Temporary Blinds

We've all been there.  Moved into a new house, and not had time to buy blinds, or living in a short term rental property for a while, where it's not cost effective to buy a full set of window blinds. 

Not having any blinds is, for most people, very disconcerting.  As well as the aesthetic problem of a bare window making your home look unwelcoming, not having blinds installed is not very energy efficient - all the heating you pump out, just vanishes straight out through your glass windows.

Perhaps most worrying, though is that a lack of blinds means anyone can see into your rooms, leaving you feeling vulnerable and exposed. 

But recently a number of enterprising companies have developed a cheap yet ingeniously practical solution - temporary blinds. Usually these blinds come in a box, and are made of pleated paper.

Usually they come in one or two standard sizes. To fit them to your window you just need to measure the frame, and cut the paper blinds to size.

An adhesive tape is supplied - all you need to do to attach your new temporary window blinds is to stick them to your window frame, and apply pressure. Which, of course, is why these blinds are sometimes simply called 'stick on blinds'.

There are many temporary window blinds suppliers, in the US, Canada and the UK (as well as elsewhere).

In the US and Canada, they can easily be bought at major stores like Home Depot, Walmart and JC Peney, as well as ordered online through suppliers like Amazon. One of the most well recognized brands is Redi Shades, who supply their temporary Redi Shade in a number of sizes and styles, including Cellular Shades, Cordless Window Shades, and Pleated Shades.

Temporary paper blinds are a more recent introduction to the UK market. They are more difficult to find than in the US, but it's still not all that difficult. Most B&Q stores stock QuickFix temporary blinds, and they can be ordered online from new companies like Blinds in a Box (more on this company later).

In the US, you should expect to pay around $10 for a single shade, and around $50 for a box of six.  In the UK, from £6-8 pounds is the norm for a single blind, while a box set of six will set you back approximately £40-£45.

A show that has recently become very popular in the UK and US, Dragons Den allows new companies, and people with great inventions to pitch their concepts to a group of big league entrepreneurs - the Dragons. Impress with their pitch, and they come minus a percentage share of their business, but with a big chunk of investment capital burning a hole in their pockets.

Given the innovative nature of temporary blinds, it should come as no surprise to learn that UK-startup company BlindsInABox was picked to pitch the concept to the Dragons. I won't spoil the drama by telling you whether they secured the funding or not - you'll have to watch the video below to find out the answer: