Are roller blinds cheap looking?

No, not as a whole; or rather, only if you buy cheap ones, particularly, readymade ones that need to be cut to size. Even readymade roller blinds that you don’t need to cut to size may look a bit cheap because they’re made of cheap materials, which shows; but properly fitted, well made, made-to-measure roller blinds don’t look cheap at all, and can in fact look very prestigious.

Roller blinds are the most economical type of blinds to buy overall, but this doesn’t by nature make them cheap. That said, there’s a difference between something being good value or cost effective versus cheap; the latter can be seen, but the former, only seen in terms of the added cash left in your wallet!

If you’re in the market for roller blinds and want to make sure you don’t inadvertently end up buying something that screams “bargain basement” (or bargain kitchen, or lounge, or bedroom), this blog post will tell you what sort of issues/buying choices can result in cheap-looking roller blinds and how to avoid them.

Are roller blinds cheap looking as a rule?

No, there’s no sort of universal roller blind image problem that this family of blinds is trying hard to escape from. You can get cheap-looking roller blinds, but you can also get very high-end looking roller blinds that would give any pair of Roman blinds a run for their money, and that might potentially even cost within the same sort of ballpark for the fabric as the material for a nice Roman blind would too.

However, your high-end roller blind would likely still end up coming out at a lower finished cost than an equivalent Roman blind, as roller blinds require less fabric to make and have a simpler overall construction.

Why are roller blinds cheap looking in some cases?

There are a few things that can make roller blinds look cheap, and generally, it is a combination of them that will make your window look like the weak link in your room and give the game away.

So, why are roller blinds cheap looking in some cases?

If they’re cheaply made (and particularly, readymade rather than made to size/to order) the fabric of the blind itself will be cheap, which is usually the most obvious indicator. However, the visible working parts of the blind are likely to be and so, look cheap in their turn; the control chain, the ends of the top roller, the brackets, and so on. In a cheap roller blind, these parts will tend to be made of cheap plastic, and appear flimsy and poorly finished (obvious seams from the casting moulds, for instance, on the brackets) and will feel insubstantial and poorly made too when you hang the blind and later, operate it.

Good quality made-to-measure roller blinds will have metal brackets, and the other functional parts will be made of a much better quality plastic of the appropriate weight and finishing. In operation, you will notice the difference when handling the blind’s control cord, and because the blind will also move more smoothly and quietly!

One other issue that can make a roller blind look cheap even if it was made-to-measure is if the measurements weren’t quite right at ordering, or if the blind is hung badly or unevenly. This can cause the fabric to roll off to one side, causing it to catch on the brackets or wall, and generally looking scruffy and wonky!

Measuring up for roller blinds and fitting them at home is really simple even for a DIY no-hoper, and so I am not totally clear on how this happens; I think probably only due to lack of a tape measure and/or spirit level to measure up and later, hang the blind with, so this sort of problem shouldn’t be hard to avoid.

You can even get spirit levels as a phone app now, you don’t even have to own a physical one!

Are roller blinds cheap looking if they’re well-made and correctly fitted?

No. It’s virtually impossible to end up with cheap-looking roller blinds if you measure up for them properly, order them from a quality retailer, and hang them with at least some cursory attention to symmetry…

Whilst some of the fabric samples that the fabric rep man tries to sell me for blinds do nearly make me cry because of how awful they are, and obviously, not every single roller blind in our range matches my own personal tastes, I can say, hand on heart, that none of ours (or, to be fair, those of our equivalent competitors, boo) look cheap in any way.

Do roller blinds look cheap if you buy them readymade and alter them at home?

Honestly, yes, usually; and often, even if you buy them readymade and don’t need to alter them at all because they’re an almost-fit for your window. An almost-fit or being just a shade larger than ideal for visuals still looks a bit wrong and so, cheap, and if the blind is just a shade too small and so, leaves a gap at the sides, this looks cheap and badly done too.

If the blind is a perfect fit, however? Well, a cheap dress that fits well still usually announces itself as a cheap dress thanks to the quality of the fabric and mess made of the edges/stitching, and this tends to hold true for roller blinds as well.

It may come as a surprise to you to learn that we don’t make roller blinds to order by using kitchen scissors and a ruler and chopping the fabric to length, followed by taking a Stanley knife or hacksaw to the weighted bar for the bottom and the roller tube for the top; and there are good reasons for this.

The first is that this isn’t a particularly accurate way of achieving a precise measurement, and the second is that it’s super-hard to achieve a good finish like this, both in terms in the neatness of the fabric and the evenness of the cut.

The third is that if a hard material can be cut with household implements like a Stanley knife or a hacksaw, it’s probably not going to be that rigid, nor have that much structural integrity; this latter being a trait that most people value in the header rail for a blind, whilst bowing under its own weight because it’s flimsy is somehow less commonly marked up in our customers’ must-haves column!