Introduction

If DIY is not your specialty then perfect fit blinds may offer a solution to your binds need. They are easy to assemble, require no drilling and can be fitted within minutes. The perfect fit system is designed exclusively by Louvolite and their unique idea has meant that you will no longer have the worry of dangling operating cords or the though of a small breeze from an open window moving your blind knocking all your belongs off your window sill.

There are many different types of perfect fit blind – Venetian, roller, pleated and wood Venetian but in this article we are only going to focus on perfect fit pleated blinds.

What is a Perfect Fit Pleated Blind?

The best way to describe a perfect fit pleated blind is that it is a pleated blind housed within a perfect fit frame. The perfect fit frame consists of 4 Aluminum sidepieces, which are joined together with corner joints, which are held together with 4 screws on each corner. The frame is secured to the existing window frame with brackets that simply slide in-between the windows glass and the beading. The already assembled frame simply clicks into place when inserted into the window frame.

To Measure for a Perfect Fit Blind

The measuring up for a perfect fit blind is just as easy as fitting the blind itself. The only measurements that are needed are the width of the window that you can see through and the drop. For those who are not confident in their ability to measure you measure for the width and drop on three different points on the window and each time keeping the smallest measurement. For the width you would measure the top, centre and bottom for the visible glass area you can see through. The same applies to the drop measuring the Left, centre and right drops. The only other measurement you need is the depth of the window, taking this measurement is very simple, like before if you are not very confident, measuring multiple corners will help to ensure accurate measuring. To measure the depth you need to put a straight flat edge – like a ruler, across the corner of your window frame that you are fitting the perfect fit blind into. Then measuring up from the window glass to the underside of the ruler take a measurement. Typically windows measure between 12mm-30mm in depth. But an experienced blind company will be able to make blinds for bead depths between 10mm-34mm.

Another aspect to keep in consideration is the location of any handles/vents on your window. A window handle/vent can obstruct you fitting the frame however this does not mean that if you have a handle on your window then you cannot have a perfect fit frame. Measuring from where the visible glass area touches the window beading to the Handle or vent there needs to be a clearance of between 22-25mm. If there isn’t a clearance of between 22-25mm that is not a problem any experienced blind sales person will be able to recalculate the width or drop of your window to accommodate for the handle/vent being on your window.

What are Perfect Fit Pleated Blinds? How do they look? And what colours/styles are they available in?

Perfect fit pleated blind is excellent in any size window, the pleats are very neat in appearance and when the blind is fully risen the stack of the fabric is hardly noticeable (20mm + bottom rail for a long door blind) meaning that if you wanted your blind up you can still receive the advantage of having full viewing area of your window. Perfect fit pleated blinds therefore are especially good for a conservatory as with the small fanlight windows you will be able to raise the fabric up without loosing too much of the viewable glass area.

Perfect fit pleated blinds used to only come in a small variety of colours consisting of neutral tones and some darker colours. Recently however a much larger variety of colours has become available from Whites through to Creams, yellows, reds, blues, purples, greens, browns, grey’s and blacks. Some suppliers are also bringing out a range of patterned materials that offer both colorful prints and colour on colour designs.

Another good aspect to pleated fabrics is that unlike other perfect fit blinds their material can be blackout, solar reflective, and all fabrics offer insulating properties however some more than others. If a blackout material is what you are looking for then the best fabric to choose would be a duette fabric which blocks about 95-98% of the light out, the duet structure means that unlike other pleated fabrics, you will not see any holes in the fabric where the operating cord runs through and unlike the perfect fit roller blinds the fabric can go out towards the edges of the frame more so that there is not allot of light that can bleed from around the edges, please be aware though at although the blinds will be made with a blackout material the blind itself will not be blackout and some light may appear from around the edges of the fabric. In bright rooms like a conservatory you would want a fabric that will reflect the light. Perfect fit pleated blinds offer one of the largest selections of SPC, SRC, ESP, ASC or Perlex backed fabrics that will help keep out unwanted UV rays, and act as a source of climate control helping to keep heat out during the summer and keep heat in, in the winter. If your looking for a fabric to help insulate a room then any of the SPC, SRC, ESP, ASC or Perlex fabrics will help keep heat in however a honeycomb fabric will also help keep heat in as its honeycomb structure will trap pockets of warm air keeping the heat in.

Another great feature of the perfect fit pleated blinds is the number of ways that the blind can operate. The blind can operated in the traditional top, pulling down way, or you could simply turn the blind upside down and the blind will operated from the bottom pulling up. There is also a third way and that is the dual-operated café style pleated blind. This blind can be made to work the two ways already mentioned plus you could place the material at any point along the drop to allow you the maximum control of just how much privacy you can have.

Concluding points.

Perfect fit pleated blinds can offer you the most amount of versatility compared to the other types of perfect fit blinds, allowing you to have just the right amount of privacy, heat protection and the right amount of light transmission. Perfect fit pleated blinds are also available in a range of frame surrounds from, white, brown and silver to wood effects in Golden oak and Mahogany.