Choose Your Wooden Mini Blinds For Their Slats

Window coverings are an essential component of any home. They are usually a significant expense, however. By doing a bit of homework prior to purchasing blinds or shutters, whether they are wooden, interior or exterior, goes a long way and will help you save money. Wooden mini blinds can be very expensive and some of the custom blind shops will charge over $3,000 to cover some glass patio sliding doors. Even for a small home, depending of course on the quality that you choose, it could end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars. Don't be discouraged, though. There is a blind, and many of them colorful blinds, available for just about any budget! There are four types of configurations for wooden mini blinds.

· Two-inch slats made of wood for around $100

· Two-inch slats with a wood grain texture made of PVC for around $45

· One-inch vinyl slats for approximately $25

· One-inch slats made of aluminum for about $8 to $10

Your first criteria for evaluating wooden mini blinds is how well it can block out the light. For the best performance the 2-inch blinds do a fine job, not only the wooden, but the PVC material, as well. Both materials are very opaque and the 2-inch slats overlap much better and block out the light. One-inch colorful blinds can also do a good job of blocking the light, and they rank in third place. However, the 1-inch vinyl blinds performed poorly as they were not opaque enough to block full sunlight anywhere nearly as well as the other three types of mini blinds.

Wooden shutters are usually used for exterior use and come in different designs and shapes than those blinds designed for interior use. When it comes to light control, a good rule of thumb is that the fewer and larger number of slats, the better it is. The 2-inch PVC blinds were better at blocking the sun than the vinyl mini blinds. Another thing to keep in mind is that the PVC material is heavier than other mini blinds. However, if weight is not a consideration these colorful blinds can be a great choice. Another important consideration, of course, is privacy. With all four types of mini blind configurations the performance is good, provided they are closed in the right direction. Wooden mini blinds should be closed so the slat edge nearest you is up and the edge near the window is down.

With mini blinds, they also should be closed so the slat edge nearest you is up and the edge near the window is down. When closing the mini blinds, make sure that you can see the ground outside the room as they close. This will block out the most light. When you close them in the other direction, an unwanted person such as a peeping tom could see down into your room, for instance, if they are in an apartment higher than you. There are a few additional features to consider with your mini blind purchase. The riser cord should run on a metal roller with the 2-inch blinds and for the lighter 1-inch mini blinds, the cords can run over any smooth, metallic surface. If you have the riser cords running over plastic, you can wear out the roller on the bare, sharp metal and it could fray or cut the cord. If you have a toddler in your home or pets, you should look for those with breakaway tassels on the cord. These are a safety feature in case you're pet or toddler gets caught up in the cord loop. If this should happen, the breakaway tassel will stop or prevent any risk to your loved ones.

In summary, the 2-inch wooden mini blinds come out on top in all four categories. However, the cost is quite high so comparison-shopping is always prudent.

By: Henry Switzer

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Henry Switzer is a regular contributor to www.best-window-blinds-shutters.com/ '>www.best-window-blinds-shutters.com supplying you with all the information and resources you need to know aboutwww.best-window-blinds-shutters.com/faux-wood-blinds.html '> faux wood blinds and even www.best-window-blinds-shutters.com/wooden-blinds.html '> wooden blinds