Cut to Fit blinds

NEH

We have seen some of these in Dunelm Mill and were just checking is this the cheapest place to get them?

We are moving into a rented property and we need blinds for two windows. We already have the landlords permission but obviously as it's a rented place we don't want to spend a fortune....

minibbb

I bought a blackout roller blind for my bathroom from Dunhelm Mill, I had to cut it to fit and it cost me £15 IIRC.

The quality is pretty poor though, it squeaks loudly when rolling it up/down and when fitted to the wall only seems to take a light knock for it to fall off its plastic brackets.

I would spend a little more for something of better quality

TomsMom

We've got roller blinds from Dunelm. We had the suede-effect fabric ones.

I agree with Minibbb that they do squeak when rolling them up and down but maybe that is a minor irritation, only you can say.

You have to be careful cutting them, as in having a steady hand and be able to cut straight. A wobbly edge might irritate you when the blind is down! The pole thing the blind rolls around is metal so that's a plus point as some are cardboard.

The instructions say to attach the brackets a certain distance inside the window reveal. OH followed the instructions to the letter and it's ended up with the brackets really being too far away from the reveal and there's a bigger gap than needs be at the sides of the blind. They could easily have gone another half-inch or so nearer the wall of the reveal. When he did the other blind he didn't leave the recommended amount of room but put it nearer the reveal and it looks much better but still works fine.

We haven't had any instances of the blinds falling off the brackets but they are all up quite high so we couldn't knock them anyway.

The only other thing I would say is that this suede effect fabric rolls up quite loosely (as it doesn't cling to itself as it rolls thus making a tight roll IFYSIM), so when the blind has been rolled up the bottom edge is skew-wiff. Drives me nuts, I have to go and straighten it up! Not sure if this happens with all fabrics. They have them up in my Dunelm on a display, with the blind down. Not sure if yours does or whether you can test them by pulling them up and down.

I think for the money we paid they're OK, I'm happy with the look of them and the fabric, but for the price you're not going to get the same as something that cost three times the price.

If you're not sure about cutting them yourself, google for made to measure blinds, they might not be as much as you think. You can get free samples of fabrics so you can see before you commit.

NEH

Thanks

We're looking at venetian blinds, I did look at Hilary Blinds but they came out as more unfortunately....

I'll have another look at made to measure ones....though ideally we don't want to spend over £100 as we may only be there 6 months...

ormus

BQ also sell them. cheapish.
most blinds can be cut down to size.

TomsMom

NEH wrote: »

Thanks

We're looking at venetian blinds, I did look at Hilary Blinds but they came out as more unfortunately....

I'll have another look at made to measure ones....though ideally we don't want to spend over £100 as we may only be there 6 months...

Oh gosh, Hilary's - they are mega expensive and many people are not happy with them as a firm.

As you will only be there on a temporary basis then I would think Dunelm ones would be fine if you are happy to cut them to fit. Don't pay more than you need in this situation.

We looked at the B & Q ones but didn't see any that were right for the rooms we needed them for. Also, I think Dunelm were cheaper than B & Q.

cally1_2

I got one from Argos and it is standing up to use in my son's bedroom pretty well.

knowloads

Fitting blinds to a recess is the hardest way, measure 3 or 4 places down the height cos they may be out in the middle. Brackets will have to fit flush and 90 degrees to the frame so make sure they will. Cut after marking out with a pencil, very carefully as any lumps will show. Make adjustment in width to allow for brackets. OR why not buy slightly wider ones and fit them outside the recess getting a better coverage of the window and less light around the edges. IKEA ones ain't bad either PS every town has a blind shop selling 3 x verticals for 99 quid, fitted!!!

NEH

Thanks, we're moving to a rather small village which doesn't have a blind shop but we're going to take a look at the next biggest town to see if they have one and what quote they could give us...

The would have to be fitted in the recess as there wouldn't be room for the curtains...