Anatomy

    There are certain things that almost all blinds have in common, from your basic mini blind to your super-deluxe soft fabric shade.

    The headrail is the hardware on the very top of the blind where the tracks are located. To a great extent, the headrail's quality determines the blind's durability.

    A valance covers the headrail from the outside, and generally matches the color of the blinds. Valances can be made of fabric, wood, aluminum, or vinyl. Cornices may be purchased separately. A cornice is wood molding that you mount on the wall around the window. Cornices can be used to add architectural detailing to your room, and are available in a variety of painted and stained finishes.

    The controls are the mechanisms that allow you to lift the blinds up or tilt the slats. Two common types of controls are the lift and the tilt. The lift lets you pull the blind up, and the tilt lets you angle the slats to let more or less light in. You will usually be asked which side of the blind you want the controls on.

    Sometimes there will be a choice about the type of control as well. For example, if you are ordering a wood blind, you can sometimes use either a wand (a long plastic cylinder that you twist) or a cord (a string that you pull on) to control the tilt.

    The slats are the strips of wood, vinyl, aluminum, etc, that make up the blind. If you are ordering vertical blinds or shutters, you might see them referred to as louvers (which is derived from the French word for "to open"). Groovers are a special hardware option used only with fabric vertical blinds. When you are ordering fabric verticals, you can either have the fabric hanging freely by itself (with weights sewn in the bottoms to keep them straight), or you can use groovers. Groovers are long plastic sleeves that the fabric slides into. This gives the fabric more support. You may be asked to choose a groover color as well.

    Holding all those slats together is the ladder. Standard ladders are thin cords that are threaded through each slat. In some cases, you may be able to substitute a cloth tape for a ladder. Tapes are strips of fabric, usually one or two inches wide, and are available in a wide variety of colors. Tapes are not threaded through the slats like ladders; when the blinds are closed, the tapes will run straight down the front surface. Tapes are very popular on wood blinds and two inch aluminum blinds.

    The bottom rail is a heavier horizontal piece of hardware that anchors your blinds on the bottom. Bottom rails are usually color-coordinated to match the rest of the blind. The bottom rail weighs the blind down and keeps it hanging straight.