I want to know everything about vertical blinds

Vertical blinds are a versatile, stylish, practical yet affordable option for dressing your windows.
If you're considering purchasing a vertical blind, but need to know more, hopefully, this guide will give you the answer. Alternatively, if you've got a specific question you'd like the answer to, why not get in touch.

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What is a Vertical Blind?

A vertical blind is made up of slats (or louvres) that hang vertically over a window. The slats are joined together by weights and stabilizing chains, that ensure an evening spacing. Vertical blinds are controlled by a chain (or wand), that tilts the slats, and a cord that opens and closes the blind.

Vertical blinds offer the convenience and versatility of blinds with the effectiveness of curtains. You can get vertical blinds in an array of colours, patterns and fabrics. Meaning they are able to suit a range of interior styles.

In a Nutshell, What are the Benefits of Vertical Blinds?

Give you Light and Privacy

Due to the ability to tilt the slats, vertical windows are able to let light into your home while maintaining your privacy. If your windows look directly out onto the street, or you have a room that can be seen into from another property, then vertical blinds could be a great option.

Suitable for a Variety of Styles

Vertical blinds are available in a wide range of colours, materials and finishes. Making them suitable for any style and any room.

Verticals can look sleek and stylish on their own or can complement dress curtains as part of a layered window treatment. You can see from our range the sheer number of options available; including blackout blinds for bedrooms and moisture resistant blinds for bathrooms.

Vertical blind fabrics come in a range of colours, patterns and textures. From zesty citrus colours to soft pastels and primaries there is every shade and tone in the colour spectrum available these days …..and way more than 50 Shades of Grey!

Plain blinds are great if your teaming them with patterned curtains or furnishings and just want something functional that doesn’t steal the show.

The possibilities and choices for creating a stylish and fully coordinated look with vertical blinds are endless. At Blinds Hut we pride ourselves on a quality collection of carefully selected fabrics and finishes to help you to transform your home at the swish of a vertical blind track!

Easy to Install and Maintain

Vertical blinds are straightforward to install and require little cleaning and maintenance. As the slats hang vertically, unlike Venetian blinds, they don’t have a horizontal surface that traps dust. Unlike curtains that can be heavy when removing or hanging them, vertical blinds come in easy to handle sections and attach at the top.

Great for Unusual Window Sizes and Shapes

Windows come in all shapes and sizes and can be in all sorts of positions. This makes some windows more difficult to dress stylishly. In these cases, vertical blinds are often the go-to solution as the slats are easily customisable to a window's requirements.

Vertical blinds are ideal for large windows because they offer variable control over light and privacy levels. Meaning you get some protection from sunlight and privacy without sacrificing your view.

The vertical strips of stiffened fabrics can be twisted or angled to block or diffuse any excessive sunlight which could potentially be damaging to furniture, furnishings or flooring. The slats can be angled towards the direction of the light source to deflect it but do not need to be totally closed like voile curtains or roller blinds.

Affordable

Compared to other blind types and curtains, vertical blinds offer a cost-effective solution.

We pride ourselves on being able to deliver high quality, made to measure, vertical blinds at a competitive price.

Getting the Right Colour and Pattern

At Blinds Hut you’ll find an amazing collection of vertical blind fabric digital swatches instantly available to view on our online store.

You can narrow down your choice by using our search filters, before ordering a sample by clicking on the sample button. You can request a maximum of eight samples in one go but we would suggest narrowing it down to three to make your decision easier once you’ve received your samples. These are then posted to your door, so you can check your choices against your décor or colour scheme.

How to Measure for Vertical Blinds

To find the measurements you need for your vertical blinds, you first need to decide if you want your blinds to fit within the window recess or if you want them to cover the recess. For vertical blinds, it's most likely that you will want them to sit within the recess as this normally means a neater fit.

If you want your blind to sit inside the recess, then you first need to take three measurements:

Measure across the top of the window
Measure the middle of the window
Measure across the bottom of the window

The narrowest measurement is the width you need when purchasing a blind. You then repeat these measurements for the drop of the window, again using the smallest of which as your drop measurement.

If you want more information, you can look at the videos below, or read our full measurement guide.

Measuring Inside Recess

Measuring Outside Recess

Ready-Made vs Made to Measure

At Blinds Hut we only offer a made to measure option on vertical blinds, to ensure that our customers receive good quality, hassle-free products that we know they will be satisfied with. Our online measuring guides and simple ordering system will guide you through exactly how to measure for your blinds. Once you’ve completed that, you’ll have a product that will be a perfect fit and ready to install as soon as it arrives.

Installing Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds are remarkably simple to assemble and install. Especially when they are made to order, as Blinds Hut’s vertical blinds are.

At Blinds Hut we do as much of the assembly work as possible for you, leaving only the finishing touches to do yourself.

Simply install your header rail, following the clear instructions included, then attach the slats and weights. In our premium range of verticals, the bottom weights and chains are already inserted into and attached to the bottom of the slats. You simply need to hang each onto the hooks beneath the gliders in the header rail.

With our budget range, all the weights and chains will be supplied. The weights are ready to be inserted into the fabric hem pockets, one-by-one. Then attach/hang the vanes onto the header rail and then attach the white link chain to the bottom.

How to Wash your Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds require little cleaning as hanging vertically means they don't trap dust. However, you may still occasionally want to spruce them up during a spring clean.

Hand Cleaning the Fabric on your Vertical Blinds

If you do plan to wash the fabric of your blinds, we'd suggest the following steps:

Unclip the chain at the bottom of the fabric you want to clean, unhooking it from the rail.
Lay the fabric out on a flat, clean surface.
Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

While you may be tempted to clean them on the rail, this increases the chance of creasing.

Machine Washing the Fabric on your Vertical Blinds

Before machine washing your blind fabrics it is imperative you make sure that they are indeed machine washable.

To machine wash your blinds you should:

Remove the fabric from the blinds
Roll the fabric into a coil
Place them into a pillowcase (to protect them)
Put them into a delicate wash with a few towels (to prevent fraying)

How do Vertical Blinds Open?

Vertical blinds offer three options when it comes to choosing how they open and close and where they stack (stack is where all the slats or vanes sit when the blind is fully opened and drawn off the window area).

The window blind can open to the left side of the window (referred to as Left Hand Stack or Left Draw) and all the slats will drawback to the left.
The blind can open to the right (referred to as Right-Hand Stack or Right Draw) and all the slats will stack to the right side of the window.
The blind can open from the centre outwards (referred to as Split Stack or Split Draw) and the slats will stack in equal amounts with half to the left and half to the right side of the window.
The blind can open from the outer edges moving towards the centre (referred to as Centre Stack or Centre Draw) and then equal sized openings will be created on the left and on the right side of the window.

Verticals are often a solution therefore to dressing wide windows or patio doors where a single door opens or slides to one side.

Careful consideration must be given to clearances, to ensure that blinds fitted inside the recess and do not obstruct the door. It may be necessary to fit the blind far enough forward in the recess to clear the door. Or to fit it outside the window recess so there is no conflict between the blind and the smooth opening and closing of the door.

If you’ve got more questions about vertical blinds, or blinds in general, please feel free to get in touch. Or you can look through more of our blinds guides: