Eleven ways to dress a window
Blinds and shutters, every one measured on your own windows and fitted by us. Not sure which you want? Tell us the room and we will tell you what usually goes in it.
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Plantation Shutters
Louvred panels in a frame. Tilt them for light, and no cords at all.
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Perfect Fit Blinds
Clips into the frame. No drilling, and the window still opens.
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Pleated Blinds
Concertina fabric in a slim frame. Fits shapes others cannot.
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Roller Blinds
One flat piece of fabric on a tube. Simple, and the cheapest.
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Senses Blinds
A roller with the mechanism boxed in behind a fabric cassette.
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Roman Blinds
Folds into soft horizontal pleats. The one that looks like curtains.
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Venetian Blinds
Slats from 15mm to 50mm. Tilt them to keep light, lose glare.
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Vertical Blinds
Hanging louvres that twist. Good on patio doors and big windows.
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Vision Blinds
Two layers of striped fabric. Slide them past each other, day or night.
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Wooden Blinds
Real wood slats, 25mm and 50mm. Warm in a bay window.
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Conservatory Blinds
Sides and roof. Every pane measured on its own, because they are rarely square.
How to choose, without guessing
Forty-three years of measuring windows, boiled down to these four questions.
What sort of window is it?
A wide patio door and a small bathroom window want different things. Verticals and rollers cover big spans cheaply. Venetians and wooden blinds give you fine control over how much light gets in and at what angle. Pleated blinds go where nothing else will: conservatory roofs, skylights, and shapes that are not rectangles. Shutters are the answer for a front room facing the pavement, because the louvres tilt to let the daylight in high while nobody outside can see past them.
How much light do you want to lose?
Sheer fabrics soften the daylight and keep some privacy in the daytime only. Dim-out cuts most of it. Blackout is for bedrooms, and for anyone who works nights. Roman blinds come with a blackout lining as standard, which is why they end up in so many bedrooms.
Who else is in the house?
If there are small children or pets, say so early on. Every type here can be made cordless, or with the loop taken out of reach, and most of those options cost nothing extra. It is a much easier conversation before the blind is made than after. There is more on child safety if you want to read it first.
And last of all — which fabric?
This is the part nobody can do on a screen, and it is why we bring the sample books to your living room. A grey that looks warm under a shop light can look cold against your own walls in February. Hold it up in your own light and you will know in about four seconds.
Questions we get asked most
The ones that come up on nearly every visit. Anything else, just ask when we are there.
Which blind is best for a kitchen or bathroom?
Something you can wipe down. Rollers and aluminium venetians have done that job for years, and Perfect Fit blinds clip into a uPVC frame so there is no gap for steam to sit in. Fabric blinds go in kitchens too, just not directly over a hob.
Which blinds keep a bedroom properly dark?
A blackout fabric in a roller, a roman or a pleated blind. The fabric itself stops the light, but a blind sitting inside the recess always leaves a little round the edges, so for a room that has to be dark we would usually fit it outside the recess to overlap the frame. We will say so when we measure.
What works on patio doors and big windows?
Verticals, nine times out of ten. They cover a wide span in one blind, the louvres turn for light, and they draw right back into a bunch at one end so the door still opens clear. On a uPVC door a Perfect Fit blind is the other sensible answer, because it clips to the frame and moves with the door.
Can these be made without control cords?
Yes. Every type we make comes with a cordless option, or with the loop taken out of reach, and most of those options cost nothing extra. Tell us there are small children or pets in the house when we come out and we will steer you to the right control.
Can I mix different types of blind in one house?
Most houses end up that way, and there is nothing wrong with it. Verticals on the patio doors, a wooden blind in the front room, blackout rollers upstairs. What ties it together is keeping to one or two colour families, which is easier to judge with the sample books in front of you.
Have us out to measure
Give us a ring and we will call round with the sample books, measure up and write the price down before we leave. Evenings and weekends are no bother.
M.J. Blinds, Tyldesley
Showroom: 45 Castle Street, Tyldesley, Greater Manchester M29 8FP
Phone 01942 882 181
Mobile 07929 366 127
Email mjblindsltd@gmail.com
Costs you nothing to have us out · nothing to sign · manufacturer's warranty on everything we fit