Vertical Blinds Vs Horizontal Blinds
Feb 17, 2022The sheer number of options that you get when browsing through window treatments can make your head spin. There are tons of materials that you can choose from, dozens of styles, and loads of designs. What’ll suit you the most will depend on your interior design, the kinds of windows you have, and your personal preference. Today, we’re going to tackle a major debate in the window treatment community: vertical blinds vs horizontal blinds.
You will find window treatment enthusiasts arguing which style is better than the other. We believe that vertical and horizontal blinds are equally wonderful. Let’s take a look at why this is so.
VERTICAL BLINDS VS HORIZONTAL BLINDS
Vertical blinds and horizontal blinds have the same basic structure and functionality. They have slats made from various materials and a lifting mechanism that lets you move the slats around and adjust their tilt angle. The main difference between the two is how their slats are arranged and how they open. Vertical window blinds open and close horizontally, and horizontal blinds open and close vertically.
Vertical Window Blinds
As their name suggests, vertical window blinds have their slats arranged in a vertical fashion. They open and close from left to right and look nice on taller and wider windows. Since vertical window blinds have their slats arranged in a loose fashion, they aren’t ideal for light and privacy control. Vertical blinds look best on the following types of windows:
- Large sliding glass doors
- Horizontal sliding windows
- Extra-wide and tall windows
- Bay windows
- Patio Doors
When you’re choosing vertical blinds for your windows, you need to keep the width of their slats in mind. As a rule of thumb, wider slats should be used on larger windows. Your window treatment company will be able to help you figure out exactly how wide your slats should be. This helps maximize the aesthetic feel of your vertical window blinds while also ensuring that they provide you with adequate privacy and light control.
They also make great blinds for horizontal sliding windows. If you have horizontal sliding windows or horizontal sliding glass doors, vertical blinds are great for dressing them up. They help enhance the privacy factor and can also improve light control. Blinds for horizontal sliding windows are quite popular these days because they vastly improve the look and feel of your interior space.
Horizontal Blinds
Horizontal blinds have their slats arranged horizontally and open and close in a vertical fashion. Just like vertical window blinds, horizontal blinds let you adjust the angle of their slats as well. Horizontal blinds are better at providing you with privacy and light control since their slats sit closer together. These kinds of blinds look great on small and medium-sized windows. They’re quite common in office spaces in New York as well. Horizontal blinds look great on the following types of windows:
- Tall and narrow windows
- Standard sized windows
- Kitchen windows
- Windows with something underneath them
Horizontal blinds are ideal for rooms where you want more privacy and better light control. They’re good choices for office spaces, studies, bedrooms, and other rooms where you want the option to obstruct natural light. These aren’t the best blinds for horizontal sliding windows since they look awkward on wider window types. Also, they have a tendency to stay in front of your windows even when you lift them all the way up.
Which are Easier to Maintain
Keeping your window treatments nice and clean is definitely important. Generally, blinds are more challenging to clean than other types of window treatments because of their slats. You need to clean every slat individually, which can be a hassle.
Vertical window blinds are easier to clean than horizontal blinds because they have wider slats and less complicated lift mechanisms. There are fewer strings amongst their slats, meaning you can clean them more liberally.
Horizontal blinds often have narrower slats that are set closer to one another. This makes it hard to clean them thoroughly. Also, their lift mechanism is more complicated, meaning you have to be more mindful about strings while you’re cleaning them out.
How to Clean Your Blinds
The cleaning process for both types of blinds is the same. You can use a vacuum cleaner with a narrow head or brush attachment to clean them. Use the vacuum cleaner to remove dirt from each slat one-at-a-time. The cleaning process can be time-consuming (especially for horizontal blinds), but you need to remain patient. You need to clean them gently to make sure that you don’t end up damaging your blinds.
If your blinds are way too dirty to be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, we would recommend that you get in touch with your window treatment company. Remember, you should not try to dismantle your blinds in order to clean them.
Vertical Blinds vs Horizontal Blinds: Which are Better?
In the end, the answer to this question depends on what you’re looking for. Any kind of window treatment needs to serve two purposes in order to be considered good. One, it should make your windows look good and enhance your interior design. Two, it should make your windows more functional by enhancing privacy, light control, and improving window insulation.
If you’re looking to increase the aesthetics of larger windows in your home, or you’re looking for blinds for dressing up horizontal sliding windows, you should stick with vertical blinds. Their looks make them an excellent choice for larger windows. And since they aren’t great at obstructing light, they work best in rooms where natural light isn’t a bad thing, such as your living room or sunroom.
People who want blinds that enhance privacy and offer reasonable light control should go for horizontal ones. These blinds aren’t suited for horizontal sliding windows, but they look great on smaller and standard sized windows.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
So, that’s it, guys. We hope this guide cleared the difference between vertical and horizontal blinds. If you’re still confused about the whole vertical blinds vs horizontal blinds debate, you can always get in touch with our team. We at Alluring windows can help you better understand which blinds will suit your needs the most. Get in touch with us to dress your windows with the best blinds for you.