Conservatory Blinds

Although some variation in style exists, the material choice for conservatory blinds is relatively limited. Standard pleated blinds come in all the colours of the rainbow. Depending on the colour, the heat reflection can be anything up to about 80 per cent but if you choose dark colours, heat absorption is far more likely. Solar-reflective fabrics are also available and can be easily wiped clean. Pinoleum can be thought of as a traditional heritage material, since it has been made in France for over a century. It is woven from thin strips of wood to create a translucent blind for your conservatory that lets dappled sunlight through. It complements rattan and wicker furniture but probably not very easy to keep dust-free!

For conservatory blinds to work to their full potential, they need to have a high reflective value and allow only a small percentage of light through. Inevitably, some of the light and heat will be absorbed by the blind, and each material has different values in these three aspects. Pleated blinds are the simplest of all but can only be fitted to windows and doors, not roofs. They are operated by string pull cords and are usually made from polyester fabric to order to ensure they fit properly. Typically this material will reflect about three quarters of the light, absorb about one fifth of the total and only let a tiny amount penetrate through when the blinds are closed. Roller blinds or panel blinds can be made to fit everywhere, roof panels included. Made from polyester cotton, which has a lower reflectance value and higher transmission, they are well suited to conservatories with plants where they filter down the direct sunlight without blocking too much of it out. Vertical strip blinds are very effective for keeping in heat, particularly when the material is coated on both faces to keep them hanging straight. Depending on the material, they can reflect back 60-75 per cent of heat as they overlap when closed to keep warmth in. Some materials have been created to reflect heat and light, thus shading the conservatory much more efficiently. Reflectance of up to 80 per cent can be found in some roof blinds.

Conservatory Drapes
It is difficult with any blinds to escape the office look if they are comprehensively installed. Subtle shading can be introduced with soft muslin and voile, in the form of drapes, or from the roof, sailcloth style. They add some shade to plants and people and look romantic ? they also give the conservatory a much softer and relaxed appearance than blinds can ever do. You may consider using drapes in conjunction with freestanding timber shutters ? tall, louvred shutter boards that you can move with the sun are ideal.

Glazed-in Conservatory blindsThese blinds are becoming quite common in office screening, where they consist of a double-glazed window or partition with a louvred shutter blind fitted within the air gap between the glass panes. When used in external glazing the solar reflection can be very high, since the radiation is bounced back out before it reaches the inner pane of glass, never reaching the inside air of the room. Because insulated double-glazing relies on a sealed air gap to be free from condensation, a secondary gap (triple glazing) for the blinds is necessary and the cost is high.

Furnishings
Soft furnishings are not to be recommended in a conservatory due to fading from exposure to the sun and the risk of heat damage is quite real. The sun’s energy through glass can be focused to the extreme. Cane or rattan furniture with cushions fitted or scattered is ideal for conservatories and woven seagrass is much more durable to exposure and very comfortable. Rattan can be harvested from the vine after it’s grown a metre or two, which allows it to re-grow, making it a potentially sustainable material. Check the origins from the supplier before buying. Bamboo is a lump-forming grass that is easily cultivated. You might even grow your own.

Plants for the conservatory
It is necessary to select your plants well if they are to flourish in your new conservatory. Most house plants will not like the atmosphere in there as they will have been cultivated from the kind of tropical species that enjoy low-light levels and a constant year-round warmth. Swiss cheese plant and rubber plants will not like the high light levels and dramatic variations in temperature which is a shame with their glossy, green leaves. It is possible to grow sub-tropical species that burst into richly coloured flowers and fragrances, plants that couldn’t survive outside or in most rooms but will flourish in the eco-system of a glazed room. These plants can endure low temperatures in the winter and extremely high ones in summer. What are these plants?

Bougainvillaea, Nerium, Pelargonium, Jasmine, Hibiscus, Passiflora and Daturas are all exceptional. Many of them are natural climbers and can be trained up the house wall or conservatory frame such as Bougainvillaea and Jasmine and will need seasonal pruning. Others, such as Nerium, are shrubs that will form into a large bushy specimen given a large enough tub and its flowers keep coming all summer and autumn (fragrant reds and pinks).

Others, such as Passiflora (passionflower) and Plumbago are basically vines and can be trained along wires fixed to the rafters or walls. If you’d rather not have something that crawls all over the place, but sits neatly in a pot or tub, you might try Azalea, Hibiscus or Gardenia with their large showy flowers or the smaller Cyclamen, Streptocarpus and Vallota. For a high-roofed, large conservatory some tree specimens can be grown as standards in large tubs ? lemon and orange trees, kumquats and palms such as the parlour palm ? true Victorian conservatory plants. Some will need some shade in summer from the worst of the sun and heat, but then, so will you. For sure, some of your plants will take off as if they’d been returned to Eden but the pleasure of gardening is finding out which will do which. It’s September and the last day of summer ? the sun is setting and as it does so, it seems to draw the last warmth of summer down with it. It matters not that there is now a chill in the garden for inside you have a room that is still filled with the heat of the sun – a room where you can still feel part of the garden and part of summer.