Can you see through wooden blinds?

No, not when they’re properly closed and assuming that your blinds are fit for purpose; by which I mean, they’re the right fit for the window, closed properly, and aren’t damaged or warped due to exposure to damp over the longer term.

We get quite a few questions relating to whether or not people can see through wooden blind slats in different scenarios, and so I’m going to address each one of these individually within this blog post. Read on to learn more.

Can you see through wooden blinds as a rule?

No. If you close your blind so that the slats are all lying flush against each other, and your blind was made to fit your window and is still in good working order, you cannot see through wooden blinds. If one of more of these factors is in play, however, (such as the blind not being the right fit for the window, or the slats are damaged or warped) you might be able to see through them to some degree.

Can you see through wooden blinds if they don’t have ladder tapes over the lift cord holes?

No, but someone outside might see faint pinpricks of light coming through the lift cord holes if you have a light on inside and it is dark outside. However, again, if the blind is properly closed and fits and works as intended, the lift cord holes don’t allow anyone to see anything of inside, other than the potential presence of light.

Can you see through wooden blinds from below if the slats are closed upwards?

Say your window and blind are on a first-floor window or higher. Can someone at street level see up through the blind’s slats? Functionally, this is so unlikely to happen that I feel more or less safe saying no.

It would be more or less impossible for someone to be able to stand at a direct enough angle beneath the blind as to be able to see upwards and in through the slats, even if the slats were closed/tilted upwards. In a worst-case scenario, they’d see some light or a few mm of ceiling, but nothing more. Closing the blind’s slats downwards rather than upwards will negate this issue (or non-issue!) entirely.

Can you see through wooden blinds from above if the slats are closed downwards?

On the flipside, if someone from above might have a line of sight; such as from a balcony on a higher floor, or from a flyover/embankment that lies higher than window level and close to your home, can you see through wooden blind slats from above if the slats are closed downwards?

This is pretty much “no” as per the above scenario working the other way around, other than maybe a few mm of the floor under the blind. You can learn more about how closing wooden blind slats up or down can have an impact (and how much of one) here.

Can you see through wooden blinds when they’re correctly fitted?

No. Wooden blinds that are correctly fitted won’t leave any gaps around the sides or at the bottom for people to see through. It is only if your blind is not an exact fit for the window and it doesn’t quite meet/provide a sufficient overlap that anyone will be able to see through (or rather, around) the blind.

Can you see through wooden blinds if they’re not the right size for the window?

Yes, possibly. If the blind is too large for the window, it might swamp it and look ridiculous but it at least won’t allow anyone to see through it. But if the blind is too small for the window, and it doesn’t actually cover the window entirely from side to side or only just does this with no margin of overlap, then yes people may see through. These are the sorts of problems that you will only face with readymade blinds, or if you somehow mess up when measuring up for a made to measure blind!

Can people see through slatted blinds when the slats are tilted?

It depends. If the slats are tilted to the horizontal, this leaves quite large gaps between the slats for people to potentially see through. How large exactly depends on the slat width. However, if it is daylight out and your own room isn’t lit up, any potential observer would have to be right up against the glass and trying quite hard in order to see in.

Tilting the slats at an angle can allow you to retain your light and a partial view of outside, without making it easy for people outside to see in.

Can you see through wooden blinds if you use two blinds abutted together?

This is a “maybe.” You would tend to only use two wooden blinds side by side/abutted if the window is so wide and/or tall that it’s not possible to cover it with just one blind due to the weight restriction for safe and comfortable fitting and operation; or if you’re using wooden blinds for bay windows with angles to account for.

Basically, whether or not you can see through the gap where two wooden blinds join and abut depends on how closely they lie together, and if there’s a panel or join between windows/windowpanes in front of the gap to fill it in; plus how wide this is, and how close the blind lies to the window to negate any gaps enabled by a sideways viewing angle.

That all sounds a bit complex, but I think you’ve probably got the picture!