What to consider when choosing blinds fabric
Choosing the right blind fabric for your window coverings can be a daunting task.
To get you thinking about the blinds fabric you’ll need for your home, here’s a few things to consider:
- Do you need complete blockout of light during the day and night?
- Do you have a window directly facing the sun and need a good option to decrease the amount of incoming light?
- Do you just need something more general to give your space better light control?
- Do you need something that can withstand a wet or humid environment?
Types of blinds fabric for your home
Standard fabric
For rooms which don’t receive as much direct sunlight, aren’t used as much, or if you’re just looking for something to give you standard light control, your basic blind material will work nicely.
This material doesn’t have blockout properties, but it’ll help give you enough light control for your needs.
Blockout fabric
If you’re looking for top tier light control at any time of the day or night, blockout fabric is something to consider.
This fabric is made from an opaque (non-see through) fabric, creating darkness whenever you need it.
Blockout fabric is best suited for rooms like:
- A nursery, to help keep little ones down during their naps.
- The master bedroom (if you’re a light sleeper or a shift worker).
- A theatre room, to give you that cinema-like experience.
- The living area if you have a bad problem with screen glare on your TV.
Sunscreen fabric
Blinds made from sunscreen fabric are hugely popular here in Australia due to the heat and strength of the UV rays we often experience.
This fabric acts as a filter for the sun during the day. This fabric still allows for plenty of light to fill your home during the day, but it reduces the strength of UV rays, which is good for your skin, and helps to reduce the impact on your furniture.
Sunscreen fabric provides a great level of privacy, as you can't see into the room from outside (when it's lighter outside). However, keep in mind that sunscreen blinds don't provide privacy at night when your lights are on.
Translucent fabric
Blinds made from translucent fabric allow natural light to fill your home without compromising your privacy. The secret to the success of these blinds lies in the tightly woven fabric weave, which ensures outsiders cannot see into your windows.
We recommend installing translucent blinds over street-facing windows in your lounge, living or dining areas. As this fabric filters light (rather than blocking it), translucent fabric is best paired with a blockout fabric layer if you wish to install these blinds in a bedroom or nursery.
Best blind fabric for wet areas
In wet areas, blinds made out of aluminium or PVC are best suited as they are a much more durable option than fabric blinds. However, there are a few fabric options that’ll work if you have good ventilation!
Standard Roller blinds and Vertical blinds can go in wet areas as they are often made from light fabric which can be wiped down to avoid any build-up of mould from water exposure.
Using thicker materials like linen or blockout isn’t ideal as it’s harder to keep clean and moisture-free.
With any bathroom, ventilation is important, but with fabric blinds, it’s a must if you want your window coverings to last.
Learn more about the best blinds for wet areas on our website.
Blind fabric for bedrooms
For bedrooms, any fabric will be effective, but it depends on your needs as to which you choose.
For rooms that are in direct sunlight, are used as nurseries, for shift workers or light sleepers, blockout fabric is your best option.
Roller blinds, Double rollers and Roman blinds are all great options to provide you with block out of light at any time of the day or night.
These blinds are also good to use in movie rooms or living areas to help keep glare on your TV to a minimum.
If your bedroom receives a lot of sun but you don’t need or want complete blockout, sunscreen fabric will reduce the strength of the sun rays, while maintaining plenty of natural light! If you find it’s not enough light control, you can pair it with a curtain or a standard fabric to give you a bit more coverage.
Choosing the right fabric colour for your blinds
Once you've chosen a fabric for your new window coverings, you'll also need to decide on the colour.
Rather than only considering your current or future home decor, it's also important to think about the practicality of your selected shade.
Light colours
If your home lacks natural light, it's a good idea to steer clear of dark colours.
Light shades like white, cream and grey are great choices if you’re wanting to help to make any room feel bigger and brighter.
A practical benefit of choosing light hues is that they’ll reflect a significant amount of light and heat, helping make your home feel cooler during the warm summer months.
The only downside to choosing light coloured fabrics is that they can enhance glare from the sun, which means they might not be a great choice for living areas or theatre rooms where you want to avoid glare.
Dark colours
On the other hand, darker colours absorb light. As a result, this reduces glare and softens levels of natural light in the room. It's for these reasons why darker fabric colours are popular in computer rooms, home offices or studies, and theatre rooms.
If you need some more inspiration for choosing the right colour blinds for your home, check out our guide on colour theory!
Cleaning fabric blinds
Cleaning fabric blinds isn’t a very time consuming job, but it should be done regularly so dust doesn’t build-up.
To clean your blinds, take your vacuum cleaner or a feather duster and gently run it over the fabric to collect any dust or debris that’s on them. For any stubborn areas, use a slightly dampened microfibre cloth and soapy water, and dab the area.
Try not to get much water on them to make the drying process much quicker and to avoid water damage. Always follow the cleaning instructions provided for your blinds.
Learn more about blind cleaning in our blog!
Interested in blinds for your home? Why not get in touch! You can reach us via Facebook or by calling my Australian customer support team on 1300 699 041. They'll beat any competing in-store or online blinds quote you may have by a huge 10 percent!
You can find all of our shutters, awnings, curtains, and blinds online for the lowest prices, guaranteed. Plus, we deliver Australia-wide from Perth to the east coast and offer free shipping on metro orders over $449. For all other orders, shipping is $27.
