Paper Blinds for Windows

Temporary paper blinds for windows are an increasingly popular home decoration option, especially among those people who choose to rent their accommodation. Made of a simple, pleated sheet of paper, they cost almost nothing, and they can be quickly and easily set up to cover any window. Although temporary, they usually look good enough to pass for ‘real’ blinds, and they’re durable to last for years if looked after carefully.

History of Paper Blinds

Paper blinds are actually not a recent phenomenon. They have been used for many centuries, especially in Asia.

Japanese paper blinds (also called Japanese Shoji Blinds) were first introduced in the 8th century. However, instead of being used to screen windows, they were used to divide different sections, or rooms, in Japanese houses. Usually made of rice paper attached to wooden frames, their simple and elegant design meant that they could be moved around the house to change its layout as necessary.

Paper blinds were also popular in China. Chinese paper blinds were also usually made from rice paper, and tended to be put to the same uses as in Japan. Chinese blinds can be differentiated though by their greater use of designs and colours on the paper itself, whereas Japanese blinds tend more towards the plain, minimalist look.

The introduction of paper blinds to the UK and USA is a relatively recent development, however. Modern western usage is also much different, focused on using paper blinds for windows, rather than for walls.

How do I install paper blinds?

Paper blinds are very easy to install. They usually come in kit form, but putting them up requires almost zero DIY skills.

Basically, all you have to do is take your temporary paper window blinds out of the box, cut them to fit the size of your window using scissors, peel the backing from the adhesive tape, and stick them to the wall just above your window. That’s it!

Once installed, temporary paper blinds are easy to use as well. Most of these binds are pleated blinds, they look a bit like an accordion. They come with a small plastic clip, and you simply fold the blinds to the height you want, and attach the clip to hold them in place.

Where can I buy paper window blinds?

If you are in the United Kingdom, there are a couple of major companies that sell temporary window blinds. Most well known are Blinds in a Box, who once appeared on the TV show Dragons Den. Another good choice are Redi Shade, an American company who recently entered the UK market and sell many types of temporary blinds for windows.

If you’re looking for more traditional paper blinds to use as room dividers or screens, you could also contact a company like Shoji Blinds.

Why Paper Blinds Make Great Temporary Blinds

Paper blinds have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years. There are a number of reasons for this. Not only are they cheap, but they are also easy to install, and can work very well as a temporary covering for any window.

But although the paper temporary paper blinds that you can now buy online from manufacturers like Redi are a fairly new innovation, the history of paper blinds goes back over 1000 years.

Japanese Shoji Blinds

The Japanese were one of the first to discover the beauty and efficiency of paper blinds. Around the eighth century, Shoji screens and blinds were starting to be used around the Japanese home. Made of rice paper in a wooden frame, these Shoji screens were used to separate different areas of the house. This was necessary because Japanese homes at that time rarely had internal walls. So with their simple design, the Shoji blinds could be folded and moved around, enabling them to be used as temporary window blinds as well as room partitions.

Chinese Rice Paper Blinds

The Chinese have also used rice paper blinds through the ages. Whereas the Japanese generally kept their designs fairly simple and understated, the typical Chinese rice paper blind would be much more colourful. Even now, if you were to take a trip to your nearest ChinaTown, you would see many blinds on sale with all kinds of striking designs, patterns and motifs. Although some of these blinds are factory produced, if you are looking for a hand painted paper blind, you will probably find a good selection amongst the various blinds on offer.

As a temporary solution for covering a window, or for putting in place a partition to section off a room, these paper window blinds cannot be beaten if you want something stylish and a little bit different.

Modern Paper Window Blinds

For something a little less ornate, there are now many manufacturers who produce paper window blinds that can be cut down to size and installed in a matter of minutes. These companies make blinds that are cheap (less than $10 per blind), very easy to fit, and offer a good short term solution while you’re waiting for your new curtains to arrive for example.  I have used a set in my den, where they look especially good on the window behind my leather corner settee and armchair.

Redi Shade produces a wide range of temporary blinds in both a traditional pleated design and a cellular design that is more energy efficient. They offer simple white blinds, translucent blinds with a touch of colour and black blinds which can blackout most of the light coming in through a window (great for baby and toddler rooms, for example).

In conclusion, whether you are looking for a simple covering for your window (such as the Redi shade), a tasteful partition for a section of room (such as a Japanese Shoji screen) or a more decorative feature (such as a Chinese hand painted rice paper blind), paper blinds make great temporary blinds and screens, not just in the home but also in the office. And if you’re a student on a tight budget, they can really spruce up your accommodation!

Welcome to Temporary Window Blinds

Before the advent of temporary blinds, if you wanted to buy any kind of covering for your windows, you would have to pay out a fairly sizeable amount of money, whichever option you decided upon. Shutters, curtains, Venetian blinds, Roman blinds, and most other types of window coverings have never been particularly cheap. So fitting out an entire house with traditional window coverings like these has always been an expensive proposition. But now, fortunately, all of that has changed. There is a new kid on the block. Temporary paper blinds are the future! Why? Because not only are they incredibly cheap, they are also easy to install. As well as all that, they look great too!

What are Temporary Window Blinds?

You may not have come across a temporary blind before, in which case you are probably wondering exactly what it is, and what is so good about it. Donít worry, itís nothing too complicated, simply a blind made of paper (or sometimes vinyl) that can be attached very easily to a window and that can be raised or lowered as needed. Vinyl blinds tend to be more hardwearing than the paper ones, but the paper blinds offer a slightly cheaper option.

Surprisingly, considering what a simple concept and an obvious solution the temporary window blind is, it is only fairly recently that the product has actually come on to the market. But then all good inventions seem obvious after the fact!

Ease of Installation

Temporary blinds are now becoming very popular, in both their paper and vinyl form. One of the great things about them is their ease of installation. They come in standard sizes that can be cut to fit almost any shape or size of window. In fact, the only tool you need to install them is a good strong pair of scissors. There is no drilling or screwing necessary because the blinds come with an adhesive strip, which enables them to be attached easily to the frame or the glass of the window.

Light

So how effective are these temporary blinds and how do they look once installed? Well, the black vinyl version is actually very effective in shutting out light (although the blinds donít provide a complete blackout) so they are good for bedrooms for example. Whereas the white blinds allow a fair amount of light in, so these are generally used more for privacy purposes, maybe for kitchens, bathrooms or office windows. For the most translucent option, you would probably want to choose a rice paper blind. Rice paper has a unique light diffusion quality all its own.

Temporary Blinds Manufacturers and Distributors

In terms of who actually makes and sells temporary window blinds, there are now a growing number of manufacturers and distributors.

Redi Shade Temporary Blinds

In the U.S., the biggest supplier is probably Redi, the company that produces the Redi Shade product line. Redi Shades can be purchased either in their original pleated form or with honeycomb cellular pleats, which are designed to provide greater energy efficiency.

Redi Shade have also just opened a UK store and a Redi Shade Ireland store.

Blinds in a Box – A UK Newcomer

An alternative to Redi in the UK is Blinds in a Box, a relatively new company with an interesting history.

Blinds in a Box was founded just two years ago by a lady in her sixties called Simeone Salik. Mrs. Salik came up with the idea when she was looking for a temporary covering for her windows while waiting for some curtains to arrive. At the time, it was only possible to order temporary blinds from America, so Mrs. Salik along with her designer Janice Dalton, decided to make up some temporary blinds themselves. They immediately saw that what they had created could be marketed. And so the company was born.

Earlier this year, Mrs. Salik and the other directors of Blinds in a Box decided they needed some investment to grow the company, so they applied to go onto the popular UK television programme, Dragonís Den (a show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to investors for financial backing). To their delight, they were offered £40,000 by millionaire businessmen James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne, who immediately saw the potential of the product. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, and is now probably the leading supplier of temporary blinds in the UK.

How Much Do Temporary Blinds Cost?

Paper blinds are ridiculously cheap. Purchased singly, they can be bought for $8 to $10 (or around £5-£6 in the UK). A box of six will set you back less than $50 (£35 or so in the UK). Expect to pay a few dollars more for vinyl blinds.

You can usually buy temporary blinds online pretty easily, but theyíre also available in a lot of major stores, such as Argos or B&Q in the UK, or Walmart in the US.

Where Can Temporary Window Blinds Be Used?

Temporary window blinds can be used pretty much anywhere. In the home, in the office or in shop windows, upstairs or downstairs, in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom or the kidsí play house!

One area where temporary blinds are becoming increasingly popular is in student accommodation facilities. If you are a student, you donít want to be spending all of your money on curtains or expensive Venetian blinds, so temporary window blinds offer a good, cheap alternative.

And despite the fact that they are called temporary window blinds, they can actually last a very long time, so many people who buy and install them are in no particular rush to replace them with something more permanent. They are very easy to clean and the vinyl blinds particularly are remarkably hard-wearing. Couple that with the fact that they can look really chic, and you realize why many people keep the blinds up for a lot longer than they originally intended to when they bought them.

So in conclusion, if you are shopping for curtains or blinds, and particularly if money is tight, take a good look at the various temporary window blinds that are on offer. Temporary blinds are without doubt the best way to cover your windows on a budget.