Home office blinds

What a working window needs

A little natural light can make a home office feel much nicer, although glare on a screen is rarely welcome. We can help you find a balance that keeps your workspace bright and comfortable throughout the day.

A home office window has a few jobs to do: let in enough daylight to work by, and cut the glare that washes out a monitor or shows up behind you on a video call. It also helps to be quick to adjust, because the sun moves and you will not want to stop work to adjust a cord. A blind you can alter in seconds is a real help.

Four blind types that tend to suit

Roller blinds in a light-filtering fabric

Roller blinds with a light-filtering cloth cut glare while keeping the room bright. They are tidy, and the blind sits flat to the window, which suits a desk set close under it. If you want a darker room for presentations, a second blackout blind or a different fabric is an option.

Venetian blinds

Venetian blinds offer fine control: tilt the slats to bounce light up to the ceiling or shut it out entirely. They are particularly good where the sun comes in low. Faux wood blinds give a similar adjustability with a heavier look.

Day and night blinds

Day and night blinds let you choose between sheer and solid sections, so you can keep daylight while reducing sight lines in from outside, or close the solid part when the sun is at its worst.

Pleated blinds

Pleated blinds sit neatly on small or awkward windows, such as a spare-room office with a roof-slope or an unusual frame. Range options vary, so ask what is possible for your window.

What to tell us at the measure

• Where the desk and screen sit in relation to the window, and which direction the window faces.
• When the glare is worst: early morning, midday or late afternoon.
• Whether you take video calls with the window behind you.
• If you share the room with a bed or storage, so that we think about privacy as well.
• Whether you want the blind to be quick to operate, for example with a motorised control.

A few things to bear in mind

If the room is your only daytime workspace, a very dark blackout cloth may leave you with the lights on all day, so a lighter option may suit better. If you take calls, it is worth asking how a range sounds in use, as some slats can rattle. Check that the blind clears the window handle and sits close enough to the glass to be useful. And where children play near a desk, keep any cord well out of reach; see child safety.

Practical tips

1. Our guide to blinds for home offices has wider advice on working-from-home windows.
2. For long-term sun on a desk or furniture, see sun glare and fading.
3. If the blind has to cope with a front window, privacy without darkness will help.
4. A neutral, mid-tone colour behind you can look lovely on video calls; see colours and fabrics.
5. Running a business office rather than a home one? See office blinds.

Book the measure

If you can, have your desk set up the way you work when we visit. Book a free measure and we will look at the screen, the glare and the window, then give you a quotation before you commit.