
A window blind
is a window covering composed of long strips of fabric or rigid material. Examples include shutters, Venetian blinds, roller shades and curtain-like track blinds. In Britain awnings are also considered blinds. A blind limits observation and thus “blinds” the observer to the view. The main types are slat blinds which can be opened in two ways and solid blinds.
Slat blinds have long strips called slats. These can be rotated to open the blind while it is still
covering the window. In track blinds the slats hang vertically from one end. In Venetian blinds and mini blinds the slats are suspended horizontally on cords. A slat blind can also be opened so it is no longer covering the window.
Solid blinds can only be raised or lowered and are often called shades. In some such as Holland blinds and woven-wood blinds there are small spaces between the slats. In others such as pleated shades there are no spaces because the slats are sewn inside fabric.
Window blinds reduce the heat from sunlight. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs had blinds made of reeds. The most inexpensive blinds in the 1800’s were home-made roller shades, made of cloth.
Window blinds can be manually drawn or automated through motorization, controlled from a wall switch or keypad, remote control, or a personal computer, thus eliminating the hazard of dangling cords.
Slat
Venetian blind detail, showing how slats are connected.
The most common window blinds are slat blinds, which consist of many horizontal slats, usually of metal or vinyl, connected with string in a way that they can be rotated to allow light to pass between the slats, rotated up to about 170 degrees to hide the light, or pulled up so that the entire window is clear. Vertical blinds consist of slats of stiffened fabric, plastic, or metal hanging by one end from a track; like the horizontal versions, the slats can be rotated 90 degrees to allow light to pass through or to fold up on one side of a door or window. Vertical blinds are very good at controlling how much natural or exterior light comes into a room, due to the ability of the slats to close tightly.
Venetian

A Venetian blind has horizontal slats, one slat above another. They are suspended by strips of cloth called tapes or by cords which are able to tip them each at the same time up to 180 degrees. Their setting can be changed from overlapping with one side facing inward through not overlapping at all to overlapping with the other side facing inward. There are also lift cords passing through holes in each slat. When these cords are pulled, the bottom of the blind moves upward causing slats to rest on each other as the blind is raised. Venetian blinds are basic slatted blinds made of metal or plastic; wooden slats are sometimes used but these are usually referred to as wood blinds or bamboo blinds. Venetian blinds were introduced around 1770, possibly in Venice, Italy. Slat width can be between 16-120 mm - a common width is 50 mm.
Others
Other variety of window blinds include mini blinds (venetian blinds with very narrow slats 1"(usually 25 mm wide), micro blinds 1/2"(usually 12 mm wide), louvers, jalousies, brise soleil, Holland blinds, pleated blinds, honeycomb blinds (similar to pleated shades except that there are two or more layers joined at the pleats to form compartments that trap air, providing insulation), Roman shades, and roller shades.








