The Best Blinds for your Conservatory

Posted on 17th April 2015 by Gemini Blinds

Though a popular room in the house all year round, conservatories really come into their own during the summer months, where floor-to-ceiling windows welcome light into the home throughout the day.

Whether used as a home office, a leisure area, a dining room or just as somewhere to escape and relax, conservatories could become a heat and light trap when the weather is particularly hot and the sun is shining directly through the windows all day.

That’s why ensuring that you have the correct blinds in place is vital for enjoying your conservatory to its fullest potential. So which blind types are best suited for use in a conservatory?

Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds provide one of the best-suited blind styles for conservatories, as their opening and closing operation is horizontal (the louvres themselves are vertical). This is ideal for large, floor-to-ceiling windows, as the usual up-and-down opening and closing style would require a huge amount of physical effort – not to mention putting undue stress on the operating mechanism.

Vertical blinds also allow for control over light filtration, with individual vertical louvres able to be opened to the desired amount to provide shade while not blocking out light entirely.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are another great filter for natural light. The concertina style adds a wonderful aesthetic, with a range of pastoral colours available to help encourage a summer ambience.

Many pleated blinds are now specially designed for use with uPVC conservatories, with altered mounting profiles to accommodate for any protruding mouldings and the like.

Roller Blinds

Roller blinds are a simple and effective style that are suited to the majority of windows around the home.

To accommodate for the size of the windows in most conservatories, however, several roller blinds will need to be placed side-by-side in order to make the pull-cord operation practical, as one long blind would put a lot of weight on the load-bearing elements of the blind. While this may be an additional cost, this can also mean greater control over light filtration, allowing you to decide which areas of the conservatory are in sunlight and which are in shade.

Roman Blinds

With the modern addition of aluminium headrails and fibreglass rods, replacing the attractive-yet-dated wooden rails and dowels, Roman blinds are now a viable alternative for use in conservatories. The timeless design adds an elegant touch to any room, conservatories included.

However, Roman blinds tend to be far heavier than other styles. This could put stress on headrails and make operation more difficult when fitted on the wide and tall windows found in conservatories. The stack height they require when retracted is also fairly large, possibly taking up a large section of the top of the window.

Venetian Blinds

Contrary to popular belief, aluminium Venetian blinds are perfectly suitable for use in conservatories (wooden Venetian blinds would likely suffer from warping due to the heavy exposure to sunlight they would receive). As with vertical blinds, this means that you can experience the benefits of slatted louvres, increasing or reducing the light entering the conservatory as you see fit.

Cleaning Venetian blinds is simply a case of running a duster across the slats – particularly useful for the extra dust created by exposure to sunlight.

However, as with Roman blinds, Venetian blinds may take up a fair bit of space at the top of the window when fully retracted, reducing natural light and making cleaning behind them that much harder.

Gemini Blinds stock a wide range of conservatory blinds, with an extensive selection of styles and designs available. Our friendly team are on hand to provide advice regarding the best option for your conservatory, as well as free measuring services, creating perfect made to measure blinds. For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Gemini Blinds today.