Fabric ranges
Hundreds of colours, weaves and prints across the ranges we make blinds from. The books come to your living room, so you see them in your own light.
UK-made fabrics, mostly Louvolite and Eclipse
We make our blinds from UK-made fabrics, mostly from Louvolite and Eclipse. Between the ranges there are hundreds of colours, weaves and prints, in sheers, dim-outs and blackouts.
Having a look online first is a genuinely useful way to narrow a colour family down. It saves you working through the whole lot at the kitchen table.
What we will not do is ask you to commit to a fabric you have only seen on a screen.
What the ranges cover
- Sheers, dim-outs and blackouts
- Plain woven fabrics and traditional jacquards
- Woodweaves and other textured naturals
- Prints, from small repeats to big ones
- Thermal-backed fabrics with a reflective coating
Ask for a range by name
Tell us the range and the colour and we will bring that book. If we cannot get hold of a particular fabric, we will say so rather than talk you into something else.
How much light do you want to lose?
Before colour, before pattern, this is the decision that narrows the ranges down fastest. Every fabric falls into one of three groups.
Sheer
Softens the daylight and keeps the room feeling open, which is why sheers suit a front room you do not want to shut off. Be clear about the limit though: a sheer gives you privacy in the daytime only. Once your lights are on and it is dark outside, it will not hide much.
Dim-out
The middle ground, and where most living rooms and kitchens end up. It takes out most of the light and gives you proper privacy day and night, though a bright morning will still read faintly through the fabric. For the majority of windows this is the sensible answer.
Blackout
For bedrooms, nurseries and anyone who works nights. Worth knowing before you buy: blackout describes the fabric, not the window. Light will still find its way round the edges of any blind, and no honest fitter will tell you otherwise.
Weave, print and the bits on the end
Once you know how much light you want to keep, the rest is what the blind should look like when it is up.
Weaves and prints
The ranges run from plain woven fabrics through traditional jacquards, woodweaves and textured naturals to full prints. If you want a blind that quietly disappears into the wall, that exists. If you want the window to be the thing people notice, that exists too.
Texture is the part photographs flatten. A woodweave in your hand looks nothing like a woodweave on a screen.
The bits on the end
Braids, scallops, poles, finials and bottom rails change how a blind reads in a room far more than people expect, and they cost less than people expect too.
Ask to see them while we are sat there with the samples out. Nobody thinks about a bottom rail until they see two otherwise identical blinds side by side.
If heat is the thing you are trying to fix rather than light, read about thermal-backed fabrics.
You cannot judge a fabric on a screen
Every monitor renders colour differently. A swatch that looks warm on a website can look flatly grey against your own walls in February daylight, and a white that looks crisp under a shop light can turn blue next to a magnolia wall.
So we turn up with the sample books and hold them against your paint, your floor and your furniture. It takes about four seconds to know. That costs you nothing and you are not committing to anything by looking.
Two ways to get a quote: call in at 45 Castle Street and see the ranges laid out, or we bring them to you. Evenings and weekends are no bother.
How choosing works
- Narrow it down. Have a browse and settle on a colour family and roughly how much light you want to keep. Two or three shortlisted ideas is plenty.
- Samples at your window. Simon brings the ranges round at a time that suits, after work if that is easier.
- Choose in your own light. Hold the samples against your own walls and take your time over it. Then every window gets measured and the price written down before we leave.
Questions about fabrics
If yours is not here, ring and ask. We would rather answer it on the phone than have you guess.
Can I choose a fabric from a website?
You can narrow it down to a colour family, and that is worth doing before we come out. What you cannot do on a screen is judge the colour itself, because every monitor renders it differently. Pick two or three you like the look of and we will bring those books with us.
Which fabric ranges do you use?
Mostly Louvolite and Eclipse, both made in the UK. If you have seen a fabric somewhere else, tell us the range and the colour name and we will tell you honestly whether we can get hold of it.
What is the difference between sheer, dim-out and blackout?
Sheer softens the daylight and gives you daytime privacy only. Dim-out cuts most of the light and gives you proper privacy, which is where most living rooms end up. Blackout is for bedrooms and for anyone who works nights.
Are there fabrics that help with heat?
Yes. A good number of the ranges include thermal-backed fabrics with a reflective coating on the side facing the glass. They reflect summer heat back out and slow winter heat escaping, and they work hardest in a Perfect Fit frame.
How do I clean the fabric?
It depends which one you choose. Most take a regular dust and many will take a wipe with a damp cloth, but some of the textured weaves will not. Ask Simon which yours is when you pick it, rather than finding out afterwards.
Get the sample books round to yours
Give us a ring and we will call round with the ranges, measure up and work the price out while we are there. Simon does the measuring and Simon does the fitting.