Samples (
Kitchen blinds ideas are in no shortage on the internet; which is kind of a problem in its own right, as this can lead to a bit of an information overload that just makes everything harder/more frustrating.
One thing I found when I went scouting online to see what’s hot and what’s not in kitchen window dressing ideas is that a lot of the articles on this topic appear to basically be re-writes of each other, and that they don’t so much give you ideas and suggestions as they do tell you to buy a certain blind or be judged Highly Uncool.
Either way, it’s been a slow news day here at Blinds Towers, and I’ve decided to turn some of my frustration/boredom with wading through tonnes of uninspiring interiors think-pieces in the glossies into something useful…
A guide on the best kitchen blinds ideas that encompasses pointers on what’s new in blinds, and the sort of looks and finishes you might want to think about working with.
I’ll also look at more practical considerations too, such as “how can I afford to buy new blinds and also afford to eat this month, given that the price of a tin of Heinz is currently north of a tenner,” and “how can I use blinds to avoid adding to my cleaning load any more than can be avoided?”
Ok, let’s rock.
Kitchen blinds idea #1: Minimise your cleaning
First, up, cleaning! I’m personally not really down with it, although I understand that some folk that seem to think it’s a hobby in its own right. Assuming that you’re more of a me than you are a Mrs. Hinch (though to be fair, for the sort of money she makes these days I reckon I could acquire the taste for polishing myself) you’re probably not going to want to inadvertently do/buy anything that adds unduly to your cleaning load, right?
Bear with me, because this does relate to blinds.
Blinds that you use in a kitchen are apt to get funkier (the grubby kind) than blinds in any other room of the house, for a few reasons.
Firstly, they may get splashed or smeared with cooking residue, they may get wet/condensated and so, attract other types of dirt to stick to them, and they’ll also be exposed to cooking smells that some fabrics are apt to absorb too.
The biggie though for most, is that vapourised cooking fats in the air (if you’re a member of Cult Airfryer, this probably applies less to you than those still using chip fat on the regular) will cover everything in the kitchen in a fine sticky yellow film over time, which is both icky, and that will draw other dirt to it like a magnet.
Now, if you clean things in your kitchen regularly and with the normal sort of level of conscientiousness to avoid this, it will be an un-problem, both on surfaces and on your blinds.
But kitchen blinds do need cleaning; albeit this is usually as cursory as wiping them off with a cloth or dish sponge and some washing up liquid once every couple of weeks if they’re getting gummy (or are prone to if you don’t do this) or simply dusting them with a duster if they’re not.
This, by the way, is unavoidable; despite the fact that I’ve been trying to push R&D into inventing a self-cleaning blind, they’ve yet to make literally any effort in this direction to date.
However, depending on the type of kitchen blinds ideas that you’re considering, you can minimise the amount of cleaning/time spent cleaning them to the bare minimum.
If this sounds like a top move, you first of all want to be sure you pick a totally waterproof kitchen blind and also, that you pick one that’s made of a single sheet of fabric that can just be wiped off, rather than one constructed of multiple slats or louvres that each need your individual attention.
A waterproof roller blind, basically.
If your interest in kitchen blinds ideas starts and ends with those that require minimal cleaning, you can go now…
2. Give your kitchen blinds the best possible chances of having a long and happy life
Something else that I never see in blog posts about kitchen window dressing ideas is any consideration or regard for the blind’s own happiness and quality of life. I mean, really. Monsters.
This sort of runs on from my point above about cleaning kitchen blinds (or rather, doing as little of it as possible), and for this reason my second idea is to consider the factors that could outright ruin your blind, make it look shoddy, or otherwise ruin both the visuals and the blind itself.
My first suggestion is to take me seriously when I say that you need a waterproof kitchen blind. Some articles covering kitchen blinds ideas suggest using Roman blinds in a kitchen, which is a flaming terrible idea as far as I’m concerned; because these aren’t waterproof but are posh.
This means that they will soon end up looking like a zombie’s tattered prom dress in any low-budget horror of your choosing, plus leave you plenty out of pocket too.
Anyhoo. Waterproof blinds for kitchens, ok?
Also. If the blind/window is near to the sink or a work surface that’s both shallow and likely to be used for a lot of food prep/teabag spattering competitions, hang the blind as far from the source of drama as possible; inside of the recess, in this case.
On the flipside, if you want to keep plants on your windowsill, I’d go with the blind outside of/over the recess, so that it doesn’t keep running into the plants when it’s descending and so that it doesn’t end up with smears of dirt on it.
Also. If either plants, the sink, or general kitchen use in the immediate area of the blind are likely to result in transfer of mess onto the blind at some point, possibly don’t go with white or very light-coloured blinds that show up all the dirt.
As I said above, waterproof kitchen blinds can just be wiped clean so the “avoid light colours” thing isn’t a set-in-stone kind of rule, but it is a consideration depending on how messy you or perhaps, those who reside with you are.
3. Kitchen blinds ideas that save you money
Wait, what? Kitchen blinds that save you money? What does that even mean? For the purposes of this blog post, it means choosing blinds that:
- Don’t cost an arm and a leg to buy in the first place.
- Offer a good return on your investment in terms of initial outlay versus lifespan.
- And here’s the really impressive part – that can actually help you to reduce your home heating spend.
- Kitchen blinds ideas for point one are (waterproof) roller blinds and vertical blinds respectively. Both of these types of blinds are very economical to buy and in fact, I predict that by the end of 2023, will cost less per medium-sized window than a fish supper for two.
- For point two, any made-to-measure kitchen blind from a reputable seller (meeee, I’m a reputable seller) that is fit for purpose (being in this case, waterproof) is designed, made, and tested to last for over a decade in good working and cosmetic order, and many will last for far longer.
However, off-the-peg readymade kitchen blinds, even proper waterproof ones, are designed/made for a usable lifespan of just a couple of years on average. These are the cheaper option (compared to made-to-measure) in terms of initial outlay; a made-to-measure blind might cost twice as much as a readymade, as a broad average.
If you plan to replace all of your kitchen blinds in a couple of years anyway, a readymade will be fine, and even probably your best bet in terms of cost versus value; albeit the blind will look a little cheap, which can mar your joy in how little it cost you.
If you don’t intend to work with such a short lifespan and instead plan to keep your blinds for the medium to long term, made-to-measure is by far the better value, and will lap a readymade blind both functionally and cosmetically several times over, and cost many times less in the long term too. - What blinds can actually help you to reduce your home heating spend? Thermally insulating kitchen blinds. These block draughts and maximise your window’s insulation. Some blinds are naturally good insulators because they’re made of dense materials, whilst others are made with an added insulating backing layer.
Suitable kitchen blinds ideas that will insulate as well as doing all of the other relevant blinds-related things you need them to do are waterproof thermally insulating roller blinds, waterproof thermally insulating vertical blinds, and faux-wood blinds respectively.
All of these will make a marked difference in reducing the amount of heat lost via your kitchen windows and so, can help you to avoid spending more than you need to on staying warm.
The best option (in insulation terms) of these three is waterproof thermally insulating roller blinds; only because roller blinds are made of one solid sheet of fabric with no gaps, whilst vertical blinds have louvres and faux-wood blinds have slats. The difference between the various different options in real terms/that you’d notice in practice is negligible, but I mention it for the sake of completeness.
4. Kitchen blinds ideas to maximise the natural light
Whilst having an overly-bright bedroom or home office can be more of a problem than a blessing, there are few situations in which having great natural light reaching your kitchen is likely to be considered a bad thing.
On the flipside, few things will bum you out faster than having a kitchen that looks dingy simply because it doesn’t get enough sun.
For this reason, I want to throw in some kitchen blinds ideas that allow you to maximise the natural light and don’t block or occlude it any more than is strictly necessary, whilst also enabling you to control your privacy and prevent glare.
First up, hanging a blind over the window recess rather than inside of it tends to mean that you won’t occlude the glass of the window itself; when you hang a blind inside of the recess, when it is open, it will take up some space at the top of the window (for horizontal blinds) or at one side or the other (or both) for vertical blinds.
Also, some blinds have a smaller footprint than others, with roller blinds taking up the least space in the window, and slatted blinds with thick slats like faux-wood blinds taking up the most. (Roman blinds and wooden blinds are big culprits in this situation too, but that’s not strictly relevant per se as neither are generally considered suitable for kitchens).
Also, if you choose light-filtering blinds like day and night blinds, vertical blinds, or Venetian blinds, these can allow you to block glare if this becomes a problem, without blocking the sun out entirely.
We’ve reached the (slightly off-centre) midway point of my opinions/suggestions of the best kitchen blinds ideas to consider; that’s the logistical/functional considerations done with, so now I’ll tie off with some style-based ideas.
5. The kitchen jungle
Having lots of plants in your kitchen is a really popular trend that’s been gaining momentum for a few years now; I think in fact that it has passed the point of being a “a trend” (i.e., something that will be short lived and age poorly) and can better be described now as a “style.”
The kitchen jungle look can make a very expensive/stunning looking kitchen in its own right look lived-in and chic but comfortable, but it can also cover a multitude of sins if your kitchen is some ways away from looking expensive and gorgeous!
Either way, paired with blinds in some hue of green or a natural wood finish, a tonne of plants can turn your kitchen into a really enriching natural-looking space.
Using plants to help to purify the air and so on is also something that’s been getting a lot of press attention over the last couple of years, and apparently, plants can help to tackle condensation and even allergens in the home as well as pollution too.
You can go with either purely decorative plants, those that will theoretically improve the quality of the air in the kitchen, or those that are actually useful to cook with (or a mixture of them all) and I also strongly recommend considering carnivorous plants too.
I have several carnivorous plants in my kitchen and they offer real value for money in the summer when it comes to keeping flying and buzzing irritants from invading the home. This is a particularly good idea to keep on the windowsills if you have blinds like day and night blinds, with a void between the front and the back of the roll of fabric, which can trap insects in the height of the summer.
6. Day and night (blinds)
On which note, day and night blinds are super-modern and both look really cool and are kind of ingenious in terms of how they function too. For most modern or neutral-styled kitchens, there will be a day and night blind to suit, in either a subtle or a bold colour.
I would say that they aren’t going to style well on a traditional or old-fashioned kitchen, but for more or less any other style, knock yourself out.
7. Contrasting bolds
This is such a simple concept I’m going to struggle to make it into a couple of lines long to justify the point! Basically, if your kitchen is dark coloured, contrast it with bright/light blinds, and vice versa.
You can also contrast colour-wise; like we did here in this slate-grey kitchen paired with popping lime green blinds.
8. Don’t rule out wood (faux wood)
Real wood blinds and kitchens do not really mix, because they’re not waterproof; faux-wood blinds though are awesome, looking pretty much just like the real thing but also being waterproof and really hardwearing.
Wood effect kitchen blinds work in any sort of style or era, from super-modern to kitchen jungle to traditional or rustic.
9. Make the blind the star of the kitchen
Think quick:
- What’s the focal point of the lounge?
The telly, or a big piece of wall art where the telly might otherwise go. (Or, “the massive fish tank” as one of the CAD technicians just replied, leading me to believe we’ve got a classier standard of engineers here than I had given us credit for.)
- What’s the focal point of the bedroom?
The bed, usually.
- What’s the focal point of the bathroom?
The mirror, generally.
- What’s the focal point of the kitchen?
That’s right, you at the back who said “uhhh… Dunno.”
The kitchen doesn’t tend to have a focal point per se in the way that the other rooms do, if you think about it; if you have a dining table or island in there it might be that, and if you have an Aga or similar, maybe that; trails of drying washing hung everywhere in my case, but you get my point.
The kitchen doesn’t tend to have a natural or universal focal point like other rooms do, possibly because kitchens are so vastly different in terms of their layout and what’s within them from home to home. Whilst even the two most worlds-apart bedrooms you can imagine will have like, a bed and wardrobes, and lounges will have seating, a telly, and uh, apparently, a fish tank if you’re very zen.
With this in mind then, you can totally make the blinds the focal point of the kitchen as a whole, which both means that you can give your kitchen exactly the personality you want for a comparatively low spend and potentially, draw attention away from things you don’t like, such as the size of the room or how it’s laid out.
My two top kitchen blinds ideas if you want the blinds front and centre are these crushed orange coloured roller blinds, and these Tropical leaves printed rollers.
You can also go the total opposite way and segue the blinds into the kitchen in a far more subtle way but without denying them all personality; like we’ve done here with this silhouette small leaf patterned roller blind in this gabled kitchen, and with these wildflowers patterned roller blinds in this warm cream kitchen.
10. Vertical blinds for kitchens in more colours than you can shake a stick at
And finally. There are some really cool vertical blinds out this year that play really well for large or tall kitchen windows, in some fairly dramatic colour schemes that add depth to the window along with their texture and shape.
Verticals are low cost and very versatile, albeit I’d caution about hanging them directly behind/above anything overly splashy as you need to wipe off each louvre individually to clean them up.
When it comes to kitchen blinds ideas to use on patio doors or floor to ceiling windows, vertical blinds might be the only sensible or viable choice, but they look equally good on smaller windows too.
It’s also a good idea to pick vertical blinds or another blind that can filter the light for your kitchen if the room does double duty as a workspace/desk space, or if you simply like to chill out in there reading a magazine or playing Candy Crush of an afternoon and glare is an issue.
My current favourites are these ink-blue vertical blinds and these striking grey-patterned verticals.
