Why Not Consider Wooden Blinds For Your Conservatory?

Are you in the process of deciding what the most appropriate conservatory blinds? Getting bogged down in the apparent endless array of options, colours and ranges to choose from? Then why not keep it simple and choose wooden blinds to add a touch of style and class to your conservatory?
When thinking of a conservatory blind, many will consider vertical blinds, and why not, after all they are low in cost, versatile and look lovely. Many people don’t tend to think of wooden blinds as they believe that the excess heat generated in the summer months will lead to slats warping and losing their colour very quickly. However, the latest range of high-performance wooden blinds make them ideal as conservatory blinds, and work well for a number of reasons:

• All our new wooden blind ranges are heat-treated, and are therefore specifically designed to maintain their colour even when exposed to direct sunlight for a substantial amount of time. They are also designed not to warp in hot conditions, so are ideal in conservatories.
• When we install wooden blinds in conservatories, we use specially designed extension brackets, which allow the blinds to sit far enough away from the window frame so that they will not interfere or catch on the petruding handles when tilting the slats or lifting the blinds up and down.
• As with all venetian style blinds, the wooden blinds are extremely versatile. They can be angled to allow the desired amount of light into the conservatory. Tilted at a 45 degree angle can provide privacy without reducing the light levels; closing the blinds fully can cut out glare on a bright or sunny day; also they can be fully raised on dull days to let the maximum amount of light into the conservatory
• Even with the wider size slats, wooden blinds still leave plenty of window ledge space free for picture frames etc
• Our latest wooden range has a beautiful array of colours and finishes. They really can transform a conservatory into a stunning, cosy, usable room.

In addition to the traditional 25, 35 and 50mm range of slat sizes, we now have the stylish 63mm ‘shutter-style’ wooden blinds, which can give the appearance of plantation shutters without breaking the bank!
We can also supply the 25mm colour range as ‘perfect fit’ blinds, which comes with a frame surrounding the blind, and clips directly onto the window frame. See our Perfect Fit page for more details!
Visit our website today to arrange your free appointment!

Expression Blinds

Looking For Blinds In Manchester?

Do you live, or is your company based in and around Manchester? Are you looking for beautiful, made to measure window blinds and awnings? Then look no further than Expression Blinds for all you need when it comes to blinds in Manchester!

We have our head office in Lymm, Cheshire. This means we are ideally situated to supply blinds in Manchester and the immediate surrounding areas. We are a family run business, and our most important priority is looking after our customers. This means we get recommended a great deal, and is the main way we are introduced to our new customers. So how does the order process work for our customers in Manchester?

Once you have made your initial enquiry, we will be in touch promptly to discuss your requirements. If you have your approximate window measurements, we are happy to give you a guide to the price you can expect. Please bear in mind the price will be approximate as the exact price will depend upon a number of factors, such as exact measurements, the type of fabric you require, the colour and other customisations you would like to make. If you don’t have the measurements, don’t worry! Most of our customers do not take initial measurements, as we do it all for you. The survey appointment is free, and you are under no obligation so there is nothing to lose!

We will make a survey appointment at a time that is convenient to yourself. We are available up to 8pm on weekdays, and also offer Saturday appointments if required. The appointment usually takes about 30 minutes, and is very straight-forward. Neil will talk to your regarding the type of blinds you are looking for. If your not sure which style will suit you best, Neil will talk you through the different types and the pros and cons of each different range. Once we have established the most appropriate blind, Neil will show you the fabric/colour samples available for that range, and then leave you to browse at your own pace whilst he takes the exact window measurements. We can supply budget-friendly vertical blinds, through to stylish wooden blinds and contemporary perfect fit blinds.

Once you have settled on the fabric and colour you desire, Neil will then calculate the overall cost. This price will include the installation of the blinds, and a full 2-year guarantee which is not offered by many blind companies. Once you have the price, the decision from there is up to you! There is no pressure whatsoever to make a decision on the day; you can take as long as you need to decide what to do. We often recommend getting a couple of other quotes, as this will allow you to see how our blinds are equal to, and often superior to even some on the leading national blind companies. Also, you will see how competitive our prices are. We do not set out to be the cheapest company; we strive to offer the best value. We can guarantee you will not find another company that offers the quality and low cost combined.

When you decide to place your order, we require 50% of the total as deposit. This is because the blinds are custom made to your exact requirements. From there, depending on the blind type, delivery time is approximately 2-3 weeks. Once the blinds have arrived from our factory, Neil will then call you to make arrangements to have them installed. Again, we are flexible when it comes to the appointment times, and will strive to arrange it at a time convenient for yourself.

So why not give us a try?  Call us today, and we guarantee you won’t regret it!

For more information on the areas we supply blinds in and around Manchester, please look at our Blinds in Manchester page.

Not Just A Window Dressing.....

Here is a fantastic article from ‘Blinds & Shutters’ magazine about Louvolite fabrics, a product we are proud to supply at Expression Blinds:

Louvolite’s products are also highly sophisticated solar shading systems – as designers, architects and specifiers can easily find out. It’s easy for us: we know about the products, the huge variety and their associated features and benefits. After all, it’s our industry and we specialise in these products. Not so for the professionals involved in the industry that designs and creates the buildings that cover our world. Their areas of expertise are not specific to individual product types or groups; they rely on information, supplied or researched, to identify the appropriate products to be used.Our industry’s role is to provide these specifiers with sufficient relevant information to enable them to be able to select fabrics that provide them with what the environment they have created needs and not just what they feel they want. Many of our products can do exactly that and combine function with design so well that it is not always easy to recognise our products as highly sophisticated solar shading systems created to provide excellent and typically trouble-free service over many years. Examples of this would be those Louvolite fabrics that feature CCT: cold coat technology.Having designed fabulous structures, architects, designers and specifiers will require the internal finishes to be as impressive as the external form. Colour is a vital ingredient in the overall scheme of interior décor and imaginative colour schemes should not be hindered by a limited colour palette of product available. CCT is an exciting development which significantly improves the solar and optical performance of darker colours, allowing them to be selected – if preferred – whilst retaining good performance. Other special treatments such as SPC (solar protective coating) adorn fabrics to provide significant improvements in solar and optical performance over non-SPC fabrics. These issues are hugely important when an architect or building service engineer considers the requirements for air conditioning equipment to satisfy the artificial mechanical cooling of a building. REHA, the European body representing the European heating and ventilation industry, has included a section within its latest industry handbook outlining the importance of considering solar shade requirements in conjunction with mechanical heating and ventilation systems.These days, the information requirement is not just for the solar and optical performance of fabric – it is more and more important to provide Gtot values for each fabric. This value combines the performance of the fabric with the window and gives the value of the combined solar gain. This requirement was outlined in Building Standards document Part L. All Louvolite fabrics are measured to this standard and the information is readily available. We should use every opportunity to remind the specifier community – and perhaps ourselves – that the improved performance of our industry’s products relative to reducing solar gain and the subsequent heat build-up reduces the need to artificially cool a building with air conditioning. Less air conditioning, less energy used, less money spent and a reduced carbon footprint – a very green product indeed. Louvolite’s latest fabric collection’s performance figures have been measured in accordance with EN 13363-1. These figures are provided on all current data for Louvolite’s performance fabrics.  In addition, these figures are also peer reviewed and then entered onto the BBSA Shade Specifier database where those architects or building service engineers can import the performance figures into a virtual modelling programme to establish the reduction in solar gain that can be achieved by using any Louvolite fabric. Okay – it’s great having these wonderful products and the support of performance information but the specifier community is full of very busy people. How can they get access to key information easily and without trawling through pages and pages of data or product catalogues? Well, once again, Louvolite can supply the answer. First of all, a simple fold-out colour chart features the most popular commercial products – not just a scanned image of colour but actual samples of the fabric in order that meaningful decisions can be made. In addition to this, a simple yet totally comprehensive selection will be available in a format that once again is designed to make life easier for those responsible for interior design and product performance. In this format, the user can fan out colour options and quickly identify the shade required. Relevant performance details are printed on the reverse in order to allow the user to ensure performance is as required. In many instances, designers are required to submit product storyboards illustrating how all the interior furnishings link together. For such instances, or when a larger fabric selection is required for other purposes, Louvolite now offers a sample service which supplies the fabric sample selected directly to the specifier and notifies the Louvolite customer of this request and action. Wherever possible, this notification is achieved by email or text to ensure an immediate update of information to Louvolite’s customer. This concept has been developed after many hours of listening to architects about the type of information they require and how they want it delivered.  Louvolite will operate this new support programme in conjunction with the work it currently does with RIBA to support the work of its manufacturing customers. By adopting this new strategy Louvolite will further support the hard work done in commercial sales by Louvolite customers." Copyright © 2011 Turret Group Ltd At Expression, we supply Louvolite Vertical, Roller, Pleated and Panel blind fabrics. We are also delighted to supply their fantastic Perfect Fit range.

Venetian Blinds - A Huge Range Of Applications

I’m often asked which type of blind is most popular. More often than not the answer is vertical blinds, but recently their younger brother venetian blinds have been sneaking up on the inside. But why is this?

Well there is a number of different factors. In my personal opinion, I am a fan of the venetian style blind because of the simple fact that they look fantastic. The aluminium range have a huge selection of colours, from subtle neutral tones, to bright, vibrant and dominant colours. The wooden range that we supply is growing on a regular basis, with more and more colours and finishes being added all the time. The latest additions are the stunning gloss colours – black, white and ivory – which all look beautiful.

A big advantage that venetian blinds hold over fabric blind types is that if anything is spilt onto them then they be wiped clean easily, whereas fabric will absorb the liquid and stain(especially i its a dark coloured liquid such as red wine or blackcurrant cordial!). This makes them ideal for kitchens, lounges and also bathrooms where they can be exposed to water and steam on a daily basis.
Further to this, they take up very little space on the window ledge. Vertical blinds often have to sit a fair distance from the windows to allow them to tilt past the handles, and therefore very little room is left for picture frames or ornaments. Venetian blinds do not have this problem, allowing the ledges to be utilised more effectively.

Many people do say that they are ‘dust-collectors’, however, if they are cleaned once every month or so using an anti-static duster and this problem is relieved easily.
Visit our venetian blinds page for more information, and call us if you would like to see the full colour range.

Expression Blinds