Vertical blinds are an affordable, stylish way to filter or block light, stop drafts and increase privacy. Here's what you need to know about them before you make a purchase.
Vertical blinds are most commonly used as patio door blinds, but they also work very well for wide windows. You can choose from the easier-to-clean vinyl vertical blinds, or have your blinds match your decor perfectly with fabric vertical blinds. Faux wood and perforated blinds are also available. It usually costs around 0 for vertical blinds for a window 66 wide x 84 high or 78 inches wide and 84 inches high. A window 104 inches wide and 100 inches high would be about 0.
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You can get custom-made blinds from any Lowe's with same day turnaround. They also offer a special kind of vertical blind -- "S-curve" that makes the blinds look more like drapes than standard vertical blinds do.
Extra Features You Might Want
Self-lubricating wheels help the blinds' tracks move smoothly without you having to get out the WD40.
UV Coating can make the color of your blinds last much longer without fading. If you live at high altitude, where UV light is more intense, or in a southern climate where overall light intensity is strong, having UV coating, especially on blinds that are anything other that white might be worth some extra money.
Wand Control Versus Chain Control
There are two mechanisms, or ways to open and close the blinds and control how much light comes through between the vanes.
Cord and chain controls are standard and wand control is the newer, more advanced option. Cord and chain controls let you have separate controls for vertical movements -- the fabric or cord is used to move the vanes horizontally, or back and forth along the headrail that goes over the top of the window. So you would use the cord to completely pull back the blinds from the window and see through the glass.
The metal chain is used to control the angle of the vanes, so you use the chain to control how much light comes through the blinds with them still drawn together. Cord and chain controls are considered a wee bit more dangerous than wand control because of the cord dangling down near the ground where children and pets sometimes get interested in them and then tangled in them.
For wand control, you twist the wand to control how far apart the vanes of the vertical blind are, and you pull the wand along the headrail to open or close the blinds as you wish.
Motorized Vertical Blinds
Hunter Douglas and other major blind manufacturers make motorized blinds that open and close with a remote control. The motorized option is also available for their "gliding window panels", which are vertical blinds grown large -- a foot wide each, and they can be sized to go floor to ceiling. This can be an excellent choice in a room that would overheat from afternoon sun if the blinds were left open.
Popular Vertical Blind Brands and Retailers
You can get blinds from Lowes, Levolor, Kmart, Hunter Douglas, Smith and Noble, Target, JCPenney, Ace Hardware, Walmart and Overstock.com. Depending on the retailer, the time of year and what kind of sales are going on, you can spend as little as to more than 0 for a patio door window.
Vertical Blinds Are a Great Investment
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