Blinds or curtains

In a couple of weeks it will be our first home anniversary. We bought the house as a project and most of the renovations were finished quite fast, we had our Christmas tree up in November. But, there are small things that are not done yet and I’m afraid we still need to decide what to do, like: Blinds or curtains?

The garden is as we wanted it to be. There are still some small things we want to improve, but pretty much the garden is finalized. The conservatory is 99.99% done, I have to add some cushions and I didn’t have enough time to allocate to them. The living room is 99.99% done, only the lamp shades are missing and this brings me to the post I’m writing. Pictures will follow.

I don’t know what is the best option for the French doors between my living room and the conservatory: blinds or curtains? Hubby and I talked about this subject hundreds of time, while walking the dog, and we are still pondering which one is the best solution.

I like curtains, I feel they give a more homely feel. But I don’t think curtains would enhance the way our living room looks. We have light silver-grey carpet with white walls and white and light-grey furniture. The furniture has clear lines and shapes, no frills. Also, they wouldn’t be a perfect choice if we consider the functionality, as one side of the curtain will be exactly where the door opens. We had curtains while renting, but the houses were older, late Victorian with bay windows, it was something completely different.

Hubby likes blinds, he likes a clean and modern look. I agree with him that in our home blinds are more appropriate. It might look like our quest for the perfect solution is over. Well, is not, because there are so many options when it comes to blinds.

If we are thinking of functionality, vertical blinds are the the best option. But, we have a white and grey living room with some accents of black (telly, fireplace). Vertical blinds would only give an office look even with funny cards on the mantelpiece.

Then there are Ikea blackout roller blinds, cheap and quite sturdy. We have one in the bedroom and it works great. A blackout one would be great to watching TV when is sunny, but the thing is we can’t open or close the door if we have the blinds down. This means the roller blinds are great in some situations, but not very good for everyday living.

The last idea I had was to get roof VELUX blinds. They can be blackout and this solves the issue with the telly on very sunny days. We should get one for the door and one for the static part of the french doors, so this means we can open and close the door as we like and this solves another issue. Roof blinds have another great aspect, they are stuck on the window and it doesn’t matter if it’s windy or the dog goes in and out in the conservatory. Is a safe option. I know it can sound strange to have roof blinds on a conservatory door. As I mentioned in the 5 tips for renovating, one has to think outside the box to get the best results, like using decking paint for the stairs.
The only thing I still have to consider is how they would look like, because one would have to be in the living room and one in the conservatory. It would be ok when is closed, but I’m not sure how it would look when in use.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.