What Are Vertical Blinds, and Where Do They Still Make Sense?

A vertical blind is a row of fabric vanes hanging from a headrail track. Turn the wand or chain and the vanes rotate together, from fully open to overlapping closed; pull the cord and they draw to one side and stack. That's the whole product. It's been around long enough to be unfashionable and useful at the same time, and on the right window nothing else does the job as well.

One of ours, mid-install at a home in western Sydney: a fabric vertical, recess fit, vanes closed. The control hangs on the left.

How a vertical blind works

The headrail is an aluminium track with a carrier for each vane. The carriers are linked, so one control rotates every vane at once through about 180 degrees. A second control — a cord, or the same chain on newer systems — pulls the carriers along the track so the vanes bunch at one end (or split to both ends, or stack in the centre, depending on how you order it). Weights and a chain along the bottom keep the vanes hanging straight and moving as one.

Because the vanes stack sideways rather than rolling up, the width of the window doesn't matter much. A three-metre slider takes a vertical as happily as a one-metre window, and when the blind is drawn back the glass is almost completely clear — something a roller blind can't do, because its roll always sits across the top of the opening.

Where verticals still win

A charcoal fabric vertical on a living room slider — our render on a real Better Built room. The vanes are angled for privacy while the door behind can still slide.

Where they don't

Honesty first: a vertical is not a bedroom blind if you want darkness. Light comes through the gaps between vanes and around the edges, so even a blockout fabric leaves stripes of morning light. Use a blockout roller or a blockout curtain where sleep matters, and keep verticals for living areas and doors.

The vanes also swing and click against each other in a breeze from an open door, which some people find soothing and others don't. And the old office-block reputation is fair — a beige PVC vane does look like 1994. The fix is fabric: a soft-textured vane in a warm neutral reads like a curtain from across the room.

The fabrics we make them in

Our vertical blinds come in fabric vanes — blockout for the most privacy and shade, or light-filtering weaves that soften the light without killing it — and in PVC vanes, which wipe clean and don't mind moisture, for kitchens, laundries and busy rooms. You also choose the vane width: 90mm for the classic, well-defined look most people are replacing like-for-like, or 127mm, which uses fewer vanes, costs less and gives a more open view when the blind is drawn. Order free samples and hang the swatch against the glass; a vane fabric looks different back-lit than it does on a table.

Measuring and fitting one yourself

The how-to guides cover it with a video, and the Perfect Fit Guarantee is an optional paid add-on: we video call you to check your numbers before we make the blind.

Oatmeal fabric vanes on a living room glass door — our render on a real room. Warm fabric, tight overlap; nothing like the office version.

Vertical, panel glide or curtain for a sliding door?

The three sensible options for a wide opening, side by side. For the full line-up of everything we make, see the types of blinds and curtains guide; for the bigger curtains-versus-blinds question, this comparison.

Common questions