What's the difference between recess and face blinds?
A recess or face fit refers to where your indoor blinds, shutters, or curtains are placed in relation to your window.
What are face fitting blinds?
Face fitting blinds are where your window coverings sit over the top of the window gap in your wall (also known as your window recess or the architrave).
What are recess fitting blinds?
Recess fitting blinds are where your window coverings sit within the window recess of the wall. This means they don’t hang over the edge and are designed to create a snug, secure fit.
What’s the right fit for my window coverings?
Whether you choose to mount your blinds, shutters, or curtains inside or outside your window's recess is based on personal preference. Both options look great if installed correctly.
But if you’re not sure, here’s the breakdown on the pros and cons of each type of fit!
Face fit blinds: Pros
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Makes your window look bigger
Face fitting blinds are a great way to make your window feel larger, as it covers the entirety of your window and therefore you can't see the actual size. -
Blockout
Choosing a face fit gives you maximum opportunity for blocking out light, as the window covering will block any small gaps between the edge of your blind and the side of the window recess. This can be ideal for bedrooms, especially if the incoming light wakes you easily.
This is also a great option for living areas or movie rooms as it helps eliminate glare that could appear on the screen. -
Privacy
Face fitting blinds are very popular for bedrooms and bathrooms as they give your room that little bit more privacy by eliminating the small gaps between the edge of the blinds and the recess. -
Less worry about the measurements
Another benefit of choosing a face fitting option is that you have more flexibility with measurements, if numbers aren’t your thing! As the blinds sit over the window, there’s no exact measurement to make sure your blinds will fit within the recess.
Face fit blinds: Cons
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Exposed brackets
With a face fitting blind, your blind brackets are going to be exposed on top of the window. With a recess fit, they can be tucked out of sight. Some people may prefer the cleaner look of no unsightly brackets.
To get around this, you can install pelmets over the top of the window, hiding the brackets and adding more of a featured look. -
Not always a good option for small areas
While face fitting blinds are a great way to make your window feel bigger, if you’re using this tactic in a really small room, it can overpower the space and make it feel more cluttered than spacious
Recess fit blinds: Pros
There are a few benefits to choosing a recess fit.
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Creates a streamlined look
To start with, if you don’t want your window and blind to be a feature within your space, recessed blinds tuck away nicely into the window frame itself.
Recess fit blinds are also great for hiding the brackets the blinds hang from. They also don’t stick out of the window recess, which is a great option for busy areas, or if you don’t want kids to play with the bottom of the blinds. -
Good option for small spaces
For smaller rooms, recess blinds are a good option as they don’t overpower the size of the room.
Although face fitting blinds can make your window feel bigger, if they’re too big for the space it can create an eye sore rather than serve as a useful tool. -
Can provide more strength for your blinds
Installing into a timber window frame is stronger than above the architrave.
Recess fit blinds: Cons
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Need precise measurements
It does take a bit more measuring to land the perfect fit for recess blinds.
We recommend taking your measurements three times to ensure you have the correct size before placing an order! -
Need deep recesses
If you have a shallow recess, recess blinds don’t work well, as they’ll likely end up protruding the architrave anyway. -
Can make accessing the blind controls harder
In some cases with a recess fit, the blind controls can be harder to access as the blinds have a snug fit within the recess.
Plus, windows with handles and knobs aren't ideal candidates for choosing a recess fit either. -
Less blockout (even with blockout blinds)
Due to the small gaps between the edge of the blinds and the window recess, even blockout blinds won’t block all incoming light.
While it’s only slivers of light (possibly a 20-30mm gap will remain either side of the window furnishing), it can be annoying for some, especially if you’re trying to avoid glare on a screen.
Can you have a face and a recess fit in one window?
If you’re going to have two window coverings in one window architrave, it’s best to have one as a recess fit and the other as a face fit (this is with the exception of Double Roller blinds, which have two rollers, but work together as one blind unit).
By having a recess and a face fit blind in one, you’re making your architrave look less cluttered and more elegant.
To do this, we recommend having a blind as your recess fit (such as a Roller or Roman blind) and pairing it with a curtain as the face fit option.
Are blinds better inside or outside the recess?
There’s no right way to hang your blinds, and there are pros and cons to both recess and face fits.
When deciding on what the best way to hang your blinds is, think about the functionality of your blind, how you want your blinds to look in the room, and whether blackout of light is a top priority.
If you’re still not sure, get in contact and we can help!
Recess fit or face fit for sliding doors
There’s no right answer as to which is best as both have their benefits.
Recess fitting blinds for sliding doors means that your sliding door is fully accessible due to not having more coverage than what’s needed.
A face fitting window covering can also be a great option if you completely want to hide the sliding door out of view or want more of a dramatic feel.
Recess fit or face fit for large windows
Again, there’s no right answer to this. Recess fit window coverings are best if you don’t want the large window to be a statement piece. However, if you do want to make this a focal point in your space, choosing a face fit blind or curtain is best!
Measuring and installing
To be safe, always take three measurements. The left, middle and the right, making sure to record the largest measurement.
To find out how to best measure your preferred blind for a recess or a face fit, head to our website guides on measuring and installing.
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.
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