Which type of blind should I choose for each room?

Roller, venetian, roman, vertical and pleated blinds compared on light control, privacy, damp tolerance and cleaning, plus the inside-or-outside mount decision.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 20 min
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Roller for cheap, simple and shallow. Venetian for the best control of light and privacy, and the only sensible choice in a bathroom if it is aluminium. Roman for a soft fabric look and the best insulation, at the cost of headroom. Vertical for wide glazing and anything people walk through. Then decide the mount: inside the reveal looks neater, outside blocks far more light.

Blinds get chosen on appearance and then live or die on two practical things: how the room needs its light controlled, and how damp or dirty the room gets. Those two questions sort the types quickly, and the mounting decision that follows changes both how it looks and how much light it actually blocks.

What you'll need

Tape measure
The reveal depth, measured
An honest note of how damp or greasy the room gets

Blind types in section against a window reveal, inside and outside mount

Step by step

Decide the mounting position first.Inside the reveal looks neat, shows the reveal and leaves the sill clear, but it always leaves a light gap of a few millimetres down each side. Outside, on the face of the wall, overlaps the opening by 50 to 75mm all round, blocks far more light, hides an out-of-square reveal and makes the window look bigger — but it projects into the room and needs something solid above the opening.
Measure the reveal at three heights and three widths.Reveals are rarely square. For an inside mount, use the smallest width you measure. For an outside mount, measure the opening and add the overlap. This is where most blind ordering goes wrong.
Check the reveal depth against the headrail.An inside-mounted blind needs enough depth to clear the window handles and any opener. A roller has the shallowest headrail; a roman or a venetian stack needs considerably more.
Choose roller for simplicity and shallow reveals.Cheapest, simplest, shallowest headrail, widest choice of fabric including blackout. The trade-offs: no light control other than up or down, and it is the type most sensitive to being fitted out of level.
Choose venetian for control.Tilting slats give privacy without darkness and let you direct light up at the ceiling — nothing else does that. Aluminium venetians are the sensible bathroom and kitchen choice because they tolerate damp and wipe clean. The downsides are a deep stack when raised and slow cleaning.
Choose roman for softness and insulation.It reads as fabric rather than as a mechanism, and the lining gives the best insulation of the common types. It needs the most headroom for the folded stack, so measure that before committing, and it is not a damp-room blind.
Choose vertical for wide glazing and doors.It draws sideways, so it is the only type that copes with a patio door or a window someone walks through, and it suits wide or full-height glazing. Louvres can also be angled for privacy. It reads as more commercial than the others.
Consider pleated and honeycomb for awkward shapes and heat.Honeycomb blinds trap air in their cells and insulate better than anything else here. Pleated blinds fit into conservatory roofs, skylights and angled windows where nothing else will.
Match the material to the room's moisture and grease.Bathrooms and kitchens: aluminium venetian, PVC vertical, or a wipeable roller. Fabric romans and wooden venetians warp, stain and grow mould in wet rooms.
Settle the cord safety before ordering.Any looped cord or chain must have its safety device fitted to the wall. In a child's bedroom, choose cordless or motorised outright — it removes the hazard rather than managing it.

Tips

Blackout fabric on an inside-mounted blind still lets light down the side gaps. For a genuinely dark bedroom, use an outside mount with a generous overlap, or blackout curtains over the blind.
Wooden venetians in a bathroom warp within a year or two. Faux-wood or aluminium look almost identical and survive.
A blind and a curtain together is often the right answer: the blind does privacy and light control, the curtain does insulation and softness.

Common mistakes

Measuring the reveal in one place — Reveals taper and lean. Measure width and height in three places each and use the smallest width for an inside mount.
Fitting a fabric roman blind in a bathroom — It absorbs moisture, stains and grows mould at the folds. Aluminium venetian or a wipeable roller instead.
Expecting an inside-mounted blackout blind to make a room dark — The side gaps are inherent to the mount. Use an outside mount with an overlap if darkness is the point.
Ordering before checking the reveal depth against the handles — An inside-mounted blind that fouls the window handle cannot be fixed afterwards.

If it doesn't work

Light leaks down both sides of the blind

Cause: Inside mount — the gap is inherent — Fix: Switch to an outside mount overlapping 50 to 75mm each side, or add a curtain over the blind.

The blind fouls the window handle

Cause: Reveal too shallow for that headrail and mount — Fix: Outside mount, or a shallower headrail type such as a roller. Cranked handles are also available for uPVC windows.

A blind in the bathroom has gone mouldy or warped

Cause: Fabric or real wood in a wet room — Fix: Replace with aluminium venetian or PVC. Improve the room's ventilation at the same time.

The blind does not fit the reveal

Cause: Measured in one place on an out-of-square reveal — Fix: Outside mount will cover the discrepancy. Otherwise the blind needs trimming or replacing to the smallest measured width.

Questions people ask

Inside the reveal or outside on the wall?

Inside looks neater, keeps the sill clear and shows the reveal, but always leaks a little light at the sides. Outside blocks far more light, hides an out-of-square or damaged reveal and makes the window look larger, at the cost of projecting into the room and needing solid wall above the opening.

What blind is best for a bathroom?

An aluminium venetian or a PVC vertical. Both tolerate the moisture, wipe clean and do not grow mould. Real wooden venetians warp, and fabric romans stain and go mouldy at the folds.

Which blind insulates best?

A honeycomb or cellular blind, because the cells trap air, followed by a lined roman blind. A blind of any type plus a lined curtain beats either on its own, and both need to fit closely to the opening to work.