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Vertical Blinds vs. Horizontal Blinds: Choosing What’s Right for Your Space
BWS Marketing • Jan 14, 2020
When it comes to finding the perfect window treatments to complement your home, there are countless options of blinds available on the market to meet your space’s style and functionality needs. Before you start comparing colors, patterns, and materials, however, it’s important to consider whether the windows you are designing would benefit most from vertical or horizontal blinds. While they share many similarities, becoming familiar with the differences between the two can make all the difference in getting the most out of your window coverings. Here are some critical factors of each style to keep in mind when shopping for blinds.
Vertical Blinds
- Window Size: Ideal for sliding glass, patio, or particularly large doors and windows, vertical blinds work well in filling out wide spaces nicely.
- Maintenance: Vertical blinds should be cleaned regularly and are slightly easier to maintain than horizontal if done consistently. Because they move on a single track, they may need to be replaced more frequently than horizontal blinds.
- Privacy: While vertical blinds are more effective at blocking sunlight than their horizontal counterparts thanks to their large slats, they still tend to let in some amount of sunlight. For this reason, they may not be the best option for a room that requires total privacy, such as a bathroom or bedroom.
- Positioning: Windows that face east and west are most suitable for vertical blinds.
- Size of Slats: Vertical blinds tend to have larger slats that hang from a head rail at the top of the door or window. They can be easily closed using a wand or chain pulley system.
Horizontal Blinds
- Window Size: Perfect for small, narrow, or unusually tall spaces, horizontal blinds work well in small or medium sized windows.
- Maintenance: Like vertical blinds, horizontal blinds are easier to clean if done frequently, rather than trying to deep clean them when they are quite dirty. While they tend to last longer than vertical ones, horizontal blinds can be hard to reach and have additional strings that make cleaning more challenging.
- Privacy: When privacy is a top priority for your room, horizontal blinds can’t be beat. They are very effective at blocking out sunlight when closed, and don’t pose a risk of being accidentally pushed open like vertical ones.
- Positioning: Windows that face north and south are most suitable for horizontal blinds.
- Size of Slats: Horizontal blinds tend to have smaller slats that do not touch the floor, while vertical ones do. They are also less noisy, especially if they will hang in windows that will be left open on windy days.
Similarities
Now that you are familiar with the strengths and differences of vertical and horizontal blinds, you can focus on how you want your window treatments to look in the room you are designing. The good news is that no matter which style you choose, both options are great at blocking out harmful UV rays from the sun, can help keep your home cooler, and can be made from numerous materials, such as aluminum, wood, vinyl, and more, to meet your unique needs.
While many retail stores offer a decent selection of blinds for doors and windows, not all blinds are made equally. Inexpensive blinds may save you a few bucks upfront, but what they save in cost they will lack in durability and attractiveness. To get the most out of your window treatments, it’s best to invest in blinds that will serve you well for years to come. Just Blinds, Inc. are experts at providing custom window coverings to make even the most challenging of spaces inviting and functional. Serving the River Region and Birmingham areas for over 30 years, Just Blinds, Inc. takes pride in offering homeowners and contractors quality products and superior service. Our large selection of custom blinds, free in-home consultations, and knowledgeable design experts will make the process of selecting the perfect window coverings to complement your space a pleasure.
Expert Advice by Just Blinds
Each year, styles in window treatments come and go. Trends that were hot last year may carry over to the new interior decor season or may be replaced by something new. In 2024, we are looking at a delightful set of trends in blinds, shades, and curtains that embrace the developing attitudes and popular colors that are already giving the year a unique stylistic personality. At Just Blinds, we are delighted to keep up with the trends, helping homeowners, designers, and property managers to create stunning spaces that align with the latest in window treatment trends. The Hot Trends of 2023 Blinds and Shades Last year in 2023, we saw a great collection of trends, many of which have evolved and strengthened with the new year. 2023 explored the innovations of cell shades and honeycomb shades for the benefits of insulation and light control. Motorization gained a prominant place in both home and office design, and decorators discovered the dynamic possibilities of shades that operate from both the bottom and the top on floor-to-ceiling tracks. Texture saw a real debut with natural colors like wood finishes, linen, dusty rose, and moss green. Though bold patterns also had their day in the sun. The Trending 2024 Window Treatments In 2024, you may recognize a few trends still going strong from the year before, which is good news for those who decorated last year because your style is likely still right on-trend. But we are also seeing new trends developing with elegant enthusiasm. Smart Home Blinds The trend for motorized shades has naturally evolved to favor smart home controls. With a simple voice command, you can take control of all the motorized shades in a room, in your entire home, or set each shade to exactly the height and opacity you desire. Warm Neutrals and Bold Natural Colors Color trends favor a more natural palette. Neutral colors are warmer, even the grays and charcoals have a honey undertone, while natural colors like mossy and forest green are growing stronger in hue paired with a jewelbox of flower petal colors. If you're following the Colors of the Year, you may have also noticed an adoration of ocean blues, and you can match those blues with slightly darker or lighter blinds for beautiful effect. Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Materials Natural materials and textures were popular in 2023, and 2024 takes this trend even further. Blinds made out of recycled materials are now on the rise alongside the growing popularity of blinds made from super-sustainable plants like bamboo, hemp, jute, and grass cloth. These offer natural colors, dynamic textures, and the delight of eco-friendly design. Gauzy Sheer Elegance Sheer curtains and semi-sheer blinds are also in fashion; a classic style that has been floating near the top of popularity for literal centuries. Sheer curtains and blinds maintain privacy while allowing sunlight into the room in a gently diffused glow. They also layer excellently with more robust window treatments. Creative Window Treatment Layering Speaking of layering, we are seeing an enthusiastic embrace of creatively layered styles. Wooden shutters, gauzy curtains, and black-out blinds are among the most popular layers, but decorators are getting creative with how they choose to to layer their window treatments, using both multiple fabrics and structures at the same time. Find the Blinds that Best Suit Your Needs How can you choose fantastic and on-trend blinds that perfectly suit your design needs? Fortunately, the diversity of this year's trends leave room for almost any personal sense of style and the individual needs of each room's windows. Start with the size of your windows and your room's existing color palette. Decide if you want to match, accent, or contrast the colors of the room. Then choose the opacity, privacy, and level of motorized control you desire. This should guide you toward a specific selection that will work well for your room. From there, it's a matter of specific features and your personal sense of style. Reach Out for Expert and On-Trend Advice If you are getting ready to decorate a room and want the perfect window treatments for 2024, we are only a phonecall or a visit away. Give us a call for expert advice in the right blinds or shades for each window in your home. Our on-trend window treatment experts will be glad to help tailor your window treatment design to your personal tastes, the latest trends, and the style of each of your rooms.
Is your AC bill keeping you down this summer? Is your home too hot? Window treatments can help cool your home, but you need to choose the right ones and use them correctly. Not all window coverings are made equal. Here are some of the best options to help keep your home comfortable and reduce costs this summer: Cellular or honeycomb shades. These are specifically designed to provide a high level of insulation that keeps the heat out of your home. They also don't block the view when completely drawn. As a bonus, you can get them in a wide variety of colors and patterns to match your home and in both top-down and bottom-up configurations. Drapery. Old-fashioned curtains can be surprisingly effective. Choose a medium color and have us add a white plastic backing to reflect heat out of your home. You can also use drapes to block some of the heat without excluding much light, allowing you to enjoy natural light flowing through your drapes. Fabric Roman shades. These are a distinctive option that really dresses up a room, and if you choose the kind with several layers they will definitely help keep the heat out. We have light filtering and blackout options and everything in between. Why Should You Use These Types of Shades or Blinds? The two reasons are to save money and help protect the environment. Good shades keep your home cooler and this means your air conditioning systems don't have to work as hard and use as much energy. In the northern hemisphere, it's most important to have heat-reducing treatments on your southern windows and you can allow more light in through windows that face north. Both cellular and Roman shades can also be motorized and even put on timers to close the shades when you are not there and then let light in when you return. The small amount of energy used by motorized shades is much less than that lost through naked windows. All of these shades can also add to the aesthetics of your room. Cellular shades are great to add a pop of color or a subtle pattern. Both drapery and Roman shades give a soft feel to your windows that then spreads to the rest of your room. What is the Best Choice? The best choice of the three depends on your personal aesthetics. Our designers can help you make the right choice. If you want motorized shades, cellular shades are the lightest and thus use the least energy, and can roll all the way up and down, leaving your windows completely unrestricted. Roman shades are more visible, but can be used to add fabric and color to a room. Many people still love the look of traditional window drapes. Note that you can also combine shades and drapes for the effect you want, both in terms of reducing heat loss and in terms of aesthetics. How Much Can I Actually Save? The amount you save depends on the kind of window covering you use and how much thermal gain your house typically experiences. The larger your windows, in general, the larger the benefit, especially south-facing windows. For example, medium-colored draperies with a white plastic backing can reduce heat gain by as much as 33% for that window. Most window treatments, though, reduce overall heat gain by about 10%. This can significantly reduce your bills, by $100 to $200 a month during the summer. Using the right window treatment can make your home more comfortable in the summer and save money while preserving the environment. For advise on which window treatments to choose for your home and to see our selection of blinds and shades, contact Just Blinds today.