How to Measure Your Windows for Custom Blinds Like a Pro
Almost every blind that arrives wrong was measured wrong. Six rules that eliminate most of the errors, plus the recess-versus-face-fix decision that people get backwards.
The words are used loosely, and it costs people money
Walk into most Irish window showrooms and you'll hear 'blinds', 'shades' and 'shutters' used almost interchangeably. They aren't the same thing, and choosing between them on price alone is how people end up with a blackout blind that leaks light down both sides or a set of shutters on a rented flat.
The distinction that matters is structural. A blind has slats or louvres that tilt. A shade is a continuous piece of fabric that raises and lowers without tilting. A shutter is a hinged, solid panel fixed to the window as joinery. Everything else — price, lifespan, how much light you can control — follows from that one difference.
Blinds: when you want to angle the light, not just block it
Venetian and wooden blinds tilt. That sounds minor and it isn't: it means you can have a bright room and total privacy at the same time, which no shade can do. Tilt the slats up and the light bounces off the ceiling, so the room stays bright but nobody can see in from the footpath.
This is why blinds dominate front rooms on Irish housing estates, where the houses face each other across a narrow road. It's also why they work in home offices — you can kill the glare on a monitor without turning the lights on.
The downsides are honest ones. Slats collect dust and take real time to clean. Corded versions are the biggest child-safety risk in the house. And on a very wide window the slats bow visibly in the middle.
Shades: when you have a specific problem to solve
Roller, roman, pleated and day-and-night blinds are all technically shades — a continuous panel that goes up and down. What they lack in tilt they make up for in fabric, and fabric is where the performance is.
If your problem is a west-facing room that hits 28 degrees in July, a solar-reflective roller shade with a metallised backing will fix it and a wooden blind will not. If your problem is a child waking at 5am in June, a blackout roller with side channels will fix it. If your problem is a freezing north-facing room in Leitrim, a honeycomb pleated shade traps air against the glass and measurably slows the heat loss.
Pick the fabric for the problem first and the colour second. It's the most common mistake we see in quotes.
Shutters: when the window is part of the room's character
Shutters are a different category of purchase. They're made to the millimetre for one opening, they take four to eight weeks, and they cost roughly three to five times what a good blind costs.
What you get is permanence. A shutter fitted to a Victorian bay in Rathmines or a Georgian sash in Limerick city reads as part of the building, not as something hung in front of it. They're also the one window treatment that estate agents consistently say adds perceived value at sale.
What you don't get is blackout. Louvres always leak light at the joints, so a bedroom shutter usually needs a blackout roller behind it — which people rarely budget for.
A short decision tree
Work through it in this order.
Is the window in a rented property, or can't you drill? Perfect fit blinds or shades that clip into uPVC beading.
Is the main problem heat or glare? A solar-reflective roller shade.
Is the main problem sleep? A blackout roller with side channels, not a day-and-night blind.
Do you need daytime privacy in a room facing the road? A venetian or wooden blind that tilts, or a day-and-night blind.
Is the window a feature of a period room and is the budget there? Shutters.
Is it a back bedroom, a utility, or a landing? A plain roller. Don't overthink it, and don't let anyone sell you shutters for a box room.
What it costs in Ireland, roughly
Per window, fitted, as a general guide: rollers from around €40, venetians from around €45, day-and-night from around €70, wooden blinds from around €90, pleated from around €75, romans from around €120, motorised from around €180, and shutters from around €280 and rising quickly with size.
Those ranges overlap a lot, which is why getting three quotes on the same specification is worth doing. On a full house we routinely see a spread of €300 or more between quotes for identical products.
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Is a shade the same as a blind in Ireland?
In everyday Irish usage, yes — most people say 'blind' for everything. Technically a blind has tiltable slats and a shade is a continuous fabric panel. When you're getting quotes, describe the product rather than the category to avoid confusion.
Which lasts longest?
Shutters, comfortably — decades with basic care. Aluminium venetians and quality rollers last five to ten years. Fabric romans and day-and-night blinds are usually the first to be replaced, often for fading rather than failure.
Can I mix types in one house?
You should. The right answer genuinely differs room by room: shutters in the front room, blackout rollers in the bedrooms, venetians in the kitchen and verticals on the patio door is a completely normal specification.