Buyers Guide to Blinds and Shutters

Annually we wait with bated breath for the first rays of spring sunshine to peep through the clouds, then your next moment we're frantically fanning ourselves in an effort to keep cool in the increasingly stifling summertime. But while we can't control our fickle climate, we can invest in intelligent window treatments that protect ourselves and our interiors.

More adaptable than curtains and more versatile than voiles, the most recent shutters and blinds come in a whole host of modern materials and super-chic colours, that not just create a feature of one's windows, but provide flexible sun protection too.

The most recent trends for blinds and shutters

'Wow colours such as yellow, red, orange and juicy green are back, both in textiles, lacquered steel and coloured plexi '. Christina Widholm, chief designer and trend forecaster, Faber.

'We've seen a rise in sales of wooden Venetian blinds with cotton tapes. For summer, I'd expect this to carry on with neutral slat colours and contrasting tapes in coastal blues.' Rebecca Brooks, marketing manager, Novatec and Eclectics.

'Our up-and-coming trend is for high gloss shutters in dark wenge or black. These look stunning with dark floorboards.' Mark Carter, company director, Shutterly Fabulous.

'Following in the footsteps of the US, we're seeing much bigger louvres. We do slats around 114mm for really a modern look.' Aideen Smith, completeshutters manager, Shaftesbury Shutters.

'Our sliding shutter mechanism is great for small spaces and for using shutters as a room divider.' Harriet Shackleton, sales manager, The New England Shutter Company.

Modern blinds do far more than just provide privacy. The most recent fabrics also provide solar protection, so no longer faded fabrics or floors. In addition they filter heat, so rooms stay comfortable without the air con - an eco-friendly method of keeping cool. With moisture-resistant, anti-fungal and dust-repellent options too, it's easy to keep window treatments in top condition. And if it's too hot to even pull a cable, many feature a motor selection for the greatest in operational ease.

If you need to reduce glare, choose one of the many sheer fabrics that offer a fruitful and modern alternative to nets.'A mid-tone grey will sign up for glare but still provide good visibility,' says Georgina Clark, showroom manager at Silent Gliss.'White reacts with the light and is harder to predict, whereas black gives the very best visibility but can become totally transparent during the night - fine if you're not overlooked, but otherwise you may need a secondary window treatment to provide privacy.' These mesh blinds work in the same way to car screens, gently filtering the sun's rays without completely blocking out a beautiful day, making them ideal if you work at home - no more struggling to see your monitor if you're sat near a window.