Venetian blind detail, showing how slats are connected

Cat tangled in miniblinds

A window blind is a covering for a window, usually attached to the interior side of a window. It simply refers to some device to hide from sight (thus "blind"ing the viewer) or to reduce sunlight. There are several kinds of blinds, including: Venetian blind close-up from Stock. ... Venetian blind close-up from Stock. ... Cat tangled in miniblinds from stock. ... Cat tangled in miniblinds from stock. ... Highly decorative Window in a Japanese Onsen in Hakone A window is an opening in an otherwise solid, opaque surface through which light can pass. ...

• Slat blinds, which consist of many horizontal, flat slats, usually of metal or vinyl, connected with string in a way that they can be rotated to allow light to pass between the slats, rotated 90 degrees to hide the light, or pulled to sit against each other so that the entire window is clear. The rotation of the blinds is achieved by rotating a connector attached to the strings or by pulling a cord; the raising and lowering of the blinds is achieved by pulling a different string. Such blinds include:
  • Venetian blinds, the original basic slatted blind made of metal or plastic; wooden slats are sometimes used but these are usually referred to as wood blinds. Venetian blinds were introduced around 1770, possibly in Venice, Italy.
  • Miniblinds, Venetian blinds with very narrow slats.
  • Vertical blinds, or track blinds, consisting of slats of stiffened fabric, plastic, or metal hanging by one end from a track; like the horizonatal versions, the slats can be rotated 90 degrees to allow light to pass through or to fold up on one side of a door or window.

• Solid blinds, which either roll up or fold up but cannot be opened in place to allow light through. These are also often referred to as window shades. Such blinds include:
  • Holland blinds, or roller shades, which are pull-down rolling window blinds.
  • Woven-wood blinds, which are slats of decorative wood, bamboo, or other natural material woven together with simple string, colored yarn, or other decorative material to make a nearly solid blind; these either roll up out of the way or fold up out of the way.
  • Pleated shades, which are pleated fabric shades that pull up to sit flat at the top of a window
  • Honeycomb shades, or cellular shades, which are similar to pleated shades except that there are two or more layers joined at the pleats to form compartments that trap air, providing insulation.
  • Roman shades, made of fabric or woven wood, that pull up by having each section of the shade fold behind a higher section.

Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... A vinyl is an organic molecule containing a vinyl group: H R / C = C / H H where R represents a functional group such as a hydrocarbon or halogen. ... 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Gondola. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, knitting, weaving and ropemaking. ...

See also

• domotics

Detail of turning rod attachment on miniblinds

vertical blinds

Close-up of a pleated shade