Vertical Patio Blinds – Sheerly Unconventional

When it comes to choosing blinds for a patio, vertical patio blinds aren't always such an obvious choice. We have become accustomed to our roll up or drop down blinds being installed on covered patios, but it's rare to see vertical blinds used this way. Given the benefits of vertical blinds over their horizontal and roll up counterparts, this is somewhat surprising.

Because of this though, vertical patio blinds are a great way to create a unique look. With vertical patio blinds you are making a statement. These aren't any ordinary roll up blinds or patio shades, nope! This is thinking outside the box, getting rid of that ordinary look, and perhaps gaining some important benefits over other types of blinds while doing so.

Benefits of Vertical Patio Blinds

Perhaps the most important benefit of using vertical blinds is that they don't catch dust as easily as horizontal ones. This is because the slats don't offer any horizontal surface for the dust to rest on, where it can bond itself into the material over time. Instead, the vertical surfaces are much more likely to shed the dirt and dust before it can become attached or stain the surface. This helps a lot in cleaning the blinds, but you still have to be careful of fingerprints and the oil they leave behind. These oily spots can catch dust and hold it to even vertical surfaces, and so needs to be guarded against.

Another useful aspect of vertical patio blinds is how they interact with the wind. Horizontal blinds are more likely to get blown around and damaged by gusts of wind. This is because how the blinds are fastened together, with each slat being bound to the one above and below it at both ends and sometimes at various points in between. With vertical blinds though, the blinds are only fastened at one end, and then only to the main crosspiece. This means that the blinds are more easily able to move independent of each other, putting less stress on the blinds as a whole.

Vertical Blinds for Patio Doors

This ability for the slats to move independent of each other is also useful for leaving blinds down across doorways. With vertical patio door blinds, you can simply walk through the blinds whenever you want, without having to draw them up (or in the case of vertical blinds, draw them to the side) first. If you try that with horizontal or roll up blinds, you are sure to run into problems since the slats can't move independently of each other.

This means you can more viably leave the blinds across the opening without impeding your own movement. While it doesn't impede your movement, it is helping to impede the movement of annoying biting insects. If you were to have to draw the blinds to pass through, you would be creating more of an opportunity for those annoying pests to go in and out as well. This is a great reason to use vertical blinds for patio doors, and is something that really sets vertical blinds apart from the horizontal blinds and roll up or drop down ones as well.

Bamboo Patio Blinds

An interesting take on vertical patio blinds is to use bamboo as the material for the slats. Doing so is a great way to incorporate bamboo into your patio accessories without going for the more common option of using bamboo roll up blinds instead. This is sure to bring a unique look to your outdoor patio that not many other homes will replicate. As such, it's a great option to inexpensively add a feature that's really going to stand out.

Of course with any feature that you add to "stand out", whether it's vertical patio blinds or otherwise, it's important to make sure that feature fits well with the general theme of your home and landscaping. Otherwise it really will "stand out" ... as a sore thumb ... and that's certainly not what anyone wants to do to their otherwise carefully thought out landscaping.

With bamboo, there aren't a lot of looks that don't fit in well with it, and the material is naturally rather low key. This means that you have a wide range of possible uses for bamboo, and not much chance of really screwing up by using it. Perhaps there are some contemporary and art deco looks that it just wouldn't fit in well with, but by and large bamboo vertical blinds, especially outdoor bamboo blinds where the natural feel of the material is going to be most at home, are a very versatile mainstay option for landscaping and decor.

Other Outdoor Vertical Blind Materials

Bamboo isn't the only material that makes for great outdoor patio blinds. There are other materials that can look great, hold up to the stresses of being outdoors, and help keep your patio cool and private. One of these materials is very common indoors too, and that's vinyl. Vinyl patio blinds are easy to clean, have crisp straight edges, and make for a very cool and laid back look. They'll also take quite a beating and still look great.

Another similar option is to go with PVC vertical blinds for your patio. PVC is even more well suited for the outdoors, at least so long as it's protected against the ultraviolet light from the sun. PVC will degrade in UV light (unlike uPVC), and so should be properly coated by a UV treated sealer or paint. Generally PVC vertical patio blinds will have been treated this way at the factory, or uPVC would be used, but it's worth double checking to make sure that by shading yourself and your patio you won't be degrading your blinds more than you should be.