Wood & Faux Wood Blinds

Buying Guide

How to Choose Wood and Faux Wood Blinds

Wood and faux wood blinds are a practical classic: they give precise control over light and privacy, they suit almost any style of home, and they're easy to live with. Custom blinds are made to your exact window measurements, which is what makes them sit neatly in the frame instead of looking store-bought. Here's how to choose the right ones for each room of a Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky home.

Real wood or faux wood

Real wood blinds are lighter, show natural grain, and can be stained to echo floors, cabinets or furniture. Their lighter weight makes them easier to raise on wide windows. They're the warmer choice for living rooms, dens, bedrooms and home offices.

Faux wood blinds are made from a moisture-resistant composite, so they resist warping in a steamy bathroom or a kitchen by the sink. They're also durable enough for rooms where blinds get bumped by children and pets. Faux wood is heavier, so on very wide windows it can be better to split the opening into two blinds, or to choose a cordless or motorized lift that does the work for you.

Slat size: 2 inch or 2.5 inch

We offer 2-inch and 2.5-inch slats. Wider slats mean fewer of them, so when the blind is open you see more of the view, and the overall look is more contemporary. Two-inch slats have the classic look and are often better proportioned on smaller windows.

Slat size also affects fit. A wider slat needs a little more depth to tilt inside the window frame, so on shallow windows the measurements may point you to the 2-inch size.

Light control and privacy

Blinds give you very fine control over light, because you adjust the angle rather than only raising or lowering. Tilt the slats so that, standing inside, you see sky through them: people at street level can't see in, and daylight still reaches the room. Set them level for light and view, or close them fully for privacy.

What blinds can't do is make a room completely dark. Light comes through small gaps between the slats and around the edges. For a bedroom or media room that needs real darkness, pair blinds with blackout drapery, or choose blackout cellular shades instead.

Cordless and motorized lifts

Cordless lifts raise and lower the blind by hand from the bottom rail, with no dangling cords. That looks cleaner and removes the looped cords that are a strangulation risk for young children and pets, so we recommend cordless or motorized operation in any room where children or pets spend time.

Motorized blinds make sense on large windows, windows above a tub or counter, and any window you can't easily reach. They're operated at the touch of a button, so the hardest-to-reach windows get adjusted as often as the easy ones.

Inside or outside mount

An inside mount sits within the window frame and shows off your trim. It needs enough depth for the headrail and for the slats to tilt, and it leaves a small gap of light at each side.

An outside mount goes on the wall or trim above the window and overlaps the opening. It hides shallow or uneven frames, blocks more light at the edges, and can make a small window look larger. We check the depth and squareness of every window before recommending one or the other.

Choosing a color or stain

Whites and off-whites are the safest match for painted trim, but they vary, so hold samples against your trim in daylight before deciding. Stains work best when they echo wood already in the room, like the floor, the cabinets or a piece of furniture, rather than trying to match it exactly.

On street-facing windows, keeping one color throughout makes the outside of the house look calm and consistent, even if you choose different finishes for rooms at the back.

Where blinds work best

Faux wood is the better choice for kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms. Real wood suits living rooms, dining rooms, dens and bedrooms. Blinds are also a good fit for home offices, because tilting the slats is the quickest way to take glare off a screen without shutting out the daylight.

For very wide sliding doors, where a single blind would be heavy and awkward to raise, a different product usually works better; ask us about options for doors at the consultation.

Pairing blinds with drapery

Blinds layer well with drapery. Panels on either side soften the room, and if they close, they add darkness and a little insulation. In a room with several window types, you can also mix products, such as blinds on the standard windows and drapery on a sliding door, as long as the colors tie together.

Blinds and energy

Closed blinds add a modest layer between the room and the glass, and real wood is a natural insulator, but blinds aren't built for insulation. If a room is noticeably cold in winter or hot in summer, cellular shades or thermal-lined drapery will do more for comfort, and they can be combined with blinds elsewhere in the house.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common is real wood in the wrong room: a bathroom or the window over a kitchen sink will eventually warp it, so use faux wood there. Next is an inside mount on a shallow frame, which leaves slats that can't close fully; an outside mount or the smaller slat fixes it. The third is mixing too many colors or stains on street-facing windows, which makes the outside of the house look patchy. And the last is choosing corded blinds for a child's room, when cordless looks just as good and is safer.

Cleaning and care

Dust wood blinds regularly with a soft cloth or duster, closing the slats one way and then the other to reach both sides. For a deeper clean, wipe each slat with a slightly damp cloth. Don't soak real wood, which can mark or warp; faux wood can handle more moisture and a more thorough wipe-down. If something stops working later, such as a stuck lift or a broken part, our repair team can diagnose and fix most problems, and can often source replacement parts.

Questions to think about before your consultation

Which windows face the street, and how much privacy do they need after dark? Which rooms get strong afternoon sun or screen glare? Are there windows over a tub, sink or stairs that are hard to reach, where a motorized lift would help? And will any rooms get drapery as well, so the blinds and panels can be chosen together? Having rough answers ready lets us recommend the right material, slat size and lift for each window.

What to expect

At your free in-home consultation we bring samples, measure each window precisely, and give you a detailed quote, with no obligation. Everything is made to order; most custom products arrive in three to six weeks, and most installations are finished in a single visit. Before we leave, we'll show you how to operate and care for everything.

Serving Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

We measure and install across Greater Cincinnati, including Hyde Park, Oakley, Mariemont, Madeira and Montgomery, and throughout Northern Kentucky from our showroom in Florence. Consultations are free, and we bring the samples to your home so you can judge colors and fabrics in your own light.