LIVE24SEVEN // Property & Interiors
More ways to treat a window . . .
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John Biddell has owned and run John Charles Interiors, based in Edgbaston, for more than 30 years, his wealth of knowledge and experience in Interior design and soft furnishings will add depth to our property and interiors section and give you, the reader, invaluable help with the process of decorating your home.
Buy it dinner, take it to see Mama Mia at the Hippodrome, or more topically to the Live 24 Seven Ladies Day at Dallas Burston Polo club . . . sorry I just couldn’t resist.
Last month we looked in some depth at curtains and various related treatments, so this month I thought we’d talk about blinds. There are many types of blind available today, all of which have their various merits. Perhaps the most widely used and versatile is the roman blind. I don’t know where the name came from, as I’ve been to Rome a few times but never seen one. Mind you, I’ve also been to Venice and not seen any venetian blinds, and Austria . . . I think you know where I’m going with this.
In the right location, a roman blind can look great as a stand alone treatment. It looks smart and crisp in a contemporary setting, whether in a plain or patterned fabric, or particularly a stripe. It also looks
just as at home in a traditional room, perhaps made from a heavy weave, or even a figured velvet. You can choose to site it inside or outside the window recess. Wherever possible I like to see roman blinds outside the recess and well above the window, if there’s enough vacant space. This makes the window look bigger and more significant, as well as keeping all the available light. The drawback of putting it inside the recess is that unless you raise it so tightly as to be scrunched up, it will take up around a third of the drop of the window, therefore restricting the incoming light. If you do choose to position your roman blind above the window, a pelmet of between 15 and 25 centimetres deep will make a lovely finishing touch. This can be in the same fabric as the blind, or something more dramatic. The usual principle applies here; the smaller any trim or accent is, the stronger it can, and indeed needs to be.
While some companies will still offer the old fashioned ways of making a roman blind, with ugly lines of stitching across the face of the blind where each baton is situated, make sure you go for a hand-sewn finish using a concealed
stitching method, so that there are no visible stitching lines on the front of the blind at all. It will cost a little more, but the overall effect will definitely be worth it. And while we’re on the subject of the finish, the cost of chain operated track systems has come down so much over the last few years that you no longer need put up with nasty, tangly cords that you wrap round a cleat at the side of the window. In fact, if you fancy taking it to the next level, motorised roman blinds are now available. These systems are great for windows that are not easily accessible, such as some landings, or if you simply fancy opening your bedroom blinds in the morning without even getting out of bed ! Some would say decadent, I say indulge yourself.
Venetian blinds in all their various guises are still popular, and can really add style as well as functionality to a room. While the 25mm slat option is still the most widely used, they are available with slats from 16mm to 70mm wide, each having something different to offer. Blinds with 50mm slats (that’s the old 2” to those of us who remember them the first time round) give a retro feel to a room, especially when specified with tapes
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Photographs Courtesy of John Charles Interiors
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