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Design Perspectives

Blinds Now and Forever
From the very beginning, the capability of blinds to fill functional and aesthetic needs has kept them a popular choice.

by Karla Nielson, Allied Member, ASID; WCAA

Blinds are not new. Even the ancient Egyptians used thin slats of reeds woven into blinds to screen the intense heat. In China, woven bamboo blinds were used in palaces and huts and in summer gazebo pavilions to create shade and filter light. Shutters, which originated in Europe, became two-inch wood slat blinds and were used extensively in America as early as the mid-1700s in the Late Georgian Era. Yet for the modern world, the advent of blinds as we know them is relatively new.

I remember as though it were yesterday the first World of Window Coverings trade show and convention in New Orleans, LA, in April 1983. After attending the seminars and soaking up the information being presented, I strolled the trade show floor. Perhaps you, too, remember your first window coverings trade show experience. The surprise for me was what I saw in booth after booth after booth—blinds! Only a tiny smattering of fabric was on display, yet the component manufacturers as well as the product manufacturers with brand name and start-up products were everywhere. Back then I was taken aback by the lack of design elements—blinds seemed to be mostly technology and product driven. Coming from a background of interior design education, I found this an interesting phenomenon.

To understand how blinds have come full circle, we can look back to the days of the 1930s and 1940s when two-inch “Venetian blinds” in a standard, “dirty” shade of off-white with wide tapes were seen virtually all over America. That was the depression and the World War II years. Where it could be afforded, draperies were drawn closed over the blinds, although in offices by the millions these blinds were used alone.

They were heavy and cumbersome, and when raised, one blind would often be seen in an inconsistent placement to its neighbor. Most of all, we burned out on blinds because they were so nasty to clean. Early paints did not repel dust as they do today, nor did sonic cleaning exist. Early modern blinds were labor-intensive to clean—it had to be done by hand, one slat at a time with cleaning solution. Needless-to-say, most people lost the love for blinds.

ENTER THE DRAPERY WORLD
After World War II, draperies reigned supreme. First were casement draperies as seen in modern interiors; then by the 1970s the standard window treatment was sheers, usually with privacy draperies and tied-back drapery panels with top treatments, or sheers and draw draperies. These were lovely in that they provided daytime and nighttime privacy, insulation against heat and cold and noise absorption. They often were elegant and formal.

Draperies of the earlier era had a few disadvantages. They required upkeep: dusting or vacuuming and professional dry cleaning, which was costly and always an imposition to the owner or occupant. They were at risk of damage from pets and children. They required hand moving or touching the fabric to pull aside the drapery to find the cords. The rods often were reliable, but when they occasionally did break, the repair was frustrating and sometimes an inexperienced person could not make them work again. Draperies that could not be opened and closed were cumbersome and ominous.

The fact that so much fabric was used in interiors gave them a sense of coziness that often gave way to a sense of heaviness. The fact that to-the-floor draperies were difficult to vacuum around made the floor around and behind them an ideal places for dust or spiders or other insects. If the draperies were not cleaned regularly, then they were dust-catchers, or places where grime could build up if the interior were subject to fried foods or cigarette smoke, and keep in mind that much more smoking took place indoors in past decades than today. If the draperies were not cleaned, then the dust they collected could be a health hazard.

Another factor that poised blinds for a takeover was the lack of creativity during the decades prior to the 1980s. Draperies were almost exclusively American four- to five-finger pinch pleats. These were almost invariably attached to a white traverse rod, so that when opened, the lines were always vertical with a slender white rod exposed. When top treatments were specified, the style was typically swags and cascades with fringe. These two looks were so prevalent that they became boring. We were poised for aesthetic change. And if there is anything Americans thrive on it’s change in fashion.

Another factor that pushed the pendulum away from a draped society was the change in general interior design fashion. Although the International Modern style became widespread in America as early as the 1950s, the “curtain wall” construction of steel skeleton frames with large plate glass as picture windows was most conducive to a light-filtering and softening treatment that was discovered to be best found in casement draperies.

By the 1980s, these draperies had worn out, become “tender” or thoroughly damaged by sunlight, sometimes as a second-generation drapery. We also had worked our way through the first generation of modern, gone back to a historic style and returned to a more livable and less severely stark post-modern, clean style. We had discovered that blinds had a lot to offer.

ALTERNATIVE WINDOW TREATMENTS —ALIAS HARD WINDOW TREATMENTS
The ensuing wave of blinds arose from the mini-blind revolution. These aluminum, baked-enamel painted, one-inch blinds swept the country because of all their advantages, which today apply to all horizontal blinds:

1. They offer a handsome horizontal line from both the inside and outside of the house. This element of consistency is appealing and appropriate for any exterior style of home.

2. The wider the slat, the closer the look is to shutters, which are considered the epitome of good taste and design quality. Of course, wood or faux wood horizontal blinds do this imitation act best. Generally, wider blinds appear more costly and therefore appear more upscale. As a general rule, wood blinds appear more upscale, but from a distance, it is difficult to tell the thickness of slats.

3. Blinds replaced the dual layers of privacy draperies and sheers, which provided nighttime and daytime privacy, respectively.

4. Privacy is completely assured in blinds only where rout holes through which the control cords are threaded are placed at the back. Rout holes in the center of the blinds allow a person to peer into the interior. If you haven’t tried looking through a blind at night, it’s a surprising and eye-opening experience to see how vulnerable the occupants really are because of the clarity of vision through rout holes.

5. Blinds screen glare and do it almost effortlessly, with just a slight twist of the wand.

6. Blinds control light direction. Blinds angled so that the slats all face downward cast light on a work surface or into the room and shadow above. Blinds with slats angled upward provide a shadow in the area immediately below, which is helpful for heat, light and glare control for seating or work surfaces where indirect light is best.

7. Blinds control light at every slat, giving an even distribution of light, which also is a factor in controlling glare.

8. Today’s blinds are easy to keep up. The quality of the paint is a factor, which varies between the major brands. Select a product offering a built-in dust-repellent in the paint. This keeps the dust from attaching to the paint, so it lays lightly on the surface making it simple to dust off. Of course sonic cleaning, with the takedown and reinstall options is a service that makes blinds even more appealing. Generally, sonic cleaning will cause no harm to blinds or their components.

CHAMPION OF VERSATILITY
The most compelling reason why blinds are here to stay is their versatility. They fit any decor, with very few exceptions. Alone they are always good design: simple, structural, frank, clean, handsome. They need no help to perform their function.

Most often they sit inside the window frame, and even when installed as an outside mount they are so non-intrusive as to allow virtually any other treatment to be coupled with their function. From draw draperies to valances and top treatments, from side panels to decorative window fashion statements, from the height of elegance to fun and funky, any theme can be served with a blind as its partner. Blinds free up the creative pathways. We are not restricted in any window treatment design configuration because the basics are all covered with the blind operation.

Color choices are wide, although when the backside of the blind is white or off-white the look is best from the exterior. Inside, white and off-whites still are the most frequently used colors. This makes a lot of sense, because the blind can outlive many color schemes and many decorating theme changes. Blinds can work in any room decor. To illustrate this, in the photos shown we see three varying styles of rooms—a light, airy, bedroom with flowing fabric; a very traditionally styled dining room; and a mood-evocative blue-blind luxury master bath in a very modern style.

Placing your decorating “faith” in such a perpetually popular product is not misplaced. Use blinds with confidence. They will serve your clients well!