Usually a popular choice for upholstery, you can also use suede to make both blinds and curtains.

This can add a sophisticated style to your home like no other but is it the right choice for you? Take a look at the pros and cons of both real and faux suede before you decide…

Real Suede

Pros

• Natural colours – for those of you who want to give your home a rich, organic feel, suede can be the perfect option as it’s available in a wide array of natural tan tones
• Gorgeous texture – with an almost velvety finish, this super soft, super smooth material adds a touch of understated glamour to your windows
• Classic and stylish – for the designer hungry customers, suede can be a great option because it positively radiates style and class

Cons

• Expensive – as with most luxury materials, suede is an expensive option
• Hard to clean – real suede sucks up moisture and oils easily, leaving marks and stains so needs regular and specialist up-keeping

Faux Suede

Pros

• Value for money – it’s a cheaper alternative to real suede, meaning that you can save a few pennies for the important things in life
• Looks amazing – sumptuous and smooth, you’ll want to award a prize to anyone who can tell that it isn’t real suede
• Harder to stain – the faux fabric is treated in a different manner meaning that it’s more water resistant and less likely to stain and mark

Cons

• Less durable – more susceptible to wear and tear so you’ll have to handle it gently
• Collects dust and hair – you’ll need to make sure that you’re able to clean your window dressing easily because the dust and hair in your home will be drawn to it

If you have small children, faux suede will be a better option for you – they’re grabbing hands and tendency to throw things they shouldn’t won’t have a damaging affect on the material – the same applies to pets, even though their hair may stick to your blinds or curtains, it will a lot easier to and cheaper to clean than real suede.

However, if you’re confident that you’re windows are nicely out the way and not likely to be pawed at by children or pets, there’s no reason that real suede can’t be the solution for you.

October is here and that time when the ghosties and shoulies and long legged beasties and things that go bump in the night come out to play is drawing near so we thought we’d shine our spotlight on a very relevant and very stylish blind this month… The Los Muertos Gold roller blind!

Stylish design

Intricately detailed, this beautiful sugar skull design echoes a stylish and exotic charm, bringing a little slice of the Mexican Day of the Dead festival right into your home.

The sophisticated colour scheme adds a further style to this blind, ensuring that it will be an on-trend and quirky touch to your decor.

Choose your lining

As it’s part of our Options range, you get full control over whether you have a standard, blackout or energy saving lining on your blind.

So if you want to keep your bedroom nice and shaded to make sure you get the best night’s sleep you can or if you want to cut those energy bills down to size and keep your lounge feeling snug and cosy, we’ve got the perfect lining for you.

Different colours available

If you’re more into monochrome decor, we have the Los Muertos Starlight option that trades the gold detailing for a bright white accent.

Why not invert the colours and take a look at our equally striking Los Muertos White roller blind? A great choice for a more neutral interior that needs a little spice adding to it!

Suitable for kitchens and bathrooms

This 100% polyester roller blind is water resistant so it would be a suitable companion for a kitchen or a bathroom.

Being extremely easy to clean as well, most marks and stains will wipe away in an instant, guaranteeing that it has a long life expectancy.

Nickel chain

All our roller blinds are sent out with a nickel operating chain to add a further touch of style and elegance to your window.

What’s more, this nickel chain is more durable than it’s plastic counterpart and is guaranteed to last longer so you have complete peace of mind.

With the price of cinema tickets creeping up steadily by the year, many people have turned Film Night into a homegrown event.

Whilst you get to keep the creature comforts of your own comfy sofa and an unlimited supply of popcorn – not to mention being able to pause the film if you need to nip to the toilet – sometimes watching films on the small screen isn’t quite the same.

Enter projectors!

With this handy way to show films on a larger scale in the comfort of your own home, you may never want to visit the cinema again… But what if you don’t have enough clear wall space, or if your patterned wallpaper is going to play with the projection too much?

This is where one of our simple, plain white roller blinds can prove to be very, very useful.

Although you can buy screens both on the high street and online, they do come with quite a hefty price tag – the larger you want the screen to be, the more money you will have to part with.

The bonus of using a blind instead is that they can be made to much larger sizes for a much smaller cost.

So which blinds are the best ones to use, and why?

Essential White Blackout Roller Blind

Made from a matte fabric that is extremely versatile, our standard blackout blinds are best suited for viewing TV shows and movies on a bigger screen.

It’s also suitable for any types of projectors from any positions – whether they are ceiling mounted, plugged in to your laptop or television or even one of these handy shoebox projectors (we found a great how-to guide for one on Indestructables, click here to see that), they’ll all work perfectly with a standard blackout blind.

Spray Frost Blackout Roller Blind

This waterproof blind uses a reflective fabric which is guaranteed to give the best possible image for projectors if used correctly.

Best suited to over-head projectors that are ceiling mounted, the reflective fabric is ideal for HD images from blu-ray players or games consoles as it will ensure the image remains crisp and clear.

If you have a window at the foot of your bed or opposite your sofa, you could use either of these blinds as a multifunctional window dressing – the blackout properties of them both mean that they will absorb the light from the projector and not let it leak through, so you won’t be unintentionally putting on a show for the passers-by!

Soft and sultry, velvets and chenilles add a funky and glamorous feel to your home.

Whether you prefer to have the real deal dressing your window or if the faux alternative is fabulous enough, we’ve put together a list of the pros and cons of each so you can be completely sure that you’ve made the right decision…

Real Velvet

Pros

• Eye-catching and elegant – the gorgeous texture and shimmering finish to velvet really gives it a glamorous and elegant feel, making it the perfect choice to glam up your home
• Soft texture – it doesn’t just look stunning, it also feels incredible, making you want to reach out and touch it as you pass by
• Excellent choice of colours – from neutrals and naturals to bright and bold, velvet is available in a wide choice of colours to perfectly suit your decor
• Insulation – the beautifully thick material will help to keep your room shaded and cosy regardless of the lining you choose

Cons

• Price – as a luxury fabric, it can be quite an expensive choice
• Difficult to clean – dry cleaning is recommended when a heavy clean is necessary, otherwise you’ll need to keep it hoovered regularly to stop the mount up of dust
• Beware of over use – if you have velvet upholstery, you may want to steer clear of velvet window dressings as well as over-using the material can often make an elegant room begin to look a little gaudy

Faux Velvet

Pros

• Affordable alternative – just as gorgeous but slightly cheaper, you’ll have enough money left in your pocket to treat yourself to something nice
• Full and thick – still as sumptuous as it’s real counterpart, your windows will be given a beautiful texture and depth

Cons

• Awkward to clean – water can be easily absorbed into the material which can lead to staining so it’s better to take any blinds/curtains to a dry cleaner if they need to be cleaned
• Can fade in sunlight – if it’s placed in direct sunlight, the fabric can begin to fade which can be an issue for south facing windows and darker colours

Real or faux, velvet is still a fabric that you’ll want to reach out and touch every time you walk past it.

While the real option has that extra air of elegance, the faux choice can be a much cheaper alternative and may be worth looking into for those larger blinds or curtains.

Either way, both will fill your home with a glamorous charm and add a sense of luxury that you can only get from a soft, sumptuous velvet…

Let our free thermal lining offer help you cut your energy bills down to size this winter.

With a huge selection of both blinds and curtains available with the free upgrade, you can create the perfect finish to your room whilst guaranteeing that your home will stay warm and cosy throughout the winter months.

Not only will the thermal lining keep your room warm when the temperature drops outside, it will also help to keep your room cooler in the summer once the seasons change, meaning that you can take advantage of it’s energy saving benefits all year round.

What do you use your blinds for? Most of you will use them for protection from the sun, many of you will also use them to keep you room private so you don’t need to worry about prying eyes… But what else could you use them for?

How about using them as a shower curtain?

If your bathroom is laid out in more of a wet-room style, a waterproof blind could be the perfect addition to your bathroom…

Waterproof Roller Blinds

An excellent choice for windows right next to your shower, you can also fit them from the ceiling and use them as a shower curtain:

• Extremely durable – not only are these blinds waterproof, they’re also flame retardant and mould resistant, making them one of the most indestructible blinds available!
• Protect your privacy – the pvc material is completely blackout, that means you won’t even be able to see a silhouette from the outside, perfect for those of you who want to be 100% protected
• Ideal for wet environments – bathrooms, kitchens, hot tubs and swimming pools, these waterproof roller blinds would be suitable for any one of these areas

Rigid PVC Vertical Blinds

With the freedom to choose which side your controls are placed and which way the blind will open, these rigid pvc vertical blinds can make excellent shower curtains in larger bathrooms and wet-rooms:

•  Strong material – the rigid pvc is both durable and long lasting, ensuring that you won’t need to replace it every few months
• Wipe away any marks or stains – you won’t need to worry about leaving unsightly blemishes from your hair dye on these vertical blinds as they wipe clean extremely easily
• No weights or chains – perfectly weighted, there aren’t any weights or chains along the bottom of these blinds, meaning that there’s nothing for you to trip over as you shower!

There are certain fabrics that can give your home a luxurious and glamorous finish.

Silk is certainly a fabulous choice for adding an elegant touch to your home but it is the most practical?

With faux-silk materials also available on the market, which one is the better choice for your home? Take a look through the pros and cons of each before you make your decision…

Real Silk

Pros

• Shines and shimmers – the fabric catches the light beautifully and will create a  gorgeous, rippling effect at your window
• Rich, luxurious texture – smooth to the touch, real silk has a delicate yet recognisable texture
• Full and sumptuous – give your window a striking depth with this  full and fabulous fabric
• Dry Cleanable – if you accidentally splat or splutter anything onto your blinds or curtains, you can simply take them to the dry cleaners who will clean them with expert care

Cons

• Low durability – if you’ve got children or pets who are likely to pull, tug and grab a lot, the fabric can become damaged and worn
• Prone to staining – although you’re not likely to throw liquids or food around, if anything does hit the silk, you’ll need to move quickly to remove it otherwise you could be left with an unsightly stain
• Sunlight damages – if the front of the silk is exposed to direct sunlight, it can fade quite quickly and appear patchy and uneven
• Cost – due to being s luxury material, real silk does come with quite a hefty price tag

Faux Silk

Pros

• Shiny and bright – guaranteed to shimmer in the light and create a wonderful shining effect at your window
• Affordable – faux silk is available at a much cheaper cost than it’s real silk counterpart, allowing you to achieve the same striking effect for a more affordable price
• Extremely durable – stronger and more robust than real silk, you can take them down and wash them then iron them before rehanging if you need to
• Gorgeously glamorous – thick and full, this shining fabric simply oozes luxury and will add an elegant and glamorous finish to your decor

Cons

• Wrinkling – the fabric can often wrinkle when it’s packaged or in transit, which means you may need to iron it before you hang your blinds/curtains
• Not as strong – being a synthetic fabric, it isn’t as strong as real silk and heavily perfumed chemicals and nail varnish remover should be kept away as they can severely damage the fabric
• Ages poorly – more susceptible to wear and tear, therefore can often look worn out as it ages

While both real and faux silk have the same appearance and a near identical texture, their strengths and weaknesses dictate which one is better to use in which situation.

If your room tends to get a lot of light, faux silk will be a better choice as the sun won’t damage the material. If you want to give your room an astonishing finish that it both full and shimmering, you really can’t beat real silk.

We hope that this has been helpful to you but if you have any further questions, please let us know in the comments and we’ll try our very best to get an answer for you.