• By Faye Crawford
• Published 04/1/2011
• Article Writing

pleated blinds are the stylish modern alternative to venetian blinds, with their crisp pleats and vast range of colours, styles and textures they can add the finishing touch to a rooms décor, create a statement within a room and act as a source of insulation/climate control.The pleated blinds are made with a solid sheet of material that was manufactured with folds to allow the fabric to stack compactly. Pleated blinds therefore look especially complimentary in a conservatory, when the pleated fabric is down the fabrics contemporary look finishes off any conservatory nicely and when up (especially on the perfect fit pleated blinds), you would not even notice that there were any blinds.The range of colours available in the pleated fabrics can help create a sensory feel to any room, the calming colour that the colour blue can bring can offer a relaxing feel to any room, a green fabric offering a fresh and revitalized feel and the warmth of a terracotta or even the softness of a selection of creams and neutrals. The patterns of the pleated fabrics can add a sense of luxury to the pleated fabric and the textured adding a crimpled effect to any light showing through. Most of the pleated fabrics will not allow you to look outside clearly however you will be able to see silhouetted shapes. pleated blinds offer superb privacy for anyone looking in, as they will not be able to see you. If the idea of not being able to look outside is not for you then there are some fabrics which will allow you to look out, however it is worth noting that these types of materials will not offer the same sun protection and insulation as other pleated fabrics.Pleated Blinds – The typesThe types of pleated blinds that are available are the standard free-hanging type, the perfect fit type and the perfect fit motorized type – best for a conservatory roof.The standard free hanging as the name suggests involves screwing the head rail into the recess or on the wall and like a standard venetian blind or roller blind the pleated blind is cord operated so you can have the blind up or down or somewhere in-between.

The perfect fit pleated blind as mentioned before is tensioned so there is not unwanted cords hanging down, the simple easy to fit system requires no screwing as it is particularly useful in a conservatory. The no need to screw feature will allow you to have blinds in your conservatory without affecting the conservatories warranty and as each blind is attached to its own window you can have any window open with the blind closed and you will not have to worry about the wind ruining your blinds. Another great advantage of the perfect fit pleated blinds is that there are no unsightly operating cords, which could be dangerous if you have children in the house. The tensioning system within the perfect fit frame allows you to stop the pleated material at any point on the window all

owing you the ultimate control for privacy. Also the pleated blinds can come dual operated, which means that like a café style blind you can either operate from the bottom up or top down allowing you to position the pleated to keep out exactly one area of light.The motorized perfect fit blinds are especially useful for conservatory roof’s. Manually operated roof blinds can be difficult as you will need to keep a pole at hand to move the blinds in an open and closed position often having to maneuver around or even over furniture. The simplicity of having the motorized blinds is that you can sit back and relax whilst closing the blinds on a hot summers day and enjoy your conservatory and during the evening open the blinds for a wonderful view of the night’s sky. The cording on the pleated roof blinds is done in such a way that the cord is virtually invisible and the way that the fabric is cut (on shaped roof windows) allows for no excess material to be sagging, keeping the pleated fabric in a nice neat stack.Pleated Blinds Compared to othersPleated blinds unlike venetian blinds are much neater, when raised the stack is a lot smaller then venetian blinds and this much lower profile means that almost none of your viewing glass area is lost. They do not attract visible dust as easily either making them a low maintenance blind. The material in most pleated blinds is long wearing and you will be able to get 3 years if not more wear out of them. Pleated blinds are great if you want to add an instant cozy effect to any room, their structure is great if you are living in a busy area as the pleats can act as a sound barrier helping to keep out some of the unwanted noise. Choosing a pleated fabric that has a solar reflective backing is useful for really light rooms – like a conservatory or orangery which can be very bright and hot during the summer and can be very cold and damp in the winter. The solar reflective backing on the outside facing side of the pleat can reflect the light and heat during the summer noticeably cooling your room during the summer and can act as an insulator during the winter. Another positive feature to the solar reflective pleated fabric is that the reflection of the UV rays can prolong your indoor furnishings from fading due to the extreme light exposure that is common within most conservatories. If insulating properties is what you are really looking for then the honeycomb fabrics are good as their structure traps pockets of air which can stop heat escaping through your windows.Overall pleated blinds have been very successful within the blind market their practical use and ability to suit any room in the house makes them a very good blind option for any one. Most people find that the pleated blinds are the best option for a room or house with a lot of windows as the are not heavy in appearance when up or down. 99% of people looking for conservatory blinds would go for a pleated blind for this reason as well as the ones mentioned above. Pleated blinds are a better blind and would suit every window more so than a roller and are much cozier then wood or aluminum venetians.

Conservatory roof blinds specialist

by Faye Crawford