Venetian Blinds

Venetian Blinds

Long before the first glazier tried to put glass in a frame, windows have been interesting. Or to be more honest, the things people have done with windows has been interesting. These days our homes are no different, and curtains, blinds, rollers, shutters, shades and drapes are all essential ingredients of even the simplest good home décor.
Personally, I love anything that stops the early morning sun from waking me up, and a good pair of curtains is useful for just that. Window dressing also protects against drafts, insulates the house and insulates against loud sounds outside. Drawing the curtains always feels like putting the house to bed, especially in winter when no matter the weather outside, you can make the inside all warm and snuggly.
Venetian blinds are another excellent form of window covering. They are fairly simple in design, featuring a series of parallel slats or bars suspended from to the top of the window. Usually these can be pivoted to let in more or less light. Modern designs of venetian blinds usually include a mechanism to retract the whole blind totally out of the way.
Venetian blinds are not a new idea, in fact the very basic style of slats suspended over windows to protect the home from dust, bright light or drafts existed way back in the earliest parts of human history. The ancient Egyptians had window coverings reminiscent of venetian blinds that were made from reeds from along the Nile woven and hung across windows and doors. Similarly, the ancient Chinese had an early form of venetian blinds for the same purpose.
So where did venetian blinds get their name from? One line of thought is that It’s likely that the style of venetian blind known to the world today took shape in Persia (modern day Iran). The medieval Venetians were adventurous traders who could have brought the style back along with the other knowledge and trade items they brought to Europe. As the rest of Europe accessed these things through Venetian traders, it makes sense they became known as venetian blinds.
Another suggestion is that the horizontal slats are reminiscent of the external wooden shutters favoured in northern Italy and Europe, and American trend setters adopted the name of venetian blinds as they became popular in the new world.
What we definitely do know is that in 1841 an entrepreneurial inventor and railway engineer called John Hampson took out a patent for his new mechanism which revolutionised the way the slats were supported and turned. This made venetian blinds hugely popular, more hardwearing and cemented their popularity for homes and businesses alike.
These days, good venetian blinds are still an excellent choice for the home, and they can be supplied by the professional blind fitter, Bubbles Blinds and Shutters based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Bubbles Blinds and Shutters offer a range of venetian blinds in coloured aluminium or wood finishes. Contact them here for details of their growing range of venetian blinds.