Conservatory Blinds - a Simple Guide

Conservatory blinds are usually the first thing that anyone buys for their new conservatory. It doesn't take long to realize that all that trapped sunlight isn't just a benefit - it can be a problem too. Conservatories rapidly heat up on summer days as sunlight warms the glass, and many people find that the sun's glare can be just too bright for comfort. Equally, in the winter, heat escapes like crazy through all those massive glass windows you've just installed, and conservatories end up feeling colder than your freezer.

But the range of conservatory window blinds available is vast, and it's difficult to know what kind of blind is best for you. It's important, when considering what type of window blind to buy to think not just about practicalities (will it keep the sun out), but stylistic considerations (do my new blinds look right in my new conservatory, are they in keeping with my own personal tastes. Last but not least, it's vital (for most people at least) to think carefully about how much your new blinds will cost.

These are one of the quickest and easiest type of conservatory window blind to fit, and can often by fitted by quite inexperienced DIY-ers. They're basically a pice of cloth wrapped around a roller, and are usually pulled up or down by a drawstring. On the best types of roller blind, the back of the fabric has been treated to reflect additional sunlight.

Simple and minimalist, Roman blinds are usually made from a sheet of fabric, folded a few times and fitted to a wooden baton that fold.  As with roller blinds, its usually best to make sure you find a treated or metalised fabric, as this will prevent more sunlight and UV rays from getting through.

As you might guess from the name, they were first devised by the Romans, and are the perfect choice for the traditionalist.  

The great benefit of roman blinds is that they are fairly simple to manufacture and install, and as a result make a great conservatory DIY project. Here's a video example of a Roman Blind DIY project, albeit on a regular window, rather than a conservatory window.

Always a popular choice, pleated blinds are again made of fabric.  They're strung up along wire guides, and the fabric is folded many times, to give a kind of concertina effect.

Very similar to Roman Blinds, pinoleum blinds are usually made from more durable wood or bamboo slats. 

Last but not least, you'll need to consider whether you want blinds for the roof of your conservatory as well as for the side windows.

Most of the types of blinds listed above will work fine as conservatory roof blinds, but some are trickier to install than others. And, of course, to counter the effects of gravity, you'll need to ensure that they are installed using guiding wires (for example, a rolling blind installed without wires would look more like a dangling piece of flypaper than a useful blind).

One quite popular solution is to install an exterior roof blind, or awning. Although, because they are outside they get dirtier more quickly than interior blinds, they have the additional benefit of keeping your conservatory even cooler, because they prevent sun from hitting and warming the gass at all.