Metal & Aluminum Blinds

The two specs that move an aluminum blind most, and they pull against each other. Half-inch costs more than one-inch because there are far more slats in the window; two-inch costs more because each slat is bigger. Gauge, meaning how thick the aluminum is, sits on top of both, and on a window that gets knocked it is the upgrade worth paying for.

Width does more than height on a blind. Every extra inch is a longer headrail and longer slats, and past a certain width another ladder and lift cord. Wider still, the rail needs a heavier extrusion or the opening gets run as two blinds so nothing bows in the middle. Height mostly just adds slats.

Standard baked finishes are the least expensive. Metallics, high gloss, textured and perforated slats sit above that, and matching a specific trim color is a specialty order. On aluminum, finish is one of the bigger levers once the slat is chosen.

A wand tilt with a corded lift is the base. Cordless costs more because the mechanism moves into the headrail, and in a house with young children we think that is money well spent. A tilt motor is the largest single step, and it buys the movement you actually use.

An outside mount can want a valance to finish the top, and a wide window run as two blinds on one headrail costs more than one blind of the same width. Hold-down brackets, a cutout around a crank handle: small items, and the difference between a blind that fits and one that nearly fits.

Horizontal slats hung on a ladder of cord or tape so they tilt together, plus a lift cord that stacks them at the top. Venetian is the mechanism, not the material — aluminum is the classic one, and the same mechanism in real wood is sold as wood blinds.

A mini blind is a one-inch venetian, almost always aluminum in custom work, though vinyl versions exist. Aluminum also comes in half-inch micro slats and two-inch slats, which nobody calls mini. The name is about slat width, not material or quality.

Two inches gives more view open, fewer rows of cord holes closed, and a heavier slat that dents and rattles less. One inch costs less, fits a shallower frame and stacks into far less space. Two inches in a room you sit in, one inch in a room you work in, half an inch on a window too small for either.

Yes, and those are the two rooms metal suits best. In a kitchen, metal does not absorb steam or grease the way fabric does, so the slats wipe clean and the blind can come down and be washed. In an office, tilt lets you turn the slats a few degrees at a time until the reflection leaves the monitor, without darkening the room to do it.

Barely. One layer of metal with a gap between every slat, and metal conducts heat rather than resisting it, so it does very little for a cold room. Cellular shades are the product for that, because the honeycomb holds still air against the glass. If insulation is why you are shopping, we will point you there instead.

Both, and it is the honest reason not to put them on every window. Slats hang loose on their ladder, so a draft or a vent sets them tapping — hold-down brackets fix most of that, and two-inch slats rarely do it at all. Dents are permanent, because a thin slat bends and stays bent. Keep them off doors and low windows in busy rooms, or step up the gauge.

Closed, yes — the slats overlap and nobody sees into a lit room. What you do not get is darkness. On a standard blind the lift cord runs through a punched hole in every slat, so a closed blind shows a faint row of pinpricks. For a bedroom that has to be dark, pair it with a blackout shade or choose differently on that window.

Yes to both. A cordless lift removes the hanging cord entirely and is the one to choose in a house with young children or pets. Motorization here is usually on the tilt rather than the lift, which is the right way around, because the angle is what you change through the day.