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Treating Your Windows Part 1: Blinds, Shades and Shutters By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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Purchasing window treatments for your home can be expensive so you want to make the right choice you’ll be happy with. Before you make any purchases, take some time to get an idea of what some of the possibilities are for window treatments. They range from simple side panels to elaborately cut cornices dripping with tassels and rich brocades. There are also blinds and shutters varying in sizes.
The possibilities can seem endless but if you get an idea of the basic types of window treatments, pick which ones you like the best and go from there. Don’t be afraid to mix and match some of them.
As there are a lot of different types of window treatments, we’ll be covering the subject in an article mini series starting with blinds, shades and shutters.
Blinds
 Blinds are made up of individual slats—either vertical or horizontal—held together by a string that raises and lowers all of the slats at once or rotates them to either let in more light or close the window off. The three most comment types of material blinds are made of are metal, plastic or wood.
A popular type of blind is the Venetian blind. This blind has slats made from wood that are two-inches thick and lay horizontally across the window.
Micro blinds or mini blinds descended from the Venetian blind. They have thinner slats about ½-inch thick and are made from aluminum.
The vertical blind is usually made of aluminum strips that are 3 ½-inches wide. A newer vertical blind has been made from strips of fabric and making the strips wider.
Plastic is used to replicate all of these types of blinds at a cheaper cost.
Shades
 Shades are a solid material that covers the window and is pulled up and down to open and close the window.
The Roman shade is pleated so as the shade is pulled up, it folds into sections with the lowest section underneath the next section up and so on, about 6-inches wide each. Roman Shades are typically made from cloth and a draw-string pulls and lowers the shade.
The Roller window shade is usually made from a plastic material and is controlled by its top roller. As the shade goes up, it wraps itself around the roller. Roller shades are sensitive to the force of pull on it. When the shade is snapped, it rolls completely up. As it is lowered and raised, a gentle tug signals it to stay in place at the desired level.
Pleated shades have a half-inch pleat and are made from a thin fabric. They can be installed to be opened from either the bottom or top and are like a cross between a roman shade and a mini blind.
Shutters
There are two types of window shutters and neither of them are the type that go on the exterior of a home. We’re talking about interior window shutters that fit inside the trim of the window. The types are traditional and plantation.
Traditional Shutters
 Traditional Shutters have small louvered slats—no more than an inch thick—and each shutter is only half the height of your window. If the shutters only cover the bottom half of the window, this is called café style. A second set of shutters can be placed over the top half of your window so when all of the shutters are closed, they conceal your window. Depending on the width of the window there could be as few as two shutters on each half that are hinged to the frame and clasp close in the center of the window. Larger windows may have two or more shutters attached to the frame and then hinged in the middle to fold together when the shutters are opened.
Plantation shutters have large louvered slats and either one is used to cover the entire window or two are used, depending on the size of the window. The shutters are hinged to the frame of the window on one side and clasp close on the other, unless two clasp together.
Shutters were made from wood and either painted or stained but now plastic shutters are being made to cut down on the cost and maintenance of them.
In our next article we’ll dissect the various terms associated with curtains.
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