Blinds

garfield · May 16, 2018 9:11 pm

Hi all,

Just looking for a little help with blinds.

My wife and I are about to put new blinds through the whole house, and we're possibly looking at painted wooden venetians. Just wondering if there are a certain type to stay away from as I have have heard that some have been known to warp.
If there is a good company or cheap way of doing them DIY we'd certainly love some pointers in that area too.

Thanks
Geoff

arcadelt · May 17, 2018 7:40 am

garfield

Hi all,

Just looking for a little help with blinds.

My wife and I are about to put new blinds through the whole house, and we're possibly looking at painted wooden venetians. Just wondering if there are a certain type to stay away from as I have have heard that some have been known to warp.
If there is a good company or cheap way of doing them DIY we'd certainly love some pointers in that area too.

Thanks
Geoff

Many years ago we bought seven Venetian blinds online, and they were made of bamboo. They were stained, but painted would be available too. Spans ranged from 1 to 2.5m and none of those warped or sagged over 10 years; however, the mechanisms on one failed and on another went out of alignment, so probably quality mechanisms are an important consideration.

I measured and installed them myself, which was pretty easy. You just need to decide if you want them inside or proud of the window reveals, and just be sure to account for any protrusions like window handles and locks that might get in the way of their operation.

The company we used has gone out of business now, but in more recent years I used Veneta in Brisbane for honeycomb blinds. They were very professional and helpful, but certainly not the cheapest. I believe they do Venetian blinds too.

garfield · May 17, 2018 8:26 am

Thanks for the reply

arcadelt · May 17, 2018 8:31 am

arcadelt · May 17, 2018 8:32 am

garfield

...but I would imagine my windows are not standard size though.

Blinds are custom made so non-standard sizes can be accommodated?

Harpies · May 17, 2018 8:35 pm

garfield

Hi all,

Just looking for a little help with blinds.

My wife and I are about to put new blinds through the whole house, and we're possibly looking at painted wooden venetians. Just wondering if there are a certain type to stay away from as I have have heard that some have been known to warp.
If there is a good company or cheap way of doing them DIY we'd certainly love some pointers in that area too.

Thanks
Geoff

Hi Geoff
I had western red cedar venetians in a Victorian house, not painted , natural timber. Painted venetians show the dust much more.
Quality ones are not cheap, but they do wonderful things with light that other blinds cannot.

garfield · May 17, 2018 8:55 pm

Thanks for the reply.

I don't really want stained timber, or natural timber blinds as I believe they won't match any of our decor... I'm thinking maybe I need to visit Bunnings or Spotlight etc and see what is actually out there as I may decide on something else, because you are not the first person to say that they collect a lot of dust.

garfield · May 21, 2018 9:15 am

Could anyone with experience please tell if they had a choice between timber Venetian and roller block out/roller blinds which one they would prefer and why.

I'm also confused by all of the materials you can choose from for the Venetians... Not sure which one is known for warping and which doesn't.

Thanks
Geoff

arcadelt · May 21, 2018 11:32 am

garfield

Could anyone with experience please tell if they had a choice between timber Venetian and roller block out/roller blinds which one they would prefer and why.

It’s a trade off. Venetians for looks and rollers for practicality and cleanliness. At the moment we have cellular/honeycomb which seem to be a good balance between the above and add insulation too.

TashPaul · May 21, 2018 12:26 pm

I have both - white painted venetians in the bathroom, ensuite, laundry and blinds on all other windows, and panel blinds on our sliding doors. I didn't want fabric blinds in the 'wet areas' as I figured they might warp or something like that over time.
(We don't have a kitchen window, as the kitchen is in the middle of the house, so didn't have to think about that one).

We have double blinds on all other windows, white sunscreen and a greyish colour blockout with matching pelmets I like the privacy you can choose to have by keeping the sunscreen blinds down if needed, during the day, or up if not.

Oops - forgot - our main bedroom is at the front of the house, so I have a white blockout on that one with white sheers on eyelets.

I don't have many pics but if you look at the June 25 post on my blog you can see the bathroom white venetians and part of the pelmet and sunscreen blind in the guest room. I have more pics but haven't uploaded them so feel free to PM me if you want.