Interior blinds: the guide to choosing without going wrong

The blind is the curtain's discreet relative: less fabric, more precision. Still, you have to choose the right mechanism — each filters light in its own way, and none suits every room.

The four families

The roller blind is the plainest: a cylinder, a length of cloth, a single gesture. In its filtering version it softens the light; in its blackout version it puts a bedroom to sleep. The Venetian — tilting slats, aluminium or wood — is the only one that adjusts the light without closing: the tool of the office and the workroom. The Roman blind folds the fabric into horizontal waves and warms up classic interiors. The day-and-night, finally, alternates opaque bands and sheer voiles: halfway between a net curtain and a solid blind.

Room by room

Bedroom: blackout, fitted as close to the glass as possible, with ten centimetres of overhang on each side to block stray light. Living room: filtering or day-and-night, light before privacy. Kitchen and bathroom: washable materials, aluminium or polyester, never solid wood above a sink.

The details that raise the game

No-drill fitting holds on PVC windows and saves rentals. Motorisation, long a gadget, has become affordable and transforms life on large picture windows. And the golden rule: measure three times, to the millimetre — a blind a centimetre too short shows every single day.

Spotted a blind at someone's place? Photograph it and scan it on Beyit to find the equivalent.