About Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds are not that different from horizontal blinds and they operate in much the same way except that the slats hang north and south except east and west. The are also sometimes track blinds. Vertical blinds are slats of stiffened fabric, plastic, or metal that is affixed from one end from a track. Some vertical blinds have tracks at both ends to keep them hanging straight. The cheaper track blinds are strung together with a chain at the bottom to keep them hanging straight up and down.

Just like the horizontal versions of blinds, the slats can be rotated 90 degrees to allow light to pass through or to fold up and down. Usually there are several cords that come with vertical blinds that offer you ways of manipulating the blinds so that you can make optimum use of the way they let in or shut out light. The blinds can be tilted by rotating a small knob that is attached to the strings or by twisting a long wand. Some of the most luxurious vertical blinds come with a remote control, which of course makes the blinds cordless. These are good type of vertical blinds to have if you have children or pets as there is nothing for them to get tangled in or climb up.

However with regards to vertical blinds, they can be actually quite dangerous to children and pets in general. For one thing the edges of the hanging vertical slats can be quite sharp even if they are just made of polyvinyl. The edges of plastic vertical blinds can slice like a sharp knife. If you brush up against them the wrong way you can get cut. Another risk is the accidental choking of pets, especially smaller ones, who can get their heads caught between the slats and choke. If you do have a house with children or pets you are better off with a softer treatment for you windows.

Another drawback of vertical blinds is that they do not really suit many decors. For the most part they come in beiges, taupes and greys and are in general considered a lot less stylish then other types of blinds. If you want color vertical blinds you will pay a lot more. For the most part these have a very contemporary and modern industrial look and best suit offices or condominium windows that have a very urban design. They can look very out of place in more casual rooms such as children’s playrooms or kitchen windows and also make a suburban house look like it is stuck in the eighties. Vertical blinds can however provide a useful window treatment solution for a window that is difficult to hang curtains from such as a glass sliding patio door that needs to be covered up at night.