Blinds - Honeycomb or Wooden Venetians?

[Sooty]

Has anyone used the honeycomb blinds or wooden Venetians?

My front room gets the easterly sun so I'm wanting to try keep a bit of the heat out but letting some light in.

I like roller blinds as they are simple & streamlined but I've been thinking of white wooden blinds as an alternative but do they keep heat out or are they a pain to use?

I then came across the honeycomb blinds which are supposed to be good at keeping out heat & cold due to the air pockets, I know they have been around for a long time but haven't known anyone to use them.

[Julie-Ann]

My Dad has the honeycomb blinds and I have used the timber blinds many times. They both filter the sun but let in light. I am not a fan of the look of the honeycomb blinds myself. The timber blinds are a pest though to clean. We have used the timber blinds from Spotlight. They are cheap but sometimes some of the blades have warped over time. But then with other properties it hasn't been a problem. Just get a longer drop than needed and store the extra blades in case.
We have an easterly window and the best thing we got was an awning in the Sunscreen material. But a blind in this material should be very effective too. Freedom and Spotlight sell roller blinds out of this material.

[Sooty]

I think I've ruled out the Venetians, I definitely don't like the idea of fiddly cleaning, they are probably the most ***bersome to raise & lower & I don't think they are so practical with a cat.

I've only seen photos of the mini honeycomb & they looked quite nice but hard to tell from a photo. It is the thermal benefits that I'm most interested in as they seem to rate much better than the sunblock blinds but I think I need to see the blinds in real life.

I can't add anything externally, a small tree would be the best idea if there were no power lines in the way

[Julie-Ann]

The Sunmesh blinds are actually really good at blocking out the glare. A girlfriend had them on windows that faced west and they were fantastic. I am just putting them on some west and east windows for a client. Freedom have some great blinds out of this material called Vista. I don't think they are on there website. I also think I saw some in Spotlight the other day too.

[Sooty]

Glare isn't a problem as there is a traditional awning over the windows & I have block-out material for curtains that still let in diffused light. It's just on days when it is going to be very hot, the early morning sun is heating the room up too much so it is hot all day long & I was hoping to avoid aircon.

[Julie-Ann]

I was in Spotlight today Sooty and had a good look at their sunscreen roller blinds. They actually say they reduce heat. When we chose the material for the awning we were also told that the darker the material the better it is at keeping heat out.

[Sooty]

Interesting, the company who made my west facing external blind said there is very little difference between colours letting heat in but darker allows you to see out better & lighter lets in more light, maybe that is just their fabric as it is very highly rated.

I think I have chosen what I will be putting on the roller blinds for my large west windows, doesn't need to be full block-out having the external blind but not sure I want to use the same elsewhere because of the heat issue. I did see some nice blind material in Spotlight when I wasn't really looking for blinds so will look there again.

These are the honeycomb blinds that got my attention, I really like the photo they have used, that may be swaying me a lot http://www.blindsonline.com.au/honey...l-light-filter I ordered some colour swatches today so I can see what the fabric is like, keeping out the cold for the east facing window is also quite important.

[Cherylle]

I wonder how the honeycomb blinds are to keep clean?

[Sooty]

Originally Posted by Cherylle

I wonder how the honeycomb blinds are to keep clean?

A few websites say they can be washed, others just mention they can be sponged down, Luxaflex have a clip showing them washing off tomato sauce