Following on from our last post about "Blinds that look like shutters", we naturally need to explore zebra blinds.

Sometimes referred to as "day and night blinds" or "sheer roller blinds" these blinds are made from a unique fabric that alternates between wide blockout bands and translucent bands. The blind is double-layered and as both layers slide against each other the fabric bands either stack or coincide. This design allows you to control and maximise your rooms natural lighting and privacy. 

As with a standard roller blind, when a zebra blind is fully raised the window has a completely unobstructed view. When a zebra blind is lowered, the horizontal blockout bands partially obscure the view - creating an effect similar to plantation shutter blades or venetian blind louvres. Hence why, some zebra blinds look like plantation shutters. If you want complete privacy, fully close the blind by stacking the blockout fabric bands, completely hiding the window. 

Our fabric selections for our Zebra Blinds covers the common interior window furnishing styles. The blockout bands don't have to be a complete blockout fabric either. Our fabric range includes light filtering and sheer fabrics for these blinds, as well as blockout fabrics.

Each Zebra Blind is finished with a full cassette to hide the components at the top, and a bottom rail in a colour to complement your fabric choice. 

Zebra Blinds are a standard part of our Riverina Blinds Range. Each blind is custom made in Melbourne and delivered to our Blinds Shop in Wagga Wagga, NSW. From there we supply and install blinds in Griffith, Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga and the surrounding Riverina. 

So if you're looking for new blinds and live in or around Wagga, Griffith or Albury, give Riverina Plantation Shutters a call and we will book a home consultation for you. 

-RPShutters (and Blinds!)

It's a question that we have heard before - "do you have blinds that look like shutters?".

The answer is... Not really... but if you'd like us to explore venetian blinds we can?! (*NB: stay tuned for a post about our zebra day/night fabric blinds)

The closest blind that looks like plantation shutters is the venetian blind. Made from horizontal slats of either timber or aluminium, venetian blinds can come in a range of colours - most commonly however, white blinds or timber blinds. The horizontal louvres can appear similar to the horizontal blades of a plantation shutter however there are a few key differences you should be aware of if you're not familiar with both products. 

Most commonly, plantation shutter louvres are made at an individual width of 89mm, while venetian louvres are narrower at either 50mm or 63mm wide. Yes, you can get plantation shutters with 63mm blades (or 115mm blades for that matter) but those widths are not the typical appearance when someone is imagining "planation shutters". 

Secondly, individual plantation shutter blades are also an elliptical shape, and 10.5mm thick at their widest, while the venetian louvres are a flat, 3mm wide, rectangular slat.

Plantation shutters are a completely cordless product, opened simply by tilting the blades by hand to any position of your choosing. The only vertical lines seen with a plantation shutter is the vertical control rod - which can be hidden on the internal side of the shutter if you want an unobstructed view and a modern design style. If you want to keep a more traditional style for your interiors, a tubular tilt rod in the same colour as the shutter louvres, can be built onto the front of your plantation shutters.

Venetian blinds in contrast however, are laddered together using a number of vertical fabric tapes threaded through small holes in each slat. The laddering tapes feed into the hanging cords at the front of the blind that are necessary to both lift the blinds open and closed and to tilt the individual blades. You can opt to reduce the number of hanging cords to try and achieve a more cordless blind look by replacing the tilt cords with a tubular hanging wand instead. Ladder tapes and lift cords will still remain however, so you will never fully achieve a "no-cord" appearance. 

So why choose one product over the other?

Well obviously design preference is individual! One person, family or house may prefer once product over the other. Both products are available in a range of colours, timbers and wood look finishes so neither is more superior there.

Both products are easy to clean, requiring only a duster or a damp cloth if necessary. Plantation Shutters probably do have the edge with being the easiest to clean due to the increased size of the blades meaning less blades to have to dust, and no fiddly cords to deal with. 

From an insulation point of view, plantation shutters are the most environmentally efficient interior window covering. Venetian blinds are not terrible (hello curtains I'm looking at you!), rating better than roller blinds for efficiency, however plantation shutters are the best internal window covering for insulation. 

For a large job, venetian blinds are faster to have manufactured and installed than plantation shutters. At the time of writing this (August, 2019) our lead time for venetian blinds is custom made and installed in around 2-weeks. Plantation Shutters (while subject to which range is chosen) have a lead time anywhere from 3-weeks upward. 

If price is a factor it's not a simple answer to say that one product is more expensive than the other. Size of your window, material of manufacture (i.e. PVC Shutters vs Timber Shutters vs Timber Blinds), final colour chosen, and framing type can all affect the final price of both products. In some specific quotes a venetian blind would be cheaper, and in others, a plantation shutter would be cheaper. There is no standard answer and that is why we choose to do individualised consultations with customer quote. 

So if you are busy searching for timber blinds on the assumption that they will be cheaper than plantation shutters, contact us using our Book Now button at the top of the page and we can help you find exactly what you are after. 



- Riverina Plantation Shutters