Getting your windows ready for darker autumn nights
By late September the evenings are shortening fast and the chill is starting to show. Switch the lights on after dark and anyone outside can see everything in the room.
We've been making blinds in our Wishaw factory since 1990 and our autumn advice is still a blind at the glass with curtains over it. Privacy and daylight are the day job, but the blind also finishes a bare window so it looks dressed. Soft texture, warm colour or a cushion-matching pattern all help the room feel more like home. Then curtains on a pole or track take over once it is dark and add the warmth.
What changes in autumn
When the light goes earlier you spend more time with the lights on and the cold near the glass starts to show. Adding the second layer gives you:
- More fabric between the room and the glass to stop heat escaping overnight
- A gentle light by day with the option to close it off later
- Daytime privacy from the blind and a snug feel once the curtains are drawn
- Deeper autumn colours that hold up in the evening
Starting with the blind
Choose a roller, pleated or Roman blind for the glass. They all fit neatly behind curtains on a pole or track.
Roller blinds suit almost any window. Bring one down when you want privacy and take it up for a clear view. If you want daylight to come through go light-filtering. Blackout is for the bedroom and anywhere you watch TV. Hang lined curtains in front of a warm-toned roller and you have something that works well year round.
Pleated blinds stack up very slim so they won't bulk out behind curtains. Rainbow's pleated fabrics include blackout options and energy-saving coatings that help a room hold its warmth.
Roman blinds are fully lined as standard, with a blackout lining available for bedrooms. Fitted in the window recess (the space inside the frame) they give a neat, soft finish and the gathered fabric makes a room feel really comfortable. They look just as good without curtains.
Skipping curtains? Put a blackout roller in the bedroom and think about an energy-saving pleated blind for a window that always feels cold, or a Roman if you prefer soft fabrics.
Day job, evening job
The blind by day:
- Stops people seeing in from the street
- Reduces glare but leaves you the view
- Keeps light out of a bedroom or TV room during the day
The curtains in the evening:
- Help hold the heat once the radiators are on
- Shut out the night completely or just soften things
- Make the window look complete after dinner
Fabrics for the season
Use blackout wherever light has to be kept out. Heavier curtain fabric drapes more nicely than voile once the weather turns and lining the curtains adds another layer of warmth.
Rust, deep green and warm neutral shades still look good at night. Look at samples by day and again in the evening under your own lights before you decide.
The lounge and the bedroom
Living rooms get used from morning to late evening. Warm neutral rollers with darker curtains over them cope with all of it. If the room feels cold by teatime make an energy-saving pleated blind the base layer instead. A Roman is the one if you prefer soft fabrics. Wide windows and bays tend to suit curtains more than a single blind stretched right across.
Bedrooms should be dark enough to sleep in, so start with a blackout roller or Roman and add curtains for warmth.
We manufacture every blind to measure in Wishaw, so it fits snugly and light doesn't creep around the edges.
Steamy rooms and sunny ones
The window facing the low afternoon sun needs a blind you can raise and lower easily. A quieter back room you use less can take a light-filtering fabric. In kitchens and bathrooms choose a PVC roller or fauxwood blind that wipes clean, as both handle steam.
One problem window is a good place to begin.
Visit the factory showroom
Come and see the full range at our factory showroom at 61 Canyon Road in Wishaw or arrange for a sales advisor to call with samples. We cover Motherwell, East Kilbride, Uddingston, Lanark and greater Glasgow. Call 01698 351 888 to book.