wood blinds | Home Makeover Diva

1 Inch Blinds vs 2 Inch Blinds

09.10.2019 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Thomas asks:

I’m getting ready to put new blinds in my condo and I’m not sure what I want. What is the difference between 1″ blinds vs 2″ blinds?

Well Thomas, that is a very good question. It’s very difficult to decide what type of window blinds to purchase, especially if you don’t know much about window treatments. So I’ve narrowed it down to the four most important differences between 1″ blinds and 2″ blinds:

#1 Light control – When you have the blinds all the way down and the slats tilted open, you can see out easier with a 2″ blind then you can with a 1″ blind. Thus, you maintain more of your view and you get more light coming into a room with a 2″ blind tilted open than a 1″ blind.

#2 Clean-ability – Generally speaking 2″ blinds are easier to clean as well. Especially if you are comparing a wood or faux wood blind to an aluminum mini blind.

#3 Weight – The 1″ mini blind weighs less than faux or wood blinds. This is especially important for windows over 6′ long. The slats of a window blind that large may bow with the weight.

#4 Price – When comparing price 1″ mini blinds can be less than half the cost of 2″ blinds. This price gap grows the larger the blind gets.

As you can see, these four differences are substantial. What it comes down to for most people is price and functionality. If you are still having trouble deciding between the two choices, pick the feature that is most important to you! This will help you be happier with your choice in the long run!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!

Levolor French Door Blinds

02.12.2015 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Carol writes:

I’m at a loss here, hopefully you can help. I have french doors in dire need of some sun blocking and for the life of me, I cannot figure out what type of window treatment is going to give us the best result. My husband and I figure that it’s going to likely need to be blinds, so we can make adjustments throughout the day. Unfortunately we’re stumped as to what the best choice in blinds would be for french doors in a room with traditional accents? Please help!

Well, Carol there is no need to be stumped. I can help you find the best window treatments for your french doors! Even though choosing window treatments can be overwhelming, it’s easier if we choose based on the most important duties we want those new window treatments to perform. In this case, it appears that your two biggest concerns are finding a window treatment with optimal light control and traditional styling.

Because light control is a major factor here, and your goal is to make adjustments to the amount of light that is let in throughout the day, I would definitely recommend choosing a blind over a shade. This way you have the ability to tilt the louvers, as well as, lower and raise the entire blind itself. This will give you the ultimate amount of light control, over a shade that only raises or lowers.

Next, because you mentioned needing a window treatment that went with traditional accents, I’d recommend a wood blind. Because of the size and material, wood blinds are much better suited for traditional styled rooms than vinyl or aluminum mini blinds. Yet you don’t lose any of the functionality. Because you said you were stumped I’d consider checking out Levolor French Door Blinds. I’m recommending the Levolor brand specifically because I think their traditional style valance will help blend these blinds into the rest of your decor. Other companies will also have traditional valances to help dress the blinds up, but Levolor also has a pretty good selection of wood types, stains and paints.

Since you are putting these blinds on your french doors you will want to consider the 1″ size wood blinds. They are half the size of the larger 2″ wood blinds so they will won’t compete for space with your door handles. This a great time to mention that when you are measuring for your window treatments, make sure you are taking into account the depth of the blind and the amount of space you have to work with around the door handle area. Otherwise you could have a major issue.

Another important feature for blinds on french doors is hold down brackets. These brackets are made to be screwed into your door at the bottom of the blind. They have little nubs that insert into the bottom rail of the blind and keep the shade from banging as the door is open and closed. While these brackets are made to keep the noise down as the door opens and closes, they are not recommended if you plan on raising and lowering the shade daily. Because they could break or bend with constant use. And if that happens you will either have to order replacement hold down brackets and hope the screw holes haven’t been stripped. Otherwise you’ll have to go without and fix the exposed screw holes in your door.

These tips will help you choose the right blinds no matter brand you choose. As long as you remember what features are important to you and what type of blind will physically work in your space and you’ll be set. Start out by looking at 1″ wood Levolor French Door Blinds and go from there!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe (diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!

Sidelight Window Treatments

04.14.2011 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Pat writes:

I have two little sidelight windows next to the front door and they need new window treatments. Problem is I don’t know what to do? I need something that will offer privacy but also look good with the rest of the house. My home has traditional decor. What would you do? This is stressing me out and any help is greatly appreciated!

Don’t worry, Pat. Even though there aren’t a lot of options available for sidelight window treatments, I’m confident we can find something that goes with your traditional decor. Often times the trick with finding sidelight window treatments is getting something that has all the options you want in such a small width. Based on your style, I’m going to suggest you look at wood blinds or roller shades.

Wood blinds will definitely fit in with your traditional style. Depending on what company you are looking at, you may 1″ or 2″ wide slats to choose from. One thing to keep in mind before choosing wood blinds is that if your sidelights are smaller than 10 1/2″ wide you may only have the control option of tilting the slats open and close.

Because of the small size, there isn’t enough room to get a functional lift control in the headrail. So companies offer blinds that just hang down all the time but that you can tilt open or close the slats to let light in. Another noteworthy option is that the tilt control will also be in a different location than regular wood blinds. It will be a center tilt and is typically only available in a wand control.

Regular wood blinds are pretty good at allowing you to keep your privacy, but if you want to be doubly sure no one can see in, consider going with a no holes/privacy option or cloth tapes. Both of these features will ensure no one can look inside your home.

Another type of blind you could use for such a small width are roller shades. If you choose a fabric or style that is more traditional and opt for a valance roller shades will fit right into your decor. Unlike wood blinds roller shades will still be able to operate like regular shades, even at such a small width. However you may not have all fabrics available at the size you need. So make sure you have the width with you before you go shopping. That way you won’t get your hopes set on something that won’t work for your sidelights.

No matter what sidelight window treatments you go with, just remember you do still have options, just not as many as with regular window treatments. Other options I didn’t include in the answer because of the traditional style but are still available as sidelight window treatments are: 1″ mini blinds and cellular shades. The only thing I would stay away from are vertical blinds and that is only because they often times look out of proportion on tall skinny windows.

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!

Time For New Blinds

06.17.2010 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Phil writes:

While at work, my 100 lb American bull dog decided to go “through” my blinds. Whatever his reason, the blinds are ruined. So I have a problem. Four windows in one room with aluminum blinds, one of those blinds is ruined. Now I need your help. Do I try to replace the single blind with the closest styled blind possible or just replace all of the blinds with new window treatments?

Look on the bright side Phil, your dog only ruined one of your blinds! That’s pretty good so far! However if your dog is like mine, the next three blinds are soon to meet their match! I’m only kidding, usually there is no rhyme or reason to what or when our pets chose to “redecorate” for us!

With that in mind though, a very important question to ask yourself is if your dog does ruin the rest of the blinds, are you okay replacing them one by one, as needed. Or do you want to get something a little more dog friendly and start from scratch replacing all four blinds now?

If cost is important today in the here and now, I would suggest just trying to find something similar and replace the one ruined blind. Then in the future maybe you could keep your dog out of that space or raise the blinds while you are away. I have a cat who runs a muck in our house during the day and all of our blinds are kept just above cat height in the window sill. This has kept my blinds safe from any adventures he may have otherwise had.

If the above options are not viable, consider replacing all the blinds with a different style. Typically speaking faux wood blinds do well against pets. If your dog is a chewer, he can still chew faux wood blinds up. But will be unable to bend them like the aluminum blinds.

If you are concerned about the cords as well, I would consider going with a cordless faux wood or cordless wood blind. This will leave one less item hanging off the blind and will be safe for kids and pets alike! Faux wood and wood blinds are also more hearty when it comes to pets. Faux especially seems to take a beating when pets are concerned. These blinds are not good if your dog is a chewer though. Because he will be able to chew individual slats and you will be right back where you started!

Another option that can withstand a beating from a large dog is a vinyl roller shade. Because it is all one piece of fabric and hearty vinyl material it is harder for pets to damage roller shades. Though be careful if your pet pushes it open with his nose and the hardware is not very substantial the roller shade can be knocked down and fall on top of your dog!

No matter what option you go with, it is important to keep your dogs safety and your sanity in mind before picking out new window treatments! Sometimes we must sacrifice what we like for what we can have when pets are in the picture!

Choosing Cordless Wood Blinds

01.12.2010 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Alice writes:

Recently my husband and I have accepted that we are in dire need of an update on our window blinds. Unfortunately however, we’re stuck on choosing cordless wood blinds over wood blinds with a cord. We’re just not sure which choice of blind makes the most sense? Please help us Diva, we are lost on this one!

Alice, you are not alone in dealing trying to figure this out. Choosing cordless wood blinds or not is one of the most common questions I have had recently. Sadly, there is never an easy answer. Basically it comes down to this – do you have children or pets needing to be safe from blind cords? I ask this as choosing this type of blind largely depends on whether there’s a need for them or not. If you have kids or pets potentially getting caught up in the blind cords, then clearly going with cordless blinds is the best option. If however, you do not have kids or pets, then you will have more flexibility when thinking of new blinds. Odds are a corded wood blind would more than meet your needs. The only deciding factor left in this case is really appearance.

Now not to add to your indecision here, but have you also considered what kind of light control you are shooting for? TV rooms, bedrooms and so forth you will generally want to make sure you are buying wood blinds that will give you maximum light control so you can use your window treatments to block out the sun.

Levolor for instance, has wood blinds available at most big box stores, that offer something called Lightmaster ™ . Basically this is a wood blind feature that will give you the best in light control for your blinds. Hence, when they’re shut – they’re shut. As for the corner styles, etc. Well, that is more something that you have to browse around and see what appeals most to you personally. Most people go with the standard corners, but there is something to be said about the aesthetic value of a rounded corner in a blind as well. And as you can see, installing these blinds is very easy to do. Just watch the video for a quick how-to.

That’s all there really is to choosing a great set of wood blinds. Deciding on going cordless or not, really just comes down to what your lifestyle requires. In most cases, using coded blinds is just fine and even better, they are cheaper in most cases as well. With any luck, my thoughts above helped you in selecting the right blinds for your needs. Good luck!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!