Choosing blinds for your orangery or garden room

Our garden rooms include ventilation features and solar glazing to keep them feeling cool while natural light bathes the room below. Despite this, some clients still choose to install blinds as a personal preference. If you want blinds in your garden room, you’ll know it’s not easy to find a perfect fit, so Conservatory Blinds Limited share their expert advice.

A well-considered orangery or garden room will give your home a new, expansive space filled with natural light that pours in through the glazing. With the right design, you’ll start to enjoy your house in whole new ways, like dozing in the sunshine after lunch or admiring the golden glow of a sunset on a summer’s evening.

Unlike other extensions, timber orangeries and garden rooms feature a considerable amount of glazing. This is ideal for creating flow and making your home feel connected to your garden, but if poorly made, they can feel stuffy in the warm sunshine. We’ve easily resolved these temperature issues with innovative features, like insulated roofs, deep inside-to-outside window sash profiles, underfloor heating and dynamic ventilation systems. 

What’s more, a solar glare coating on the glazing bounces the solar heat off the glass and away from your garden room or orangery. This type of glass is excellent for south-facing extensions that have high exposure to the sun, as it reduces glare and heat build-up in the room while maintaining a high light transmission. 

When it comes to blinds, where do you start? 

Although you don’t need blinds to deal with sun glare or stuffy temperatures anymore, some of our clients choose to fit them in their orangeries as a personal preference. Due to the structure’s bespoke nature, it is not always easy to find ones that are the right fit, as our orangeries and garden rooms all vary in size and shape. The wrong blinds can also risk blocking out the views, looking bulky or ruining the clean, neat lines of your extension.

The correct blinds can result in an elegant look, like these ones supplied by Conservatory Blinds Limited in this Westbury orangery. Being a family-owned company with over 25 years’ experience, all their blinds are hand-crafted in their UK factory, so they understand the importance of championing British quality products in the same way we do here at Westbury. With such expertise, we asked them to share their advice on choosing the best blinds for your orangery or garden room… 

Pinoleum Blinds

Pinoleum blinds are ideal for those looking for a classic décor in their orangery or garden room. Popular with timber-framed glass extensions, the Pinoleum wood weave reduces glare and increases privacy. They achieve the perfect balance of traditional style and advanced technology, with an optional solar reflective lining reducing heat transfer. 

Thanks to Conservatory Blinds Limited’s unique pure™ technology, they can also fit these blinds into tricky and awkward shapes, making them suitable for a wide range of orangeries and garden rooms– transforming your home into a comfortable and characteristic space. 

Many customers like their conservatory to coordinate with their blinds. Therefore, Conservatory Blinds Limited can offer English Pinoleum Blinds in several colours, including the full Farrow&Ball® range. 

Duette Blinds 

Blinds with Duette® fabrics are becoming increasingly popular, mainly because of its honeycomb structure that creates an insulating layer and makes them ideal for glazed extensions. 

Duette® blinds can help reduce heat build-up in the summer months and keep the warmth in throughout the winter months, as well as preventing UV damage to your furnishings. Another benefit of their unique structure is that they have no visible cording holes, for a neater look. 

A great benefit of Duette® blinds is when retracted they virtually disappear. Conservatory Blinds Limited’s pure™ rail technology allows customers to enjoy their glass extension with or without shades at their desire with the rail having a thickness of only 20mm. The pure™ rail comes in 12 standard RAL colours with the bespoke options which can match the colour scheme of the orangery or garden room. The Duette fabric is available in over 50 different colours. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I actually need blinds in a Westbury orangery or garden room? 

No, not for temperature or glare control: insulated roofs, solar glare glazing coatings, and dynamic ventilation already manage heat and light. Some clients choose blinds for aesthetic or privacy preference.

What are Pinoleum blinds, and why are they popular in glazed extensions? 

These blinds suit timber-framed structures and can include an optional solar reflective lining to reduce heat transfer further.

What makes Duette blinds different from standard blinds? 

Their honeycomb fabric structure creates an insulating layer that helps reduce summer heat build-up, retains warmth in winter, and blocks UV damage to furnishings.

Can blinds be fitted to oddly shaped or bespoke orangery windows? 

Yes, blinds can be custom-fitted to irregular shapes, which is useful since every bespoke orangery or garden room varies in size and layout.