Choosing the right conservatory blinds

Choosing the right conservatory blinds - taken from the last Customer Newsletter.

A conservatory is an excellent addition to your home – whether as a dining room, playroom, or simply as a place to relax and look out onto the garden after a hard day, the extra space is always welcome. According to a recent survey by online bank, Egg, a conservatory adds an average of £11,000 to the value of your property – so it is also a worthwhile investment.

However, the reality of using a conservatory all year round is sometimes very different. Conservatories usually suffer from extremes in temperature – the trademark large windows means it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Excess sunlight can also make the glare uncomfortable if you’re sitting in the room, and can fade your furniture.

Conservatory blinds can be the solution to all of these problems – they stop the glare from the sun and can be installed in thermal fabrics, which keep the heat out in the summer and trap it inside in the winter. There is a vast array of blinds on offer, all with different fabrics and mechanisms. Here are five easy steps to picking the right ones for your conservatory:

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1 – Choose a style
There are many different types of blinds on offer, to suit any style and structure of conservatory, and most can be adapted to fit both roofs and windows. The most popular blind for conservatories is the pleated variety, which is slim-fit to the glass. These blinds are made-to-measure to fit any window size or shape, which means every window and door can have an individual opening blind. Pleated blinds also retract thinner than any other blind, creating the neatest installation. Pleated blinds can cost anywhere between £595 and £3500, depending on the size and shape of your conservatory. Roller blinds are the simplest operating blinds on offer and are excellent value for money, starting at as little as £400 for the entire room. Venetian and vertical blinds are excellent at eliminating glare, while still allowing light into the room, but are not ideal for conservatories, as they are not easily fitted over opening windows and doors. They are easily damaged by winds and by people using the doors.

2 – Choose a material
Different materials offer different benefits when choosing your conservatory blinds. Most are available in hundreds of colours and designs to match the décor of your home, but some fabrics and materials have special functions, depending on the problems you face in your conservatory. Blackout Energy Saver and Opaque Reflections blinds both reflect sunlight, keeping your conservatory cool during the summer months. Prices start at £595 when used in a pleated blind. If you have problems keeping your conservatory warm in winter, Duette blinds provide a twin-layer of material, which creates a honeycomb effect – the two layers trap air and act as an excellent insulator. A very popular choice in material for conservatory blinds is wood, which looks modern and fresh, but also provides excellent sound-proofing and thermal insulation. Wood blinds are more expensive, starting at around £1200, but they are an investment, as you can re-decorate without having to replace the blinds.

3 – Choose a mechanism
The final thing you need to decide on is how you would like your blinds to operate. You may not think this is a big issue, but the mechanism of your blinds could affect your whole choice. For example, if you would like pleated blinds fitted closely to the glass, you may not be able to fit a side pull-cord operation to the window as well. Pull-cord blinds require a mechanism at the side of the blinds to attach the cord to – so you need to consider whether you have that space. If you don’t, you may want to consider a tensioned blind, which has a handle mechanism attached to the actual window frame. You move the handle to operate the blind and the cord mechanism is all held inside it – wherever you stop the handle, the blind will hang there. If you don’t want any handles or mechanisms visible on either the blind or the window, then automatically operated blinds may be for you. These can be controlled either by a wall-mounted panel or by remote-control, and work on a specially designed, quiet motor. They can also be set to a timer, so that your blinds will be open when you come downstairs in the morning and will close at night, without you having to lift a finger!

4 – Measure up!
Most blind companies will offer a measuring service at an extra charge, but you can usually measure the room yourself, using guidelines provided by the blind company, either in the literature or on the website. Most will give a quotation for blinds based on measurements you provide – for roof blinds this involves measuring the entire width and length of your conservatory. You need to measure the widest width and the longest length – measure inside the conservatory along the floor as this will give the most accurate dimensions. For window blinds, you can also measure the room yourself – just measure the total length of all the sides of the conservatory you require blinds for. Most blind companies will only quote for entire sides of the conservatory and not for just a selection of the windows. Quotes based on your own measurements are valid for 30 days.

5 – The finishing touches
Once you have made your decisions and received at least three quotes to compare prices, you are ready to choose a blind company! They will handle everything from ordering and making to installing your blinds. Blind installation is very quick and, depending on the style of blinds you have ordered, you may even qualify for “perfect-fit” blinds, which are fixed onto pre-measured brackets that just pop into place in minutes! These brackets will usually only fit windows which don’t have large handles obstructing the path of the blind, but extensions are available for small handles which only cause a slight obstruction.

Once your blinds are installed, all that’s left for you to do is sit back and enjoy your new conservatory!

Visit www.blindsquoter.co.uk for more information and an instant online conservatory blinds quote.

Visit www.windowquoter.co.uk for an instant online conservatory quote.