blinds vs curtains in the sewing room
 

Which do you prefer? I was all set to get blinds (2" white fake wood) but now I'm not sure.

I prefer blinds. They give more options for controlling how much direct sunlight shines through the window.

I have both.

I have a roller shade and curtains.

In the sewing room, definitely blinds!

I would think that would be dependent on your room ... what works BEST for you????
How much sunlight comes into your room? How much privacy you want in the room?

For me ... I get very little direct sunlight in my sewing room, so when I am there, I throw open the curtains on the patio door and windows, so it can be open and bright and so that I can enjoy the view! When I am not there, they are shut to keep any outside eyes from peering in. (and that's not a problem, just a precaution!)

I have roller shades and valances in my sewing room. Much easier to clean than blinds (which I have in some other rooms until I get "a good mind" to lose them once and for all).

I love my blinds!

curtains for me....:)

It depends on so much more that what others are using.

I have a NNW window in my basement sewing room. The window is just above ground level and there is a fence about 5 feet from the house.

I do not have to worry about light damage or privacy.

I found some butter yellow curtains that a local Thrift Shop which fit the window nicely. The yellow is bright, but not too bright and makes me think of diluted sunlight. The curtains are usually open.

I have cats that love window sills and blinds do not work for them.

I like my California shutters because I can adjust the louvers to allow as much or as little light as I want, or change the angle so the light comes in but doesn't shine directly on my face, or on a dull day, I can swing the entire shutter set open to allow all the light in. Best of both worlds for me. The other posters have all made good points too, it's important to figure out what you need.
Good luck!
GEMRM

Well I know it's different for everyone. I am just asking for opinions like hundreds of other posts here. Thanks for the opinions and experiences, for those that provided them. I have a north facing window but right now I don't know what blinds are like (have never ever had them) so I wanted to find out what others thought of them. It's a new house so I can't really say exactly how much light comes in (I think the window is a bit smaller than my current one, and has no greenery around it like my current one does). We have no neighbors so privacy isn't an issue. I also have no animals in the house.

thanks again to those that shared your opinions. :)

There are so many types of blinds, from very inexpensive to super-high-end. And so many different styles ... metal, plastic, cloth, sheer, semi sheer, layered, etc.

Your best way of seeing what they are like would be to go to a retail outlet that has a good display, where you can find out the different features/options and try them out!

In my office I have one of the wooden slatted ones .... would never have one again, as with the width/height of the window it is one massive tug to get it to go up and down. Certainly not an easy thing to do!!

Then there is the challenge to get it to stay level ... a problem with all blinds, particularly the horizontals.
Unless of course, you pay for the ones that have an auto roller or power.

That's why I specified 2" fake wood blinds in my original post. Home Depot has them and I can see how they open, close, etc but the samples are only about 1' wide and no other stores here have them. I can't find out what people's opinions of them are just by looking at the displays. How is this any different from the threads where someone asked what floor to get? Or what sewing table to get? I'm just wanting opinions and experiences from people who maybe have had both blinds and curtains and can give some feedback?

thank you-that was helpful. My window is 6' wide so maybe it would be hard to get them up and down.

My other issue is that I hate making curtains. Hate it. So if I have curtains I have to buy them and it's not easy to find cute curtains for sale.

agree with her...and I prefer vertical blinds over horizontal ones....they don't collect as much dust...

Which it would seem you received in EVERY post on this thread ...... including from myself!



You seem to have become very defensive ... and yet your first post was very vague. We are not mind readers, and had very little to go on. You did get opinions based on experiences.

Perhaps if you had given the more detailed info upfront, you would have received more direct answers to your concerns and been more pleased with the responses.

No. I was just responding to what works BEST for you???? and It depends on so much more that what others are using.

I appreciate the help and recognize (and mentioned) that most were helpful. A simple reply of what you prefer and why is plenty. I can take into account the similarities and differences between my room and others' rooms based on the replies. But saying "whatever you want" or "it doesn't matter what anyone else uses" isn't really helpful. Otherwise what is the point of ever posting a question here at all if it has to do with what people have done/used/liked/experienced? This section of the board is filled with people asking what people have used in their sewing rooms and how it worked for them.

Thanks everyone. I'm still thinking about it but will probably wait a bit longer to see what my new room is like once the furniture is in there.

Waiting seems wise. You'll be able to see what light comes in at different times of the year, depending on the angle of the sun.

as much as I love blinds, they are a pain to keep clean. I have curtain panels on clip rings that are super easy to slide open/close on the rod. Also they are easy to change out if I want a different look in there.

I have blinds. I love the control of light. I hate the dust. Fixing to build a new house. I told my husband NO blinds, unless I can have both blinds and curtains. Something else to thing about. I do not have carpet in my house. This means there no place for the dust to settle. It my not be as bad if you have carpet.

Curtains, much easier to wash curtains, than to dust blinds.

Have white 2 inch blinds and I like them a lot

I've always liked traverse rods. I love light in the daytime and privacy at night. This fits the bill for that. I do know that depending on the direction of the window that could be a problem on a sunny day(like a south window). But you can help this by putting sheers behind the drape.
Blinds are quite adjustable for letting in light without the heat of the sun and for privacy but as others have said they are hard to keep level and hard to keep clean.

We have curtains everywhere in the house, except the kitchen. There, it's a 1 1/2" or 2" horizontal blind.

The curtains in the bedroom and the living room always have fur and dust all over them. It seems I'm forever taking a roller to them, and washing more than I would like.

The curtains in the dining room, where my frame is set up are tied in knots - two knots per side because they dangle into the cords for the frame and generally get in the way.

The curtains in the sewing room are constantly full of threads, fur and dust.

The blinds in the kitchen need a quick wipe from time to time, mostly when food gets on then (they're over the sink). They're heavy, yes, but not often raised or lowered.

I love curtains...the ones in my quilt room are very nice, lined drapes, and its cozy in the evenings when closed. I have curtains in my kitchen that I made from Debbie Mumm (?) fabric -- coffee, latte, cappuccino names and cups imprinted, and am just finishing a matching tablecloth with scrappy edging. Love it! Want to do a bird themed set next. I like the idea of being able to switch off curtains in the kitchen for various times of the year.

Blinds with a ruffle across the top. Need all the light I can get.

Someone on another board mentioned vertical blinds. I always thought those were for floor-to-ceiling situations but then I saw that Home Depot has some that are for a smaller window. Here is the window-maybe horizontal blinds would be too heavy. I definitely don't want them to the floor (there will be storage cubes right below it).

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These are the ones at home depot. I would have to buy 3 packs plus the thing that goes across the top (which is out of stock right now but I suspect other stores sell it).

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bali-Cut-...7#.UkTYy8pA7qx

The blinds are my preference, due to light control, I have 7 windows so the blinds work great for me. enjoy which ever you chose.

I have the top down-bottom up cellular shades. Love being able to have the top down a foot or so, so I have light, but still have privacy. Detest that bugs crawl into the shades, and I don't know how to get them out.

I prefer blinds. You can adjust the amount of light you want and keep the sun from shining right in your face. Curtains tend to block light. I have 7 windows and a door with a window in my quilting studio, so I can alway adjust the light perfectly.

If you can afford them, I prefer shutters. It is easy to control the amount of light and they won't break. It does make it harder for a cat to look out, but mine managed.

I have blinds and a valance.

I wish I could. From what I've priced online, it would be over $400 for shutters, and that's for the cheapest models.

Question for those that have blinds. Have you found that using something like a swiffer duster weekly is enough to keep them clean? Or do they need more intense cleaning than that?

I have had the white 2" faux wood blinds throughout my house in the past. I loved the light control on the southern and western windows but never closed those on the north and east sides. I didn't ever find it necessary to pull them all the way up unless I was cleaning windows. They collected so much dust just as a general rule and though I dusted them frequently I needed to wash them slat by slat with a wet towel at least twice a year. In my sewing room the dust from the fabrics was twice as much!! In my new house I am going with lace curtains so I get plenty of diffused lighting, can throw them in the wash when needed and I'm adding plain white roller shades so I can close them when wanted for light block out or privacy. The best of both worlds in my opinion. I think the blinds look fabulous but I'd rather sew than dust! Good luck with your choice.

I have white roller shades made out of a mesh type material that were custom made and our windows are film treated to cut out UV rays. The mesh roller shades still allow 'brightness' and light to enter the room but block out too much light as my room is south facing and it can get so hot. And I just roll up the shade with the chain during the winter days to allow the full light in. I decorate minimally and like clean lines. I'm not a curtain person and I would tire of the same fabric over time. And any curtains I've ever seen get sun damaged and bleached out.

I like the 2 in faux wood blinds. If you fold them flat and go over with a soft brush, they do pretty well and then in the spring/summer, you can take them out, lay flat on grass and hose them off. I like the way they control the light, especially if you have lots of windows. If you only have one or two, pleated shades with 2 layers are nice, light blocking layer on top and a lace/semi sheer layer on the backside.

I have shutters which are not wood but look exactly like wood. And they are really great for letting it the light you want and are so easy to clean. I live in an area where there is a lot of dirt in the air so cleaning is very important to me. All I do it wipe them down with a damp cloth and the water doesn't bother them at all.

In my sewing room is a blind. the window is 6'x4'. The house sits South and a few degrees East. The sewing room is on the North side. Late in the day in summer the sun shines in the window. I close the blinds then. I don't have a privacy issue, so usually they're pulled up out of the way. To everyone's shock, I've not cleaned them in 5 yrs & I'm OK with that. As someone else said, I'd rather be sewing than cleaning. Some of the blinds in the house have been dusted with a wool puff duster. There are curtain side panels that I've not decided what to do with, so they're folded up over the rod to keep them out of the way.

We're finishing a room for my LAQmachine. The windows are part of doors, blinds are hard to pull out of the way to allow the doors to open. One faces south with deciduous shade trees. I plan to put a security screen door on it so I can open it for air. The other is a large double door that goes into the garage. The only time I'll want the windows covered is when the room is used for guests, so they can have privacy. So I got some simple drape panels that hang on a rod with clip-rings. Most of the time they'll be pulled back.