Budget. Twice the price for the shade alone & we have a lot of big windows & the that also leaves the question of what to do for the double glass sliding doors x 2. I would like whatever we choose to flow through the entire home not different options for each room.

*If we run the vent cooler during the day we'd be fine, but at night, with drapes pulled shut (mounted on a separate rod) they suck in to the open window, when vent is on & decrease the flow of air. Been there, suffered that & was terrible with wooden blinds..nothing but clack clack bang.

We have considered roller blinds that let light in but prying eyes out & drapes to soften for the bedrooms (photo 1) Honestly the blind would always be down due to facing north and a street. But see point above & also the miss match of north facing lounge window being dressed differently.

The second photo is our lounge area 1 window facing north and 4 others along the back area inc a double slider glass door. We like minimum in this space. Don't want any window dressings that hangs onto the floor.

Just feel like there is limited options.

I would also go a pale grey, it is probably easier to blend with other colours and furnishings. It is really hard to choose the best window coverings when you want to open windows for access to breeze's. We fitted roller privacy blinds. They let light in, we can see out during the day but people can't see in. I then went with a Roman block out blind over the top for night use They are beautiful to look at but not practical for open windows. Next time I will get the panel vertical blinds. They seem to hang well with no chains you just ease them partially across. I have never been disappointed with spotlight used them a few times at home & in investment properties. I always get them to do the install.

Dohraime- no issue with showing dust & there is always plenty around this area. Easy to dust and vacuum. These have lasted over 20 years, though now very faded and the stitching that was used to hold in the weights, has long departed! Nothing stays white in this house which I guess is why I was leaning towards the darker grey. After painting most of the house..minus the front exterior in the picture..I am so over painting and they are beyond thankfully!

Debbie, I hear you..practical or pretty hah. I love pretty but need to be practical! Priced them at spotlight. Got onto another crowd who were half the price of any local. I do love the panel blinds.

In with the new ones then!

I, too, like the look of panel blinds and while you can stack them, you cannot compact them as much as other window furnishings.

Hmm, saw your comment about wooden blinds just now. What about wooden internal shutters?

Love internal shutters, not the price though :(

There's a company that advertises they're cheaper, for DIY.

Love your thinking, oskuee. That sounds lovely. I think with the dark lounge & timber floor white frames & grey windows coverings would look great. It would transform the whole room. You could then just add colour in cushions or mat, both easy to change when you get bored. "Smart Girl" I like it.

Sorry to be negative, but vertical blinds are never an upgrade.

Much better to change only the windows needing the most attention and those you can afford to do 'properly' than putting good money after bad.

It's a decision I have been wrestling with in my current renovation. I have decided to use a mix of roller blinds and verticals in different rooms. Only one style will be seen at a time, so no visual flow problems. People have a love/hate affair with vertical blinds and I'm no different. I don't think they are the most stylish window treatment, but for some situations they really are the most practical, hence my decision to use them. In your home, I agree with Oskuee in the comments above. Having lighter colours on your vertical surfaces would help to make more of a feature of your existing darker furniture and floor covering. Have you thought about painting your gutters and exterior trim a shade of grey to tie in with the grey verticals? The grey would look lovely with the exterior stone work.

White high gloss skirting and window frame instead of the wood..I like the idea. And it is doable.

Re gutters and exterior trim incl. window metal? whatever it is. I would like do it grey but what you wont see in the pix is the mass of green colorbond -roller doors, garage, pagola. etc etc. Massive job..but would look 100% better than foul green. Painting roller doors doable? not sure.

Everyone here has talked me out of getting new verticals. Am about to head out & check out roller blinds. I don't want my house to be an ugly dark duckling :(

Just remember you gotta be practical with airflow & roller or Roman blinds won't work at all.

Sina if you haven't found a cost effective solution in your shopping trip then I'd suggest sticking with your first option-verticals. No they ain't top of any designer'slist but they seem to fit the bill for you. Just get them as close to the wall colour as possible so they don't stand out. Get pictures on the wall or cushions on the sofa to do that! Best of luck : )

Hi there, I actually like the look of your blinds as they are, the colour looks good from the outside, it matches you house and inside it looks very cool. Just my opinion - I know you can get sick of looking at the same old, but sometimes it is just what suits.

Outside looking in - I think it looks fine. If you want the change and don't want to spend too much money then I would paint the timber to a bright fresh semi gloss white. If you really feel the need to change the blinds, there are Companies that make a timber shutter but it is made out of plastic with a wood grain effect. I am in the process of changing my vertical blinds to plastic shutters. I will be able to let lots of light and air in by having sections open and closed. They don't fade or warp like the real timber shutters and much cheaper. Worth looking into! Good luck.

Hi Sina, For what its worth, I think that vertical blinds have their place. I can just hear all the design lovers shaking at the thought. But good design is not only beauty but functionality. If verticals are working for you, that's great, just ditch the green and go with the wall colour and I would paint the skirting and surrounds white. When you win lotto you can really go to town with whatever expensive look you feel like, meanwhile I think you are coming from a very sensible place and have obviously lived with the problem and found a workable solution for your home. And I might as well add, its YOUR home, you've got to love it and live in it. All the best in your decision.

Thanks everyone for the advice & opinions.

After months of hesitation <insert drum roll > ordered duel roller blinds- stone grey colour which is very light. Looks 100% better.. Spotlight had 40% off = Winning! They only had 1 in stock so we took that to trial in our bedroom & the others (lounge, living, kitchen zones) should be here by the end or the month. Have left the glass sliding door free of any blind, for now, as it only gets shut over winter to keep in the warm & will worry about that down the track. 3 Bedrooms still working on it..

The one we took, we put up in our bedroom to see how it performs there. The sheer privacy- didn't suck into the window as much as I thought it would, the blockout- same deal. But to be honest the evap air was hardly doing a thing last night in this stupid humid heat, so will see how we go over the next few days. It does look so much better though. The white would have looked wrong from the outside up against the cream and made the green frames look totally washed out which the grey also does but the grey looks more cohesive with the grey frontage. Time for more coffee & then out to re do our watering system today..ug owning a house is so much fun >.<

We'll done !! :-) sounds like your on your way with your window treatments on order. I can't wait to see your transformed lounge area. Good choice I like the light grey too. I'm hearing you there seems to be a never ending list of chores to do. Lately I knock off work on Friday to go home and start work again, some weekends I work harder in 2 days than I do in 5 at my job. But don't tell my boss !!!!

for a 1500 wide window the duel blind came to @ 113$ each with their 40% off sale, made them pretty attractive budget wise. The lounge area I believe will be fine with the evap as the front door & rear big glass slider is open.. The bedroom - we opened the window as far as it would open- hung the blinds recessed into the window frame and turned the evap up flat out- doors shut to our bedroom it sucked the blind in. Doors open..it is fine. This morning with the breeze outside (thankfully) it seems to make a slight tappy noise where the metal bar at bottom of the blinds slaps against the metal on the window frames..think I can live with it.

We just had Spotlight fit roller blinds through out one of our investment properties. Total 11 Blinds all Blockout various sizes in Pearlised Fabric, Colour - Harbour (soft grey) with white chains. $2400 installed. Really happy with them, they look great we already had simple eyelet curtains at each window I had purchased from a Curtain Wonderland sale. Way to go I think ! Very happy with Spotlight they do a free home measure and quote and carry all the samples on board.

Hey there Sina, have you ever thought of Venetians, or even roller blinds? We think some beautiful charcoal Venetian or roller blinds would compliment your interiors perfectly.

DIY Aluminium Venetian Blinds · More Info

The Zone House · More Info

If you want to stay with vertical drapes, a colour which blends in with you wall colour but slightly darker would look great. You could go with a darker colour to make a feature of the drapes and to blend in with or be contrast to other furnishings in the room.

Most vertical blind manufacturers will replace the old blades with new blades and use the existing tracks. However, it may be cheaper just to replace the lot. I suggest you get a few quotes.

Just realised this is an old post and you have probably sorted things out by now.

First I need to say that I've been caught out by old threads too so everybody, it's an OLD THREAD and the poster has already said what she ended up doing.

But FWIW I thought your blinds looked good but I can understand wanting a colour change and grey would also be lovely from outside and a nice change inside. I hope you didn't give up on the vertical blind idea only because of the negativity from 'style experts'. We 'upgraded' our front room windows and although I like the appearance of what we have there now I am frequently conscious of the fact that I can't "filter the amount of light & privacy". Vertical blinds are very functional and how cheap or expensive they look is influenced by the choice of fabric, of course as with everything people's personal tastes vary, but the negativity toward vertical blinds sounds like a case of 'Emperor's New Clothes'.

Vertical blinds are a game-changer for privacy! 🌟 What's your go-to window treatment for style and function?