Venetian Window Blind
A venetian blind made to measure, in wood or painted metal.
Choose solid oak, walnut or limed oak with flat slats that stack deep and rich, or painted aluminium in chalk white, pebble grey, sage or charcoal with thinner, lightly curved slats that pack away small. Set the width and drop, fit it inside the window recess or over it, choose the slat width, add woven ladder tapes in linen, mocha, charcoal or white, and put the wand and cord on whichever side suits the room.
Turn the slats and draw the blind up in the view to see how it lets the light in.
Measuring
Inside the recess: measure the width at the top, middle and bottom of the opening and give the narrowest, then the drop at the left, middle and right and give the shortest. We take off the clearance so the blind runs free.
Over the recess: give the size of the blind itself. Allow at least 6 cm past the opening on each side and above it, so no light creeps round the edges.
Wood or metal
Wooden slats are 3 mm thick and flat, and a lowered wooden blind shuts out more light. They stack deeper when drawn up - about 18 cm for a 1.5 m drop. Painted aluminium slats are a fraction of that, lightly curved for stiffness, and stack to a few centimetres. They suit kitchens and bathrooms, where wood would mind the steam.