Roman Blinds or Roller Blinds?

Blinds are the obvious choice for the hardest working areas of the home; kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms etc. they also suit the unfussy contemporary home or the smaller rooms in the house (the downstairs loo!) – but which type of blind?

Mark Hearld Bird Garden Roman Blind

Roller Blinds

Taking into account your specific needs and the characteristics of the room in question the following pros and cons may be useful:

Advantages:

  • in the up position roller blinds take up very little space and therefore don’t reduce the daylight coming into the room.
  •  when made in lightweight and light coloured linen they will still let in light yet act as a screen to the outside world – this is especially useful in rooms where screens and monitors are affected by sunlight/glare.
  • roller blinds have a crisp, no nonsense look which works well with bold prints
  • roller blinds can be used in combination with curtains where extra blackout is required or for decorative effect

Disadvantages:

  • roller blinds will not help with the acoustic problems sometimes found in kitchens or other rooms with a lot of hard surfaces.
  • roller blinds do not give such a dressed feel to the window.
Roller Blind in up position

Roller Blind in up position

Roman Blind

Roman Blind in up position

Roman Blinds

Advantages:

  • roman blinds provide a more “dressed” look to the window and room
  • as they are soft, roman blinds can provide benefits in terms of the sound quality – reducing echo in rooms with a lot of hard surfaces
  • Tinsmiths roman blinds are interlined with a blackout, thermal interlining so that they are lightproof and provide good thermal gain.

Disadvantages:

  • when in the up position roman blinds require some space to stack, 14-28cm depending on the blind length, the stack therefore reduce the daylight coming into the room

One very important consideration with both types of blind is to ensure that cords and chains are kept out of the reach of children. Tinsmiths supply a safety device which should be fitted to the side control chain of each roller or roman blind.

For further advice and information about blinds and roller blinds consult Tinsmiths’ Made to Measure.

Tinsmiths Roman Blind St Judes Dandelion