Learn how to measure for blinds with our expert guide and give your room the finishing touch it deserves. Whether roller blinds, roman blinds, venetian blinds or vertical blinds, these window dressings make a versatile and practical addition to your living space.

More streamlined than curtains, the adjustable nature of window blinds make them ideal for the controlling light levels in your room, so they're perfect for communal living areas and rooms where bright sunlight causes glare on screens.

Our simple directions on how to measure for blinds will explain how to achieve the look you want and accurately size up for your new window covering.

First of all, identify if your window has a recess and decide if your blind will fit inside or outside of this space. Check there's nothing within the recess that could prevent the blind from being fully extended, like protruding handles, phone sockets or fixtures.

A deep window recess provides space for your blinds to fit neatly inside for a flush finish, but if you have a shallow recess or prefer to keep this space clear, fit your blind outside the recess. For blind fitting without using a recess space we recommend allowing a 5cm (2") overlap either side of your window and an additional 10cm (4") to the length for optimum blind performance.

Check your measurements twice to avoid the frustration of mistaken purchases and ill-fitting window dressings.

Many readymade blinds can be cut to provide a better fit, so if your windows don't quite match up to standard blind measurements, buy a blind with a longer width and length than necessary and carefully follow the product instructions to trim it down to size at home.

Fitting blinds without or outside a recess requires a bracket or track to be fitted above your window, fixed directly to the wall or to a wooden batten more than 5cm (2") above your window frame. Measure from the top of the fitting to the sill to ensure your blind will extend to provide full coverage.

Roller blinds are better fitted external to the recess. Within a recess the control mechanism for roller blinds requires additional room which will lead to a wider gap being present between the blind and wall and have an impact on the efficacy of the window covering.

Inside a recess, venetian, roller and roman blinds will need clearance space either side to ensure the sides don't drag on the wall during extension, therefore the overall width should be reduced by 1cm. For vertical blinds, the length measurement should be reduced by 1cm to ensure the panels extend smoothly across the window without dragging on the window sill.

If your windows have an unusual shape or size, our Made to Measure blind service offers a practical solution.

Top Tip:

When ordering Made to Measure blinds to fit within a recess, please provide the exact recess width measurements. We will make the 1cm adjustment for you.