Every year we wait with bated breath for the first rays of spring sunlight to peep through the clouds, then the next minute we're desperately fanning ourselves in an effort to keep one's cool in the increasingly suppressing summer season. While we can't manage our fickle environment, we can invest in smart window treatments that protect ourselves and our interiors.
More versatile than curtains and more versatile than voiles, the newest blinds and shutters come in a whole host of modern products and super-chic colours, that not just make a function of your windows, however provide flexible sun defense too.
The most recent trends for blinds and shutters
' Wow colours such as yellow, red, orange and juicy green are back, both in textiles, lacquered steel and coloured plexi'. Christina Widholm, chief designer and armashutter.com.au/ pattern forecaster, Faber.
' We've seen an increase in sales of wood Venetian blinds with cotton tapes. For summer season, I 'd expect this to continue with neutral slat colours and contrasting tapes in coastal blues.' Rebecca Brooks, marketing manager, Novatec and Eclectics.
' Our up-and-coming pattern is for high gloss shutters in dark wenge or black. These look spectacular with dark floorboards.' Mark Carter, business director, Shutterly Fabulous.
' Following in the footsteps of the United States, we're seeing much larger louvres. We do slats up to 114mm for a really modern-day appearance.' Arma Shutter Security doors Dandenong Aideen Smith, marketing manager, Shaftesbury Shutters.
' Our moving shutter mechanism is great for small spaces and for using shutters as a space divider.' Harriet Shackleton, sales manager, The New England Shutter Business.
Blinds - Important details
Modern blinds do far more than simply provide personal privacy. The latest fabrics also use solar protection, so no more faded floorings or materials. They also shut out heat, so rooms stay comfy without the air con - an eco-friendly method of keeping cool. With moisture-resistant, anti-fungal and dust-repellent choices too, it's simple to keep window treatments in leading condition. And if it's too hot to even pull a cord, lots of included a motor choice for the ultimate in functional ease.
A mid-tone grey will take out glare however still supply great visibility,' states Georgina Clark, display room supervisor at Silent Gliss. These mesh blinds work in a comparable method to cars and truck screens, carefully filtering the sun's rays without entirely blocking out a gorgeous day, making them ideal if you work from house - no more struggling to see your computer screen if you're sat near a window.
Types of blinds
Roller blinds provide exceptional defense versus heat and light and provide the room a cool, uncluttered appearance. Pick sheer to soften sunlight, patterned materials to present colour and texture or blackout blinds to block light totally. Head to Hillarys or Novatec for a bottom-up roller blind, which is terrific for supplying privacy while still letting in light through the leading half of the window.
Vertical blinds have shaken off their dowdy office image with business such as New House Textiles and Luxaflex adding sheers, patterns, even metallics to their varieties. Ideal for high doors and windows, tilt them to let in a lot or a little light, or draw back totally.
Venetian blinds can be adapted to filter or completely cut out light, or brought up totally to let in maximum light. Wood Venetians agree with floorboards, but for something more bold, take a look at Faber's 2007 collection, with multi-coloured slats for a modern take on this classic.
Roman blinds are a staple option for a big window. When pulled up, they make a neat stack at the top of the frame that is still visible, so they stay a function in any ornamental plan.
Panel Systems, also called Kyoto Panels, are wider than Venetians and on some systems, each panel can be manoeuvred individually. Eclectics has a series of panels in a range of colours and fabrics, including dramatic digital prints, while Quiet Gliss does a range that connect to a track with an extra-strong Velcro system. This suggests you can alternate the panels and choose a heavier product in winter and a lighter, airier material in the summer months.
Shutters - necessary information
Sales of shutters have grown an impressive 40 percent in the last 2 years,' states Fiona Kelly, managing director of The Shutter Shop. 'People appear to be leaving curtains behind in favour of the clean, minimalist lines of shutters.' Some shutter business offer a completely custom service, where an expert determines up and fits the shutters for you, while others can make something for you to fit yourself (only advisable for those confident with their tool kit).
With great deals of materials to choose from, from MDF-based wood to the more pricey solid woods, Mark Carter, business director of Shutterly Fabulous mentions: 'It deserves purchasing the best your budget plan will enable as shutters are, in reality, furniture for your windows.'
Taking their name from the stretching 19th-century estates in America's deep south, the most versatile are plantation-style shutters. These feature louvres that open and close to minimize heat from the sun. When needed and come in an excellent array of colours and products, they supply ventilation and personal privacy. Shutterly Fabulous, Shaftesbury Shutters and The New England Shutter Company will all colour match or stain shutters to Farrow & Ball, Dulux and numerous other widely known paint colours. They will also treat with a UV sealant so touch-ups aren't essential. The New England Shutter Company likewise offers hand-stitched faux leather, suede and fabric finishes in a substantial variety of textures and tones.
You can now choose the width of your louvres too. 'Bigger louvres allow more light when the shutter is open,' states Harriet Shackleton, sales supervisor at The New England Shutter Company, 'so it's worth bearing this in mind when you're making your decision.'
The traditional approach of opening and closing louvres is with a rod on the outside of the shutter, but numerous companies now offer styles that include hidden systems and even remote-controlled shutters (good for hard-to-reach windows) for a contemporary surface.
Solid shutters were initially set up in pre-Edwardian homes and were only used a couple of times a year when the owners decamped for the season. They weren't developed to be opened and shut daily like our present designs, which is why so few remain today. In addition to conventional http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=outdoor shutters wood, they now come in a variety of products, so attempt Parma Lilac for an acrylic version or Draks for Japanese-style canto shutters with hardwood frames and a bespoke central panel of non-reflective acrylic, glass or even a material of your choice.
You can likewise source antique shutters at salvage companies such as Lassco. 'Shutters can be reduced, just make certain they still work proportionally,' says Francis Lee, style consultant at Lassco. Or you can include an extra leaf to make them fit, but determine up carefully to discover a set as near best as possible.
Kinds of Shutters
Café-style shutters are hung just on the bottom half of the window and are more cost efficient (as they just cover half the window). They are ideal if you live at street level and need privacy, but still want to enable light in, however no great if you ever want to black out the space completely.
Tier-on-tier or double-hung shutters are the most flexible shutters you can go with, with 2 sets hung one above the other, working separately. This provides terrific versatility as you can have the top open and the bottom shut, or vice versa, and both sets can be open or shut too. The only disadvantage is that they can look a bit fussy on some types of windows.
Full-height shutters are best for taller windows. There is generally a dividing rail either midway up, or at a natural break in the window (i.e. at the level of the sash). This makes taller shutters more durable and enables the louvres in the bottom and leading half to move separately, so you might open the leading set to let in light but keep the bottom shut for personal privacy.
Strong shutters give a tidy appearance and come with various centre panels such as raised, moulded and Shaker designs. Solid-based shutters are a mix of louvre panel at the top and solid panel at the bottom.