Complete step-by-step instructions for perfect Installation

How to Install Venetian Blinds

Hanging a venetian blind comes down to two brackets and a click. Screw a box bracket at each end, open the gates, slot the headrail in and close them until they lock. Our venetians are DIY: you measure, we make them to your sizes in Australia, and you fit them yourself. Here's every step for a recess fit and a face fit, plus the centre support, hold-down clips, valance and cord tensioner.

What you need, and how long it takes

Allow about half an hour for your first blind. The next one goes quicker, because you know where everything sits. One person can hang a small blind; get a helper to hold anything wide while you close the brackets.

A drill with a bit to suit your wall, and a Phillips head driver.
A pencil, a steel tape and a spirit level.
A sturdy step ladder, set up square under the window.
Screws and wall plugs to suit what you're drilling into. Timber screws go straight into a timber frame or architrave. On plasterboard, find a stud or use a hollow-wall anchor. On brick, use a masonry bit and plugs.

Unpack the blind and find the brackets. There's always a left and a right, and wider blinds come with a centre support as well. Check the cords hang on the side you ordered before you drill anything.

Recess fit or face fit? Check before you drill

You chose this when you ordered, and it decides where the brackets go.

Recess fit (inside mount): the blind sits inside the window opening. It looks neat, and a sliver of light passes each side. The opening has to be deep enough for the headrail, square, and clear of handles, winders and locks, so the slats can tilt without hitting anything.
Face fit (outside mount): the blind screws to the architrave or the wall above the window and covers the whole frame. It blocks the most light, and it's the one to pick if the recess is shallow or something sticks into it.

A white timber venetian blind fitted inside a deep window reveal, slats part-open

How to install venetian blind brackets

Our venetians hang on box brackets: a small metal box at each end of the headrail, with a gate on the front that opens and locks shut. Get the brackets level and in line, and the rest is easy.

Recess fit

Hold a bracket in a top corner of the opening, pushed right to the front of the window frame.
Mark the screw holes, drill pilot holes and screw it up into the top of the frame.
Do the same in the other corner. Check the two are level and the same distance from the front.

Face fit

Hold the headrail where you want it, level, and mark both ends lightly in pencil.
Fix a bracket at each end, just inside the marks, both at the same height. If you sized the blind to the architrave, that's the very edge and very top of the architrave.
Screw into something solid. You need a flat surface above the window for the brackets; on the 50 mm aluminium, allow at least 50 mm of flat surface.

The centre support on wide blinds

If your blind came with a centre support, mark the middle of the window, then screw the support just to the left or just to the right of that mark, in line with the end brackets. Before you fix it, hold the headrail up and check the support won't sit where a cord or ladder string drops out of the headrail.

How to hang a venetian blind in the brackets

Open the gate on each bracket.
Lift the blind up with the cords facing into the room and slot the headrail straight into the brackets, so it sits on the centre support too.
Close the gates and check they're locked. Give the headrail a gentle tug. If it moves, a gate isn't fully shut.

That's the same move in reverse when you take one down, which is in our guide to removing blinds.

Fitting hold-down clips on a door

Hold-down clips are small clips that pin the bottom rail so the blind doesn't swing. You'll have them if you said yes to them when you ordered, usually for a door or a window that opens inwards.

Lower the blind all the way and let it hang straight.
Mark where each end of the bottom rail sits on the frame or sill.
Screw a clip at each mark, then hook the bottom rail into them.

Unhook the bottom rail before you raise the blind.

Fitting the valance

The valance is the panel across the front that hides the headrail. Our timber and PVC venetians have one. If yours came with a valance, fit it once the blind is hanging.

Place the valance clips on the headrail about 3 cm in from each end and twist them into place.
Hang the valance over the top so it sits on the clips across the front of the blind.

Close-up of the corner of a white PVC venetian valance with its end return, ladder cords and slats hanging below

Fitting the cord tensioner

Every one of our venetians comes with a cord tensioner, and it goes on before you call the job done. Screw it to something firm, like the timber window frame, using the screws provided. Never screw it into plaster, because it pulls out too easily. Then fit the cord to it the way the instructions in the pack show.

Check the lift and tilt

Run the blind all the way down and all the way up a few times, then tilt the slats fully open and closed. The lift cord and tilt control hang on the same side. Our aluminium venetians tilt with a wand; Purewood tilts with the cord.

Cord won't let go? Most venetians lock the cord when you pull it to the side. Pull it towards the middle of the blind to release it.
Blind hangs crooked? Check the brackets with the level. One bracket a few millimetres high is the usual cause.
Slats rub on a recess fit? Look for a handle or winder in the way, and check both brackets are right at the front of the frame.

The end of a silver 25 mm aluminium venetian headrail with the tilter, lift cord and clear wand hanging on the same side

Measuring for venetian blinds

If you haven't ordered yet, measure first. Use a steel tape and work in millimetres. Measure the width in three places (top, middle, bottom) and the drop in three (left, centre, right).

Recess fit: give us the smallest width and the smallest drop, with nothing taken off. We make the deductions so the blind runs freely.
Face fit: give us the size you want covered. Add at least 50 mm each side and 70 mm above the opening.

Our measuring guide has the full steps and the size limits for each venetian. Then design a Purewood timber venetian, a Visionwood PVC venetian, a 25 mm slimline aluminium or a 50 mm aluminium. We dispatch in 8 to 15 business days.

Common questions

How do you attach a venetian blind to its brackets?

Open the gate on the front of each box bracket, slot the headrail in, and push each gate closed until it locks. Ours come with a left and a right bracket, and wider blinds have a centre support too.

Do venetian blinds go inside or outside the window?

Either. Inside the opening (recess fit) looks neat but needs enough depth and nothing sticking in. Outside (face fit) covers the frame and blocks more light, so it's the one to pick if you're unsure.

How do you shorten venetian blinds?

You shouldn't need to. Ours are made to the exact drop you order, so there's nothing to cut. If a drop has come out wrong, don't take slats out yourself. Call us on 1300 195 797 and we'll work it out with you.

Can you put a venetian blind on a door?

Yes. Choose hold-down clips when you design it. They screw to the frame and pin the bottom rail, so the blind doesn't swing when the door opens.

How do you put a venetian blind back in its brackets?

Raise it all the way, open the gates, sit the headrail back in and close them. Then refit the valance and the cord in its tensioner. Taking it down is the same steps backwards; see how to remove blinds.

Choose your venetian

Start with free venetian samples and see the price as you design. Made to measure in Australia; you measure and fit it yourself.

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