Most people when faced with this infinite choice become over whelmed and just choose a white or creamy colour fabric. This is, how can I put it. Boring, or even dull. A much classier choice which will have your friends in awe are wooden window blinds.

There are a few different types of wooden window blinds to accommodate to different peoples tastes and styles. Here are the two most popular types:

Wooden Venetian Blinds

Wooden venetian blinds consist of horizontal slats of wood that can be tilted or raised and lowered to control the light. Being able to tilt the blinds offers an extra degree of light control that you don’t get with a lot of other blinds.

Slat Width – Another part of the blind which you get to make a decision on is the slat width. The three sizes most commonly offered are 25mm, 35mm and 50mm. Their are no obvious benefits to each side, it is more about personal preference than benefits.

Type of wood – Each supplier will have their own selection of woods that they favour, generally speaking the higher the price of the blind, the higher the quality of wood. Although just by looking at the product you should be able to make your own conclusions on the quality side.

Woodweave Blinds

Surprisingly woodweave blinds are made out of strands of wood woven together! This creates a very natural effect that lets light seep through the imperfections to offer a very classy finish.

Unlike venetian blinds, woodweave blinds are one solid piece like a roller blind. Except instead of rolling up they bunch up at the top of the window.

Hopefully my explanation of wooden window blinds will help you with your purchasing decision, and ideally you will be happy with your selection!

VELUX have created a selection of blinds suitable for most requirements, they offer pretty much every blind type for use with their window system. Here is a look at some of their blind types:

• Blackout Blinds are designed specifically for blocking out natural sun light, the perfect product for those lazy lie-ins and day time naps.

• Roller Blinds are a simple, functional product which will add style to any room of your bedroom or office.

• Flying Pleated Blinds are VELUX’s upgraded version of the standard pleated blind. They are not fixed at either the top or bottom of the window which allows flexible positioning.

• Venetian Blinds suit pretty much any room or style, with their great range of slat materials and colours you will have trouble finding a venetian not to suit!

• Awning Blinds are perfect for stopping the heat before it even touches the glass, this allows you to keep your room cool at all times. They can be easily fitted from inside the room and when not in use it rolls into its top casing.

Instead of measuring your window as you would for conventional window blinds, VELUX windows have a metal plate on them which has a code imprinted on it such as GGL MO4. You can just quote this code when you are speaking with a blinds supplier and they should be able to supply you the blind to suit.

Recently VELUX added a new blind type to their collection, the VELUX duo blind. The duo blind is basically two blinds combined to make one extremely versatile product. For example you could combine a dim out blind and a blackout blind, so in the morning when you don’t want to wake up to a blinding ray of light you can use your blackout blind, then when you are comfortably awake you can use your dim out blind.

Electrically Operated VELUX Blinds

Another great feature VELUX offers are electrically operated remote control blinds. Unfortunately this option is only available on blackout blinds at the moment but hopefully they will expand this feature across the range soon.

VELUX remote control blinds come as a complete kit including the remote, blind and all other required parts. The blind comes complete with a battery which recharges using solar energy from the sun, which is also environmentally friendly and we all know how important the environment is.

Venetian Blinds are made from horizontal slats connected by guide wires. The slats are usually 25, 35 or 50mm. When completely closed the slats slightly overlap each other to block out the light.

Controls

Venetian blinds are controlled using two chords, one which raises and lowers the blinds and one which tilts the slats to control the light. Depending on who you purchase your blinds off you may have a choice of control side, alternatively you may have the choice and be stuck with tilt left, raise right or visa versa.

Materials

• Aluminium – If you are looking for a venetian blind at a bargain price then aluminium is probably the best material to choose. Aluminium is cheaper than wood for many reasons; cost of raw materials, transportation, deforestation. Although if you are really set on wood then you might be interested in wood-effect venetians. From a distance they are identical to real wood blinds and there is a good choice of colours on the market.

• Real Wood – Many people will say there is no comparison to a real wood blind, and I can partly agree with this, they do provide a truly stunning effect. Sometimes though real wood can be just a bit too expensive, although prices do seem to be falling lately. Also wood blinds can become brittle if they receive too much sunlight which is a problem that aluminium doesn’t suffer from.

Cleaning

• Wipe Clean – Blinds, especially venetians, are notorious for collecting dust and grime. Luckily both wood and aluminium blinds are wipe clean materials, which means you can simply wipe the dust off with a standard cloth. If you would like an easier solution ostrich feather dusters are available which ease the cleaning greatly. For more stubborn stains you will probably need to use a warm damp cloth.

Sizes

Obviously the sizes available largely depend on the supplier you purchase your blinds off, that being said aluminium venetians are usually available in larger widths as it is much easier to get long lengths of aluminium than it is real wood. That being said it is not hard to find suppliers of real wood venetian blinds at up to 2.5 meters of around 8 foot. But if you have extra wide windows aluminium venetian blinds can span up to around 4 meters.