Blinds for awkward windows

6 years ago

We have three windows in a row and cannot work out what blinds to use. The windows open inwards and there is very little space between the window and the top of the recess. We prefer the clean lines of roller blinds to anything else but we're loathe to put them on the outside of the recess. We don't want curtains in this room.
We've had Hillarys round and perfect fit blinds don't fit our windows...! The only ones that do work (attaching to window itself like perfect fit) we didn't like very much, were crazily expensive (we bartered down to £170 per pane of glass - there are 6 here and we need something similar in one bedroom so that's 8) and involved drilling into the frames which we really don't want to do.
The total drop is about 225cm.
Any advice is gratefully received! Thanks!

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The Blind Shop

6 years ago

Hi Charlotte, Have you considered bottom up roller blinds? From your photos, it doesn't look like your room is overlooked, so you might not need to have the top half of the window covered much. Here are some examples of bottom up roller blinds we've installed.

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Comments (17)

Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
6 years ago
Photos here
PRO
Caroline Crawford Garden Design
6 years ago
I'm not sure this will work to be honest but what about blinds designed for Velux windows? There's a great company Blind-2go - http://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/velux_blinds.htm that are extremely reasonable, a fraction of Hilary's. I got a whole range of made to measure Roman & roller blinds this year for a loft extension. If you call them they may be able to advise you
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kl55hp
6 years ago
I've used Blind-2go, and was happy with their roller blinds. The widths are totally bespoke, which is great, and they are really easy to install. The cords are white and frankly a bit cheap looking, but you can choose which side the cord hangs (which can help to hide it) and the main thing is that they are functional. Can't recall if it was possible to order other colours (e.g. brushed steel). The company posts out samples of the various fabrics and the on-line ordering system is easy. The rollers can be fixed "upwards" in a recess, so you don't have to drill into window frames.
PRO
Hillarys
6 years ago
Hi Charlotte,

What tricky, but sleek and lovely, windows you have! I completely understand your reservations with fitting outside the recess. Your advisor's suggestion for fitting them to the window seems like one of the only options if you're definitely not open to fitting a Roller blind outside the recess.

Alternatively, what about three single voile curtains? They too would be fitted outside the recess, but could be fitted to pull back completely and be very unobtrusive.

Best of luck with your search,

Zoe
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks Caroline - that's worth asking about! I have emailed blinds2go.

KL55hp, good to hear you've also had a good experience with them. I don't think the rollers will fit in the recess because of the way the windows open - unless they can be easily latched out? That way we could have the window open slightly behind it on the safety latch and if we ever needed to swing it fully open (eg to clean it) we could just take down the blind?

Zoe, thanks but not a fan of voiles...

Tough one!
PRO
Amanda Clothier
6 years ago
Shutters would like look amazing at these windows and would sit out of the way of the open windows, but clearly this is not the inexpensive option you were looking for. The only other thing I can suggest is that if you are handy at DIY you can buy 15cm telescopic ball bearing runners on Amazon for about £11 a pair - these are basically little drawer runners that extend out three times their length. You could investigate mounting these to the window recess and mounting the blind on the drawer runners, so that you extend it out of the recess when you want the window open to save you taking the blinds down and potentially damaging them. I don’t know if this would give you enough window opening space or not, you’d have to investigate - and remember to leave space for the width of the runner when ordering the blind. 24/7 blinds is another good website for self ordering bespoke lengths of roller blind with a huge choice of fabrics available. You might find however that your windows are too narrow - there is a minimum length on all the sites I’ve used.
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Amanda Clothier
6 years ago
Sorry, where I said lengths I should’ve said widths!
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
6 years ago
Caroline, the drawer runners is such a cool idea! I will have a measure up and see if that might work. We love shutters too but we're worried how they might look when open into the room - if it would chop up the space too much?
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
6 years ago
Sorry Amanda- getting mixed up!! Thank you!!
PRO
Amanda Clothier
6 years ago
Well, I can't see the rest of your room, but generally I think of the "chopping up of space" as quite a beneficial thing in terms of design. If your room is reasonably large shutters would make a wonderful feature - but you probably need to have space either side of the two outer windows to fold them back adequately...
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, I think they wouldn't be able to fold back so they'd have to jut into the room when open. I'll let you know if the runners idea works! Thank you!
kl55hp
6 years ago
Regarding how easy it is to take the Blinds-2go blinds on/off (e.g. for cleaning, when your windows open inwards): I asked my partner who fitted ours, and he says that basically there are two small circle shaped pieces at either end of the roller. The roller then slots in to these (one on the left and one on the right), and then you twist and - et voila - it is held securely. He says that that because the roller is held fairly tight between the two end pieces it's not a job you would want to be doing regularly, but occasionally now and then for cleaning would be fine.
kl55hp
6 years ago
What about venetian blinds that are easy to clip in or out?

eg option

Or a slim profile roller blind which you could it outside the recess, barely noticing that it was outside not inside?

e.g. another option
Victoria
6 years ago
In France, Castorama sell loads of cheap blinds which adhere to the frames. Not seen anything similar here.

http://www.castorama.fr/store/Store-enrouleur-occultant-polyester-blanc-Must-H-250-cm-prod14470119.html?navCount=1&sortByValue=relevance&navAction=push
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
4 years ago
Just in case anyone finds this useful, we ended up biting the bullet and going for perfect fit pleated blinds. Very happy with them and they were a lot cheaper from a local blind co than from Hillary’s, who originally quoted us.
Charlotte Wolfe
Original Author
4 years ago
Just reread my first post and I don’t know why Hillary’s said we couldn’t have PF

Blinds for awkward windows

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Charlotte Wolfe
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