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In most cases, as close as possible; within 25-50mm of the glass is the ideal. However, this does mean hanging the blind inside of the window recess (rather than over it), which isn’t necessarily the look that everyone wants to achieve, and there are some situations in which a bigger gap between the blind and the window, or the need to hang the blind outside of the window recess, will be inevitable.
This blog post will talk about the ideal distance between blind and window in various different scenarios, to help you to make the right choice.
How close should blinds be to the window to maximise insulation?
The closer your blinds are to the window, the more efficiently they will insulate your room, which will be of particular interest if you deliberately bought thermally insulating blinds for this very reason!
Blinds hung inside of the window recess and as close to the glass as possible are the best insulators, so account for any potential obstructions like vents in the window or protruding window handles.
This aside, try to get your blinds within 25mm-50mm of the glass if at all possible to ensure a snug fit, and to minimise the amount of space for cold to linger!
How close should blinds be to the window to reduce condensation?
It’s important to note that blinds aren’t necessarily able to reduce condensation on your window, and they won’t be able to stop it entirely. But by reducing the temperature disparity between the window glass and the room inside by means of “fencing off” the room from the cold window with a blind, this may help to reduce condensation build-up. Good ventilation and potentially, the use of dehumidifiers are the real tools in your arsenal here, however, if your room is prone to condensation.
That said, again, the closer to the window you can get the blind, the better it will perform in terms of potentially reducing condensation. So again, aim to get the blind within 25-50mm of the glass, particularly if you have a thermally insulating blind.
How close should blinds be to the window for the best blackout effect?
This is the main exception to the rule… If your main purpose for the blind is to achieve a full blackout or as near to this as possible using one blackout blind, your best bet is to hang the blind over or outside of the window recess, and have the blind made with a border of at least 10cm around all four sides of the blind.
In this situation, try to get the blind as close to the wall as possible rather than having it protrude unduly into the room, both to maximise the blackout effect you get and to help with insulating the window too.
How close should blinds be to the window if you have protruding window handles or other obstacles to bear in mind?
If your window has obstructions protruding into the room like window handles, you can’t hang your blind any closer to the window than these allow for. This means you need to measure up to allow clearance for these so that the blind will hang properly, but then, hang the blind as close as you can to the glass after accounting for that.
How close should blinds be to the window to leave you with the greatest amount of usable windowsill space?
If you want to use your windowsill space for ornaments, storage, or even seating; or if your pet inevitably sees it as “their” window and isn’t going to let a small inconvenience like a blind stop them, there are two ways to come at this. If you’re hanging the blind inside of the window recess, the closer to the glass it lies, the more usable windowsill space you will have.
However, some people prefer to hang the blind over or outside of the recess if they use the windowsill a lot, to avoid having to reach over ornaments or whatever when opening and closing the blind, and risking knocking things over or disturbing them.
This is a matter of personal choice, and might depend to an extent how you plan to use the windowsill anyway.
Are blinds better close to the window?
Overall on balance, yes. There are a few reasons for this as outlined above, but again, if your blind needs to hang outside of the window recess, this is a valid and popular choice too so don’t worry!
A good rule of thumb is to hang your blinds as close to the window as possible when hanging them inside of the recess, without getting so close to the window as to risk the blind catching on handles and/or sticking to a condensated window for fabric blinds.
If you do hang your blinds outside of the window recess, again, try to get them as close to the wall as possible to minimise gaps around the edges.
Also, depending on the type of blinds you have, the depth of the fittings of their headrails and the way the blind gathers up or folds up when open might limit how close to the window you can get them.
Whatever sort of blinds you buy, our window blinds measuring guides and installation/fitting instructions will always advise you on the things you need to think about and what sort of margins to work with for the specific type of blinds you’re looking at; and if you have any questions or concerns before buying or want to double-check anything, drop me an email and I will help you out.
