Last week, we focused on slatted blinds. Now let us look at solid blinds, which can’t be adjusted to let light through like the slatted ones and have to be rolled up or put away. However, they are considered the classier of the two.

Roller blinds

Popular since the 18th century, a roller blind, as the name suggests, is made of thick sturdy fabric that provides a flat cover to a window when rolled down and rolls up to gather into a cylinder at the top.

Roller blinds can be used on their own or can be matched with very formal curtains or soft sheer ones for a more delicate effect.

You can buy them readymade from a stock range of sizes or have them made to measure with the fabric of your choice. Make sure you pick a suitable fabric, otherwise they might roll unevenly. Tightly-woven flat cotton fabric is a good choice, but use a waterproof fabric in the kitchen or bathroom. Plain blinds can look good with braid, fringing or coloured ribbon, but patterned ones are best left alone.

Roman blinds

Although they look similar to roller blinds when let down, Roman blinds draw up into a series of broad flat pleats, giving a neat pelmet effect. They look good on their own in the form of broad stripes or patterns, but they also work well with plain curtains. These blinds particularly suit dining or living rooms and can be used to good effect to shade the sun.

I recommend that you use softer curtain fabric for these blinds. If you want to make a statement of elegance, go for plain calico, fine linen or net sheers ? they look great. However, if privacy is important, line them with a soft marking material ? this improves the way the pleats fall and, of course, keeps out more light.

Austrian & festoon

Austrian and festoon blinds, which are unlined, hang straight when let down, usually with a scalloped hem, but have a ballooned effect when drawn up by cords, which run through a looped tape at the back ? something like the stage/screen curtains in old-time theatres and cinema halls.

Festoon blinds are not as full as Austrian blinds, but they can both be rather ornate and lavish. Some have frills at the sides and bottom, and ribbons as well, which can look good when left to rest about halfway up a window.

These are highly decorative styles, and normally don’t match with modern interiors. Use them only if you have large rooms that are being done up in Victorian or Renaissance styles.

Some more styles

Pinoleum: These are made of matchstick-like slats of wood or bamboo, either stained in a dark colour or left in the original light wood colour, and woven together with cotton strings.

One can see through these blinds, which makes them suitable for living and dining rooms only. They can lend a great country cottage effect to a room, especially with sunlight behind them. Unfortunately, they are not exactly low-priced.

Cane and woven: These are made of fine bamboo or rattan, woven together with various natural grasses and reeds to provide the ultimate natural look. Splendid for a farmhouse.

Paper: Made of tough, stiff, pleated paper, these blinds are inexpensive, possible in a range of colours, and can be very decorative. However, they are not commonly available in India.

Blinds can get just the right amount of attractive accents for your windows while retaining your home’s unique style and charm.

As I see it, blinds are the live-and-let-live elements of interiors. While their simple lines blend easily with the background, they allow all types of windows to remain uncluttered. Plus, being less overpowering than curtains, blinds tend to work very well on our small windows and/or in our small rooms.

The author is an interior design consultant, specialising in the design of corporate and residential interiors. As a senior faculty member at a Calcutta institute, she has delivered lectures, guided research and conducted projects in housing & interior design for over two decades. She can be contacted at kusumsmail@yahoo.com