Pros and Cons of Curtains, Roller Blinds and Roman Blinds

Blinds versus Curtains

Choosing between curtains and blinds for a window? Here are the main benefits of roman blinds vs roller blinds vs made to measure curtains to help you make the best choice for your windows.

But, please rest assured whatever style you go for we can make them for you through the Made to Measure section of our website.

Pros of curtains:

Here are some of the main benefits of choosing curtains.

• Made to measure curtains are a cosier, softer, and more luxurious option.
• Curtains offer better heat insulation and soundproofing; interlined full-length curtains are the most ideal for minimising noise, especially if your home faces a road.
• Curtains can be more easily transferred and altered to fit other windows if you move house.
• Large living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms need full-length curtains, smaller rooms are often better suited to blinds.
• With curtains there is no child safety legislation to comply with. For roman and roller blinds you must install your cleats and deal with the cord or chain supplied as instructed.
• In a room with several windows you need a balance between the curtains and blinds: too many pairs of curtains in a room can eliminate places to put desks, tables, beds etc. and also there would just be too much fabric in one space.
• Think about combining blinds and curtains to completely block out any unwanted light, make a stunning statement in your window and really cosy up the room in the winter months.
• Curtains are easy to hang with our instructions
• Different types of curtains can offer different advantages, styles and will suit different rooms.

Here is how to measure for curtains to get the perfect fit.

Tie backs for Curtains – As an additional option to finish the look of your luxurious, bespoke made to measure curtains, we now offer tie backs. You can have these either self-piped in the fabric used to make the tie backs, or piped in a different fabric of your choice.

Pros of Blinds:

Thinking about blinds? Here are some of the main benefits of choosing blinds.

• With a such a variety of sizes, shapes and styles of windows, you may find that due to space restrictions, blinds are the best option and will work better than a pair of curtains.
• You will be maximising daylight by using blinds.
• If you prefer simplicity and a more contemporary look, you might want to consider investing in blinds.
• If you change your interior design frequently it would be better to go for blinds as they are generally less expensive than curtains as they need less fabric.
• Blinds work best where there is a desk, bed or sofa under the window.

Made to measure roller blinds and made to measure roman blinds are two of the most popular styles of blinds available. Both blinds have their pros and cons:

Pros of Roller Blinds:

Roller blinds can be easy to install and easy to use. Here are the key benefits of roller blinds.

Good for inside a recess – if you are looking to fix a blind into a recess, roller blinds are the perfect choice and why not add a pelmet to hide the roll?  With roller blinds you have complete control over how much material covers the window. This is especially a good feature if you have smaller windows.
Maximum light – if you want to allow in as much natural light as possible, roller blinds may be the better option over roman blinds. With roller blinds, the fabric rolls up at the top of your window and will take up about 9 cm of space.
Centre pull option – with a roller blind you can have a central pull which can be handy on a window behind the kitchen sink.
Low maintenance – once you have pulled up a roman blind you sometimes have to handle the folds as they can get caught in the cords, you don’t have this problem with roller blinds.
Inside recess pelmets– If you have your blind in a recess, you can now choose to have a smart pelmet made with it which covers the ‘roll’, is pattern matched to the main blind and is approximately 11 cm deep. This has revolutionised the use of roller blinds, making them much more attractive and so usable in all rooms of a house!

Roller blinds are easy to install, just follow our instructions.

Outside recess pelmets – We also provide pelmets for roller blinds going on the outside of a recess. To have this made, please contact us to discuss it further.

Here is how to measure for roller blinds to get the perfect finish every time.

Pros for Roman Blinds:

Prefer the luxury look and feel of roman blinds? Here are why Roman blinds are so popular and the benefits of choosing them.

Best for insulation – Roman Blinds can be made with an interlining, which is where a thick material is sandwiched in between the face fabric and the cotton lining, to give the blind a fuller look which in turn creates a more sumptuous window dressing. If you’re looking to keep the heat in or if your windows are particularly draughty, then this interlining adds to the blinds thermal properties as it creates another layer for the cold air to penetrate. For this reason, roman blinds are better suited for draughty and cold rooms.

More fabric showing – One of the main benefits of roman blinds is the amount of pattern shown whether the blind is up or down. If choosing a fabric with a pattern that is a key part of your design scheme, then a roman blind will dress your window and make it a feature more than a roller blind. Ideally, placing a roman blind outside the window recess is the best option, as this also helps to make the window appear larger.

Roman Blinds can have borders – a contrasting fabric can be sewn onto the bottom edge, or onto all three sides – excludes the top of the blind for all-round border.

Pelmets for Roman Blinds outside of a recess – We now have an option to make a pelmet with returns, for Roman Blinds being placed on the outside of the recess. This gives the blind a neater, cleaner finish so that when viewed from the side angles, you don’t see the wooden batten or rotary track.

Shared benefits of both types of blind:

Shading – if your room is exposed to sunlight all day and your room becomes very hot, roman and roller blinds can be partially pulled down to help shade the room.
Fixings – both styles of blind can be fixed inside or outside the window recess, as well as either front face fixing to the wall, or top fixing to the ceiling, or inside of the recess. Both styles can be fixed onto French doors.
Blackout– both can be made to block out light with blackout lining.
Large windows – for roman blinds and laminated roller blinds the maximum width we make is 240cm. If the roller blind isn’t laminated it can be made up to 128cm wide.

See here our Made to Measure Curtains and Roller/Roman Blinds.

Vanessa

Founder and owner of Vanessa Arbuthnott Fabrics. Vanessa creates content around fabric types, blind styles and curtain designs to best suit the needs of Vanessa Arbuthnott customers.