The Benefits of Blinds

Functional as well as decorative, shades, blinds and shutters can be used on doors as well as windows to direct, filter or block out light.

Honeycomb shades in drop-down installation

Cross-sections of single-, double- and triple-honeycomb shades show the structure of their insulating channels.

Horizontal blinds in wood

Window Shading

Select the louver size not only in relation to the dimensions of the window but also in relation to the view.

The wide slats of some window shadings (left) don't obscure the outdoors as much as narrower ones (above) do

Roller Shades

Vertical Blinds

Shutters as Bifold Doors

Plantation Shutters

This side-by-side comparison of vane widths shows how much light and air different shutters let into a room.

Outside mount:
Measure the height and width of the window, adding enough to overlap the casing and sill (if your window doesn't have a sill, the blind must still extend past the bottom of the window to avoid light leaks).

Inside mount:
Measure the window's width at three points, then take the narrowest dimension and round down 1/8 in. You also need to measure the height of the window.