Conservatory blinds

Shading for rooms with lots of glass

Conservatories can be such lovely places to sit, especially when you can enjoy the garden from indoors. If yours gets a little too bright or warm at certain times of day, we'd love to help you explore blinds that make the space more comfortable without losing its character.

A conservatory can be the nicest room in the house in spring and an uncomfortable one in high summer. A lot of glass means a lot of daylight, and with it glare on screens, bright patches on furniture and a room that warms quickly. Blinds do not solve everything, but the right ones help you manage the light and make the room usable at more times of day.

The key point is that the roof and the sides are different problems, and they are often best handled with different products.

The roof

Roof glazing takes the strongest sun and is the hardest to reach. Blinds here are usually held in guides, wires or a tensioned system so the fabric stays close to the glass instead of sagging. Pleated fabrics are common for this job because they follow the slope and stack compactly. Our pleated blinds page explains how they work.

Roof blinds are generally either operated by hand with a pole or handle, or motorised. Because the roof is high and the blind is awkward to reach, a motor can be worthwhile. Have a look at our motorised blinds page if that appeals. Some conservatories have roof glazing at different angles, so check each section.

The side windows

Side windows can be treated like any other windows, with a wider choice of style. Common options include:

• Roller blinds, which are neat and simple.
• Vertical blinds for large panes and doors, which let you angle the slats.
• Roman blinds where you want a softer look.
• Perfect fit blinds where the frames suit, avoiding drilling into the frame.

Many conservatories have narrow window frames, projecting handles and cills, and these all affect what fits. Measure carefully, or let us do it.

Glare and heat, in plain terms

A blind can help reduce glare and take the edge off direct sun. Light-filtering fabrics keep the room bright but soften the view out. More solid fabrics block more light but make the room darker. Some fabrics have a reflective or light-coloured face that is meant to help with heat, but how much difference that makes depends on the fabric and the room, so it is worth talking it through for your own conservatory.

Two practical points. Fitting a blind inside the glass line can leave a hot pocket of air between the blind and the window, while blinds with a gap or an airy fitting let the air move. And the conservatory still needs ventilation: opening vents and doors on hot days will do as much as any blind.

Fitting access

This is where conservatories differ from normal rooms. Roof fittings mean working at height, sometimes from a ladder or platform, and some roofs have bars or glazing profiles that limit where brackets can go. Let us know about:

• The type of roof and frame (uPVC, aluminium or timber, and glass or polycarbonate panels).
• Whether the conservatory has a solid floor, furniture or a built-in feature we need to work around.
• Whether a power supply is nearby, if you are considering a motorised option.

Our conservatory blind choices guide goes into more detail on each type.

Cords and safety

Where blinds have cords or chains, keep them tucked up out of children's reach with a safety device. Poles and motorised controls avoid loops entirely. BS EN 13120 is the UK standard for the safety of internal blinds.

Next steps

Conservatories vary a lot in shape, size and frame, so a visit saves a good deal of guesswork. We cover Stockton-on-Tees and wider Teesside. Book a free measure and we will check the roof, side windows and fittings together, and give you a quotation before you commit.

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