Operation light control.

(AKA. Why we need blinds.)

As many of you will know, we added a single storey extension to the back of our house last year to extend our kitchen and create an open plan kitchen/living/dining area.  The extension wasn’t completely finished until late September so we were looking forward to making the most of it this summer. We couldn’t wait for the summer sunshine to spill through our VELUX windows and to pull back the large folding doors onto our patio area and the garden beyond.

When summer arrived, we weren’t disappointed. In fact, we’ve spent most of our time in the extension. When temperatures soared (by UK standards) we’d fold back our lovely large doors and open the VELUX windows to cool things down. Also, folding back our doors made us feel like we’d gained an extra room, opening up our living space to the garden beyond.

However, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, there’s one drawback to having lots of glass on bright sunny days…Sometimes it’s too bright! It turns out you can have too much of a good thing! Plus, you can’t see the TV screen. I know there will be some of you (mum) saying, ‘Hang on! If it’s nice weather you shouldn’t be watching TV anyway, you should be outside!’ Let’s leave that argument for another day.  Let’s just say the light streaming through the windows can make it impossible to watch our favourite shows.

How do you solve a problem like sunlight?

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a vampire when it comes to light. I have blackout curtains and blackout blinds in our bedroom and I’ve even covered the round feature window in our master bedroom with black Fablon (that’s perfectly normal, right?). However, even Mr T agreed we needed to investigate blinds and curtains so we could regulate the light in the extension on bright, sunny days.

If money was no object, we’d have opted for special glass in our windows so we could shut out the light at the touch of a button.  Alternatively, we’d have asked for double glazed units with integrated Venetian blinds.  As we aren’t super-wealthy, we thought standard blinds would offer an effective and affordable solution!

Blinds for our kitchen window and folding doors.

Our two VELUX roof windows in the kitchen bathe the room in light.

We had blinds fitted to the kitchen window and folding doors soon after the extension was completed. This was for the purposes of privacy as well as for regulating the light.

Finding suitable blinds for the folding doors was a challenge as I didn’t want to spoil the ‘clean lines’ and overall look of the doors and the A-frame above them.

We chose the Nottingham-based family business, Elite Blinds, to supply and fit the blinds and we’re very impressed the quality and the standard of their service. Plus they look neat too, having been fixed above the folding doors using white brackets to match the paintwork.

Elite Blinds offer a free ‘no obligation’ quotation and a free fitting service for all their blinds. They sent one of their fitters to measure up within 24 hours of my initial phone call and our blinds were made-to-order and fitted within the same week.  Their roller blinds come with a 3-year warranty.  We chose grey fabric to match our colour scheme and opted for an aluminium bar along the bottom, which looks very stylish.

Our grey full-length roller blinds from Elite Blinds in Nottingham are a neat, stylish option. We love their high quality and the aluminium bar along the bottom is a lovely finish.

Blinds for our 4 VELUX roof windows.

I remember when my mum was looking for VELUX blinds many years ago, the choice was limited. However, when I searched for VELUX blinds on Pinterest, I realised times have changed.

There are so many different VELUX blinds to choose from nowadays. Why not have a look at some of them on my ‘Blinds & Curtains’ Pinterest board:

Inspired by all of the options available, I visited the VELUX Company website where you can browse the entire range of VELUX blinds. There are styles to suit every taste, including roman, pleated, Venetian and roller blinds. There are also plenty of fabric types and colours available. VELUX even offer ‘child-friendly’ options such as their Star Wars and Disney ranges.

Source – VELUX Blinds Direct

Source – VELUX Blinds Direct

Source – VELUX Blinds Direct.

Once you’ve made your selection, the ordering process is straightforward thanks to an easy to follow ‘Configure and buy’ tool. Simply enter the model of your VELUX window (stamped on the frame) and choose your style of blind, fabric type and colour.  With VELUX patented Pick&Click System, all VELUX roof windows have mounting brackets fitted as standard, so blinds are easy to install too.

The next steps.

After looking through all of the options on the VELUX Blinds Direct website, I’ve selected some VELUX roller blinds to suit our space and hope to order them by the time summer rolls around again.

All we need to do now is research a neat solution for controlling the light coming in through the trio of windows above the folding doors. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Over to you.

Are you lucky enough to have ‘magic’ glass or double-glazed units with integral blinds? If not, do you plan on buying blinds for your doors and windows (including VELUX windows)? Do you already have VELUX blinds or roller blinds fitted in your home? If so, are you pleased with them and have you any tips or advice to share?

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This is a collaborative post. As always, the words and opinions are my own.

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