Everyone wants their house to look cozy and stylish at the same time. There are many ways to achieve that. You can buy thick carpets with appealing patterns and put them on the walls and floors. You can have unusual items of furniture, fancy chandeliers, or various works of art in your rooms. To complete the interior of your house, though, you need to have new, modern windows with curtains or blinds over them. While curtains can certainly give a cozy appearance to your dwelling, window blinds have their benefits, too. Here are several reasons why installing window blinds in your house is a good idea, as well as the essential guidelines on mounting them.
Why install window blinds
1. Control over light
The first reason for installing window blinds is the absolute control over how much light can pass through the windows inside your rooms. Blinds can help mitigate the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays on the interior of the house including furniture.
2. Saving money
This advantage is linked to the previous one. Since window blinds help you control the amount of light that gets through the windows, on warm days the room temperature can be comfortable enough to do without the air-conditioner. As a result, you will have to pay less for electricity consumption.
3. Simple maintenance
That’s where window blinds truly shine. While you have to wash curtains quite often, spending money on the washing materials, window blinds only require occasional wiping with a wet cloth as part of the window cleaning routine. In addition, window blinds don’t have to be replaced unless you decide you need something else to freshen up the interior of your house. That is especially true of window blinds made of aluminum and wood.
4. Privacy
With window blinds, no intruder will be able to peek inside your house.
5. Style
Since window blinds are supplied in a variety of materials and colors, you can easily find something that matches the style of your interior. Among different materials used for making window blinds is wood, plastic, faux wood, aluminum, and vinyl.
Window blinds installation guidelines
If you’ve made up your mind to have window blinds in your house, you can either call professionals or handle the installation procedure with no help from outside. To install window blinds with your hands, follow these simple guidelines.
1. Inside or outside?
The first step in installing window blinds is to decide if you need them to be outside or inside the window frame. In the majority of situations, mounting blinds inside the frame is preferable. That way you can easily operate and maintain them. You may consider having your window blinds outside if the window frame is not deep enough for the mounting brackets to fit.
2. Select the right blinds
As already said, there are many types of window blinds. They are made of different materials and have different colors/styles. Correspondingly, there are more expensive and cheaper varieties. You can also find corded window blinds (more common) and cordless ones. Select what is best for your house.
3. Measure the width
It’s important to know the exact width of your window blinds. If they are too narrow, more light will get inside than is necessary. That will also compromise your privacy as the opening will allow anyone to see what is happening inside your room. So, take a measuring tape and get the width of the window frame. Then make sure the blinds will fit into the space. You can ask the seller to cut the window blinds to the correct value when buying them. You can also order window blinds made in accordance with the width that you specified, although it will take longer.
4. Nothing missing?
When the package with your window blinds arrives, open it, take the list of the parts, and make sure all of them have been delivered.
5. Mark drilling points for the brackets
For the next step, have an ordinary pencil at hand. Take one bracket and the pencil. Put the bracket on the upper part of the window frame. Use the pencil to mark two dots where you are going to drill. The best distance between the edge of the frame and the first hole of a bracket is around an inch. Then, take the other bracket and repeat the procedure.
6. Make pilot holes
Before you install the brackets, take a drill and make pilot holes in the four pencil marks. That will facilitate the task of drawing screws.
7. Fix the brackets
Take a screwdriver and one bracket. Put the bracket holes exactly over the pilot holes that you made in step 6. Then draw the screws into the holes with the screwdriver. Make sure the brackets are firmly fixed in place. Do the same for the second bracket.
8. Hang the blinds
Next, put the end caps into the left and right sides of the top rail. Then, put the top rail into the brackets. It must easily snap in place. Test the blinds to see if they are working as they should, that is that they go up and down without an issue.
Blinds will make the interior of your house complete. They have many benefits such as low maintenance and long lifespan. They are also quite easy to install if you measure them correctly and follow the simple procedure described above.
