows in hard-to-reach places or rooms with large windows, as they can be opened and closed at the mere push of a button.

Like normal roller blinds, electric rollers can be used pretty much anywhere in your home, but you should make sure to take care if being used in bathrooms due to the presence of water,

Double Roller Blinds

If a single roller blind isn’t enough for you and you want to have different levels of shade throughout the day, then our Double Roller Blinds will be ideal for you. Double roller blinds consist of two roller blinds connected on a single bracket.

Each blind in a double roller will have a different fabric, allowing you to pair a blackout blind with a dimout blind, which lets you keep a room bright and airy in the daytime, then dark at night by deploying the blackout layer.

Like normal roller blinds, double roller blinds can be used effectively in any room of your home, but they’re especially ideal for studio apartments, spare bedrooms, and home offices.

Total Blackout Cassette Blinds

If you’re looking to create a full blackout effect in a room like a bedroom or home cinema, then our Total Blackout Cassette Blinds will be ideal for you. These blinds pair our blackout roller blinds fabrics with a light blocking cassette system to ensure that no light at all passes through your window.

If you want to secure your privacy or keep a room dark, no blind will do a good a job as our cassette blinds, which entirely prevent light from passing through your windows whilst the blind is closed.

Cassette blinds are best used in spaces where darkness is needed, such as bedrooms or home cinema rooms.

Roman Blinds

Roman Blinds may very well be the oldest type of blind that is still used today, as their origins date back to the construction of the Colosseum in ancient Rome (which you’ve learned from reading our Blinds Fun Facts Blog of course). A modern Roman Blind is made up of a sheet of blind fabric, with strings that run through the back of the blind, the strings are then controlled with a chain or cord, either tightening the strings to pull the fabric up or loosening them to allow them to drape downwards.

In terms of style, a Roman Blind is quite possibly the most stylish type of blind on the market today, thanks to the luxurious fabrics used to create them and the stunning colours & patterns which can be found on them.

Roman blinds will work well in most rooms of your home, but they’re not recommended for use in bathrooms, as the water and steam can damage the fabric used in them.

Vertical Blinds

Vertical Blinds are another common variety of blind, they’re made up of multiple vertical strips on blinds fabric, which are hooked onto a headrail, the slats can be moved side-to-side or rotated to open and close the blind. The slats can either be operated by a chain or wand, with chain control you pull the chain to move the slats, whereas with wand control you move the wand to move the slats.

As vertical blinds are made up of lots of small fabric slats, they’re ideal for larger sized windows, as the minimal weight of the slats makes it easy to make these blinds in larger sizes.

Vertical blinds are ideal for use in many situations such as on normal windows, or covering a patio door. They can be used in every room of your home, however it’s not advised to use them in bedrooms as light may leak around the edges of the fabric.

Venetian Blinds

Venetian Blinds are made up of multiple horizontal slats connected by strings to a headrail, the slats can be pulled up to open the blind, or draped down to close it, the slats can also be rotated to control the amount of light that enters the room.

At DotcomBlinds, we sell three varieties of Venetian Blinds: Real Wood Venetian Blinds, Faux Wood Venetian Blinds and Aluminium Venetian Blinds.

Real Wood Venetian Blinds are the most common variety of Venetian Blind, with slats made from real wood. Using real wood for the slats gives them an authentic and rustic look, but as water may damage the wood, it’s not advised to use them in bathrooms.

Faux Wood Venetian Blinds feature slats made from moulded plastic, the plastic slats can be made smooth for a sleek contemporary look, or with a wood grain texture which makes them look like real wood slats. As Faux Wood blinds are made from plastic, they can be used anywhere in your home.

Aluminium Venetian Blinds have thin slats made from aluminium, that can be made in a wide variety of colours. These aluminium venetian blinds are much cheaper and more lightweight than their real wood and faux wood counterparts.

No matter what type of venetian blind you choose, it’s not recommended to use them in bedrooms as light may leak in through the gaps between slats.

Day and Night Blinds

Day and Night Blinds are made up of a loop of material made of alternating strips of opaque and transparent fabric, connected to a cassette. The blind fabric can be rotated to either align up the opaque layers to block out light, or to leave transparent gaps for light to enter through. The blind itself can also be moved up and down to open and close the blind.

These blinds get the name ‘Day and Night’ Blinds as they can be used for daytime and nighttime shading, letting light in during daytime hours and blocking out light pollution during the nighttime.

Day and Night blinds are best used in living rooms, hallways and bedrooms.

Prestige Bifold Door / Conservatory Blinds

At DotcomBlinds, we have a Prestige range of BiFold Door Blinds and Conservatory Blinds, these Prestige blinds click into the window frame rather than being secured to the walls. The blind’s brackets slide under the window’s gasket and are held in place with adhesive strips, the blind itself is then clipped into the brackets. Once the blind is attached to the brackets, it can be moved up and down within the window and is held in place by tension strings that run from the bottom of the window to the top.

We have three type of our Prestige blinds for conservatories and bifold doors: Prestige Pleated Blinds, Prestige Honeycomb Blinds, and Prestige Venetian Blinds.

Our Prestige Pleated Blinds are made with a pleated fabric which can fold up on itself to open the blind or stretch out to close it. Our Prestige Pleated Blinds are available with single control (Blind stays at top of window, bottom of blind can be moved) and dual control (Blind can be moved from either end).

Our Prestige Honeycomb Blinds are made with a honeycomb style fabric, featuring multiple hexagonal pieces of fabric connected together. The hexagonal honeycombs can be stretched open or closed onto themselves to open and close the blind. The honeycomb shape also helps provide additional insulation to the window. These blinds are available with single control (Blind stays at top of window, bottom of blind can be moved) and dual control (Blind can be moved from either end).

Our Prestige Venetian Blinds use metal venetian slats connected on the tension strings rather than a fabric, once in place the venetian slats will work the same as any other venetian blind. These blinds are only available with single control, meaning the blinds can be pulled down from the top to close the blind.

Now you should know all about the different types of window blinds we sell here at DotcomBlinds, if you have any quest