Which blind for which window?

Find your room, window or priority below for a shortlist of blind types that suit it, the ones to think twice about, and the guide that explains why. It's a starting point, not a verdict: your window, budget and taste still decide.

Whatever you choose, measure it properly — our measuring guide and printable worksheet walk you through it. Every corded blind needs its child-safety device fixed to the wall (why).

By room

Bedroom that needs to be dark

Good fits

  • Blackout roller fitted outside the recess with generous overlap
  • Blackout roller in a side-channel system for the least edge light
  • Blackout-lined roman, also outside the recess

Think twice

  • Venetians: light seeps between the slats even when closed
  • Day and night blinds: the bands let a glow through
  • Any blind fitted inside the recess, which leaves light strips down each side

Read more: Roller blinds, Roman blinds

Bathroom or steamy room

Good fits

  • Faux wood (PVC) venetian, if you want adjustable privacy
  • Roller sold as moisture-resistant, if you want simple and cheap
  • Aluminium venetian, the budget option

Think twice

  • Real wood venetians: humidity warps timber
  • Fabric romans: they hold moisture and mould
  • Day and night blinds, except in well-ventilated bathrooms

Read more: Blinds for bathrooms

Kitchen or utility room

Good fits

  • Aluminium venetian, the standard choice
  • Faux wood venetian, which wipes clean and tolerates moisture
  • Moisture-resistant roller

Think twice

  • Real wood above kettles and hobs, where humidity can warp and discolour slats

Read more: Venetian blinds

Living room or office facing the street

Good fits

  • Day and night blind: daylight and privacy, nothing to dust
  • Venetian with the slats tilted: privacy with daylight

Think twice

  • Plain roller, which is either up or down with nothing in between

Read more: Day and night blinds, Venetian blinds

Nursery or child's room

Good fits

  • Cordless or spring roller (a cordless blackout roller gives safety and sleep in one)
  • Wand-tilt venetian with cordless lift
  • Motorised blind, the premium option
  • Perfect Fit-style frame blind on uPVC: nothing hanging free

Think twice

  • Corded blinds without the tensioner or cleat fixed taut to the wall
  • Delicate romans and real wood slats, which rarely survive children

Read more: Child-safe blinds

By window or door

Patio doors, sliding doors, very wide or tall glass

Good fits

  • Vertical blinds: they tilt for privacy and draw aside to walk through
  • Choose a draw direction that keeps the walkway clear

Think twice

  • Very wide faux wood venetians: heavy, needing three or more brackets into solid fixings

Read more: Vertical blinds

Bay window

Good fits

  • One blind per facet: rollers, romans, venetians or day and night blinds
  • Verticals on a continuous curved track for wide, shallow bays (specialist, measure-and-fit territory)
  • Perfect Fit-style frame blinds on uPVC bays with protruding handles

Think twice

  • Ordering before mocking up the corners: tilted slats and roman stacks need more room than flat rollers

Read more: Blinds for bay windows

Rental, uPVC frames or tiled reveals (no drilling)

Good fits

  • Perfect Fit-style frames that clip into the uPVC window beading
  • Tension or twist-fit rollers inside the recess

Think twice

  • Drilling a fully tiled reveal if you have never drilled tile

Read more: Blinds for bathrooms, How to fit blinds

Shallow recess or protruding window handles

Good fits

  • Roller, the simplest mechanism, but check the product’s minimum depth
  • Venetian with smaller slats, which stack and project less
  • Fitting outside the recess instead

Think twice

  • Romans: the folded stack can foul handles
  • Day and night blinds: the cassette needs more depth than a plain roller
  • 50 mm venetian slats, which can clash with handles when tilted

Read more: How to measure windows, Venetian blinds

Short window

Good fits

  • Roman mounted outside and above the recess, so the raised stack hangs over wall, not glass

Think twice

  • Roman inside the recess: raised, the stack can cover a third of the glass

Read more: Roman blinds

By what matters most

Lowest cost, or your first DIY fit

Good fits

  • Made-to-measure roller ordered online and fitted yourself
  • Aluminium venetian, among the cheapest blinds made

Think twice

  • Expensive romans or wide faux wood venetians as a first job: a measuring mistake costs more

Read more: Roller blinds, DIY vs professional fitting

Warmth on a draughty window

Good fits

  • Roman with a thermal lining, one of the cosier window coverings for draughty single-glazed sashes

Read more: Roman blinds

Low maintenance, no dusting

Good fits

  • Roller
  • Vertical blind
  • Day and night blind: smooth fabric, no slats

Think twice

  • Venetians, if you know you will never dust them: every slat is a shelf

Read more: Venetian blinds

Tired vertical blinds that still run smoothly

Good fits

  • Replacement louvres in a standard width: no drilling, a fraction of the cost of a new blind

Read more: Vertical blinds

Not sure whether to fit it yourself? Read DIY vs professional fitting and the fitting cost guide.