The Mysterious Case of the See-Through Blind

How To Utilise Screen & Voile Fabric

Like unicorns, some say they do not exist. We, however, know otherwise.

The concept of a blind fabric being anything but total blackout is alien to many people, but they’re wrong. Open up your mind and consider this ‘see-through’ blind fabric.

Right, OK, I haven’t lost my mind and DotcomBlinds isn’t going to start putting roller mechanisms on tubes of clingfilm. However, it is possible to buy blinds that have a more translucent opacity than others. Stick with me.

A common belief is blinds are there to block out the sun, and that is correct to some extent. Granted, we stock some of the best quality blackout blinds on the market that will cast your room into total darkness. Yet blinds can also serve another purpose.

Those living in areas where they are overlooked by neighbours or passers-by know it’s necessary to put a blind up in the window to rake back a bit of privacy. For most people in this situation the blind will spend much of its time lowered, obscuring the view of anyone chancing a glance in.

Now if this blind happens to be a blackout blind you’ll be cast into total darkness, which may be ideal if you’re a vampire, mushroom or an earthworm. However, if you don’t mind a bit of natural light, you’ll be in need of a dimout roller blind.

A woman stands in a sunny room Dimout roller blinds come in all shapes and sizes and so you’d be forgiven for wondering where to start. The first thing you need to know is that a dimout fabric is a fabric that doesn’t stop all of the light from coming into the room, it just reduces and disperses direct rays. It’s like a lampshade around a bulb, bringing the light to a friendlier, dimmer level. Within the dimout fabric range there are different degrees of opacity with voile and screen fabric being at the more transparent end of the scale.

Voile fabric is thinner and more see-through. It limits outsider’s abilities to see in and allows in the most amount of light.

Screen fabric has a slightly denser weave but still allows sunlight to come through but indirectly. Screen fabric blocks direct rays of light which makes it ideal for home office settings or rooms where you use screens. You’ll still be able to see through this fabric but not as clearly.

We’ve seen voile fabric used in a variety of interior design situations, highlighting just how stylish they are. Net curtains haven’t got quite as many fans as they used to have back in the day and we’re now finding it is far more stylish to have a voile roller blind in a window with blackout curtains that can be drawn over the blind. This provides privacy in the day and total darkness at night, but how voile blind fabric is used is really up to you.

Screen fabric has taken on many roles in homes across the country. By being able to take away glare but still bathe a room in beautiful sunlight, the applications are virtually endless. From living rooms and home offices, bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms, this blind will perform exceptionally every time. This is due to the openness of the weave which is just right to block intense sunshine.

This ‘open-weaved’ fabric also makes it easy to keep an eye on the outside. Whilst you won’t see outside with the same clarity you’d have if the blind wasn’t there, you can still see enough, which may be useful if you have this fabric on a window at the front of the house or near a door.

Now, for ease of use we’ve included voile fabrics in amongst the screen fabrics when you select the ‘Screen Fabric’ filter on the roller blinds shopping page. This makes it easier to see what we recommend as voile and screen fabric.

The best thing to do is to order a selection of samples from DotcomBlind’s choice of dimout roller blinds. This will assure you of the quality of our blind fabrics and allow you to test the opacity of the fabric at home.

The next step up in opacity from screen fabric is to go for a general dimout fabric. This still lets in daylight but is not as ‘see-through’ as voile or screen. You will however enjoy supreme privacy and colouring of the fabric. With these fabrics the colour can change gently as the day progresses, as the sun moves across the sky and shines on different parts of the window. This adds a pleasant glow to the fabric which makes it a joy to behold, casting a glorious hue into the room.

So, to see for yourself our selection of see-through blinds, take a look at our collection today, and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions (or spot a unicorn).