Are vertical blinds still in style? Starlite’s opinion

I have been in the window treatment business for over a decade and I have seen trends begin and end as time has gone by. For example, when I started (in around 2007 – 2008) roller shades weren’t that popular, but now they have slowly become an “in style” window treatment and I get various roller shades requests each month. 

Vertical blinds, in my opinion, can be a nice window treatment; they can definitely make your house look and feel nice, but they are definitely no longer in style. There are, for sure, other treatments that work better and look nicer than what vertical blinds offer.

To begin, I wanted to define what “in style” means just so we can be on the same page. I looked it up on Google and Merriam Webster dictionary (pretty sure we all know them) defines “in style” as “popular or fashionable”. 

Based on Merriam Webster’s definition and my experience in the window treatment world I can conclude that vertical blinds are no longer in style. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that vertical blinds can look good (if they are made out of the right color, fabric, and have good functionality), but perhaps, in some other time period, vertical blinds were popular and fashionable.

Interested in vertical blinds?

If you are thinking of dressing your windows with vertical blinds, or you have had thoughts that maybe vertical blinds are what you and your house needs, by all means, go for it! I really do think that vertical blinds can help transform a room or space and make it look so nice. I definitely don’t want to discourage you. And, if you are in the Houston area, give me a call or send in the “Request FREE Measurements” form and I’ll show you the vertical blinds that I have.

Precisely, that is another point that I want to make: of the 4 brands that I use and highly recommend (I wrote a blog about those brands – go check it out), the only one that offers vertical blinds is Hunter Douglas. I am sure that there must be other brands that I’ve never heard of before that offer vertical blinds and they must be beautiful and have great functionality and offer everything you would want for a window treatment, but because people are not asking a lot for them, window treatments brands are just not producing and selling them as before.

I read what I have written on this blog so far, and I got the feeling that I may be sounding mad or that I may be throwing hatred at vertical blinds, and perhaps I am, a little bit. 

What is found on Google search

Just to be clear, I am not in any way against vertical blinds, I just don’t like what other people are saying about their popularity. On the Google search “are vertical blinds still in style?”, as I was searching the subject to be able to write a good post, not a single search result that came up felt sincere. Every result said that yes, vertical blinds are still in style, they are still popular, you must buy them, they have never been out of style (as I am writing this I am laughing).  

Here are some sentences I read from posts in the search query: 

  • “vertical blinds still remain as the best window treatment option until today.”
  • “vertical blinds are not only still in style — they’ve actually never been “out” of style!”
  • “They never go out of style & they last for years”
  • “It’ll never go out of style.”

I am sure that if you have searched Google for “are vertical blinds still in style?” you have seen all the other posts written on this subject. The text that I shared of the other posts are all from Google’s first page results. So you have probably read some of them.

I’m not sure if whoever wrote the posts is trying to get people to buy vertical blinds in order to make them be in style again, or they are just trying to get hopes up for people searching that query and get more sales… I don’t know. But definitely people aren’t into them as they were before. There are way better options in functionality and style (not saying vertical blinds aren’t a good option – they can be).

My short personal experience with vertical blinds

In my experience, during the 10+ years that I have worked with window treatments, only once I have sold vertical blinds. About 3 years ago, I had a client looking for vertical blinds for a sliding door. Her needs and ideas were very specific and particular and I ended up selling one to her for a sliding door. I’m not going to lie, when the vertical blinds were installed, they really made the room look so nice and feel so good. I loved how it lifted the energy within the room – I wish I had photos of it but it was so long ago that at that moment I didn’t think I would need the picture. But really, aside from that gig, none of my clients has ever asked, even mentioned vertical blinds.

Hunter Douglas’ astonishing styles of vertical blinds

I can’t talk about vertical blinds without mentioning breathtaking styles that are out there. Like I mentioned earlier on the blog, Hunter Douglas is the only brand that I use that offers vertical blinds. 

In fact, they just came up with a new vertical blinds style and they look so good (on pictures) called Luminette – you can check them out here, I really think they are amazing.

In this next section of the blog I will talk about the vertical blinds offered by Hunter Douglas. My honest opinion will come from only looking at the webpages on Hunter Douglas’ website  and at the sample books I have because I have never seen them installed and in action.

Note for all vertical blinds: I recommend all vertical blinds for tall windows and/or sliding doors to get the best out of them. Also, if you get interested in a particular mentioned vertical blind, I suggest going into the website so you can see and read more than what I wrote on this blog.

Luminette: Privacy Sheers

Luminette are Hunter Douglas’ new vertical blinds within their catalog; on Hunter Douglas’ webpage, these are not considered vertical blinds, they’re called privacy sheers.

What is very interesting of these sheers is that the vanes can be rotated for 180°. This gives you a lot of control of your privacy and how much of the light will come in from the outside. 

Another interesting thing that they offer is that you can buy yardages of the fabrics that you used for your sheers (blinds) to make pillows – for example, you could use the same fabric as your sheers to make pillows for your couch; they would become cool accents to your room.

Also, the fabric choices that they offer (colors and textures) look stunning. But again, I recommend you to ask your provider to show them to you in person if it is something you are interested in.

Skyline: Gliding Window Panels

The Skylines look awesome as well. What I like the most out of these blinds is that, aside from its normal use you can give to them (large and small windows), you can also install them as a stylish room divider.

Also the fabrics that I see in the sample books look stunning as well. They made me dream of having a large house with large windows and these Skylines installed on them.

Cadence: Soft Vertical Blinds

The Cadence blinds feature curved vanes. I personally don’t like them too much as it makes the treatment look out of date; that is just my honest opinion. Although I still respect their style and would totally understand why someone would go for these.

The other thing that makes me not be crazy about these blinds, is the system they have to operate them. The system they have is exactly like what the old vertical blinds system had: you can choose a cord/chain, a wand, or a cord and wand system to rotate the vanes, and open and close the blinds. 

Again, not my style; if I was looking for vertical blinds I wouldn’t pick these blinds.

Somner: Custom Vertical Blinds

The Somner blinds are very similar to the Cadence blinds. Within these similarities the control system is just as the Cadence but to these blinds you can add a motorized system to control them; I think that could be cool.

As far as the colors and fabrics go they’re fine. 

In my opinion, the operation system that these blinds have, as well as the Cadence blinds, is what could make the space on which they get installed feel out of style – that is my opinion.

Vertical Solution: Vertical Blinds (yeah, that’s their name)

What Hunter Douglas seems to want you to take from its product Vertical Solutions is that they can be made out of fabric, vinyl, or aluminum (that got mentioned like 3 times on their site). What I can see from the pictures that they have, and from the sample books I have, they seem quite nice. I can totally see my living room dressed with these blinds.

The operation system that these blinds have is the same as the Somner and the Cadence blinds, you can choose from a cord/chain system, a wand, or a wand and cord system.

Conclusion

Those are the 5 vertical blinds products that I offer. I wish I knew more about them to be able to say more, but precisely that is what this blog post is about – vertical blinds are no longer in style. And again, they’re not bad products, but they’re definitely not as popular as they used to be. When I was young, I remember that 3 out of my 10 uncles and aunts didn’t have vertical blinds and that was because they were the youngest of all.

Note: I just remember as I was finishing writing this blog, that there is another brand called Norman Shades that offers vertical blinds as well as other other treatments. I don’t have any experience working with them. My short experience with them is that once I quoted some roman shades from them and the quote was higher than a quote for the same roman shades (as in size and operation system) from Hunter Douglas, and very recently I sold some of their wood shutters (on October of 2020) and I am still waiting for them to be delivered; so I have worked with them very little, and because of my limited experience with them I cannot yet recommend them. Just wanted to throw that in here.

About Me

Hector Garza - Starlite Blinds and Shutters

I'm Hector Garza. I started Starlite Blinds & Shutters over a decade ago. I have learned a lot over the years from my experience in working with clients and coming up with solutions to their needs. It has always been fun to work with window treatments and to help transform houses and offices. This site is to promotes my service, and to share my knowledge and opinions regarding window treatments.

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