page_title: Window blind
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Window blind / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: Window blind stopper from Sarona museum Israel עברית: מעצור תריס (מנשלך) ממתחם שרונה ישראל
context_page_description: A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard material, including wood, plastic or metal which are held together by cords that run through the blind slats. Window blinds can be maneuvered with either a manual or remote control by rotating them from an open position, with slats spaced out, to a closed position where slats overlap and block out most of the light. There are also several types of window coverings, called shades, that use a single piece of soft material instead of slats.
  The term window blinds can also be used to describe window coverings generically—in this context window blinds include almost every type of window covering, i.e. shutters, roller blinds, cellular shades, wood blinds, Roman blinds and standard vertical and horizontal blinds. In the United Kingdom, awnings are sometimes called blinds or shades.
context_section_description: The two overall types of window blinds are ready-made blinds and made to measure. Made-to-measure blinds are made to fit a given or measured window size. Ready-made blinds are manufactured in set sizes that can be cut down to fit any window.
  These blinds can be classified broadly into six different categories: roller blinds (which do not have slats but consist of a single piece of material), Roman blinds, pleated blinds, Venetian blinds, Shoji Japanese blinds and vertical blinds.
  Many window blinds are made with slats of fabric, metal, plastic, or wood that are adjusted by being rotated from an open position (in which the slats do not overlap) to a closed position (in which they do). Metal window blinds are often used outside of a home or business to protect against theft, temperature, onlookers, glare, bad weather, or fire (in fire-prone areas); often, these blinds are machine-operated, rather than hand-operated.
  Horizontal blinds use a thin woven corded "ladder" system to suspend the slats and enable them to be closed or opened via a rotating drum to which each upper end of the woven ladder is wrapped and attached. A lift cord allows the blind to be pulled up and stack tightly to top of the window when desired.
  One of the earliest patents for a window shade was filed in 1888, by George L. Castner.
  Vertical blinds use a generally wider slat and one can pull a cord to stack the slats together, to one side, or to separate them in the centre and stack them on each end. The slats can be rotated via a rotating shaft in the upper head rail housing, which runs through independent geared carriers that convert the twisting of a tilt rail to a rotation of each individual slat in synchrony. The original vertical blinds were invented in Kansas City, Missouri by Edward Bopp and Fredrick Bopp, who held the original patent. The company name at the time was Sun Vertical. In the 1960s, the patent and company were sold.
  Shoji blinds are based on Japanese 'Shoji' screens and slide on a conventional panel blind track so the panels stack one in front of the other. They can stack to either or both sides of the window, inside or outside the recess, and are frequently used as room dividers or wardrobe doors.
  The term window blinds is also sometimes used, somewhat inaccurately, to describe window coverings generically—in this context window blinds include almost every type of window covering, including both curtains and blinds for homes and commercial premises, such as bars/pubs, offices, and shops, e.g., Plantation Shutters/Jigsaw Shutters, Roman blinds, roller blinds, and vertical and horizontal blinds.
  In Britain, awnings and window shutters are often categorized under blinds, which are so named because they limit observation and thus “blind” the observer to the view. The main types are slat blinds which can be opened in two ways, and solid blinds, which can only be raised or lowered, and are sometimes called shades.
  Some types of blinds, such as Holland blinds and woven-wood blinds, have small spaces between the slats. Others, such as pleated shades, have no spaces, because the slats are sewn inside fabric.
  Window blinds reduce the heat from sunlight. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs had blinds made of reeds. The most inexpensive blinds in the 19th century were home-made roller blinds, made of cloth.
  Window blinds can be manually drawn using a cord, or automated through motorization. Controls for motorized blinds can be from a wall switch or keypad, remote control, or computer, eliminating the need for cords and allowing control of otherwise inaccessible windows. A number of modern homes are integrating blind control with central C-Bus solutions. This control provides ease-of-use and is effective for controlling blind operation to reduce heat loss during winter or minimize heat from the sun during summer.
caption: Window blinds stopper. An old window part to prevent open window blinds from closing. From the Sarona Museum in Israel.
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