How to read this comparison
There is no single “best” window covering. A type that is perfect in a bedroom can look tired in a steamy kitchen within a season. Each product has its own page in our curtains and blinds range; here we put the types side by side, like a toolbox, and say when each earns its place and where it is the wrong choice.
Slatted systems
Aluminium venetian blinds have slim 16 mm slats and shrug off water, steam and salty air – ideal for kitchens, bathrooms and flats right on the seafront. Wooden venetian blinds with 50 mm slats bring warmth to a study or living room but do not like damp.
Vertical blinds hang fabric louvres from a top track and draw to the side. They make sense on wide sliding doors, office glazing and shopfronts, and the louvres tilt so you can steer the light precisely.
Fabric blinds that lift upwards
- Roller blinds: one piece of fabric wound onto a tube. Plain, patterned, blackout and screen fabrics are available – the clean, simple option for almost any room.
- Blackout blinds: roller blinds or curtains in a fabric that blocks most daylight. Bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms.
- Screen roller blinds: an open-weave fabric that cuts glare while you can still see out by day. Rooms with a sea or mountain view, and offices.
- Zebra blinds: sheer and solid bands slide over each other, switching between day and night mode. Torn between zebra and a plain roller? Our zebra vs roller blinds comparison goes into detail.
- Pleated blinds: fabric folds like an accordion and can open from the top or bottom. Excellent for glass balcony enclosures and awkward shapes such as roof windows.
- Roman blinds: the fabric gathers into soft horizontal folds as it rises – the neat profile of a blind with the softness of a curtain.
- Silhouette shades: fabric vanes floating between two sheer layers. When the vanes open they scatter light gently across the room.
Curtains and how they hang
Sheer curtains soften daylight and give privacy during the day. Curtains and drapes add colour, texture and, when lined with blackout fabric, darkness at night. A double curtain system puts both on one track so each layer can be drawn independently – a favourite for living rooms and master bedrooms.
Sash curtains (briz in Turkish) are light, gathered sheers threaded onto slim rods that are fixed to the window or door sash itself – top and bottom, or at the top only. Because they are attached to the sash, they swing open with it, which makes them handy on kitchen windows and French doors.
Curtain poles (what Turkish shops call rustik) are the decorative alternative to a hidden track: drapes or sheers hang from rings or eyelets on a visible rod. String curtains are made of fine threads and work as a light room divider or a soft doorway screen.
Motorised: an option, not a separate type
Motorisation is a way of operating rather than a type of its own. Roller, zebra and Roman blinds, as well as curtains on a track, can all run on a remote. Motorised curtains and blinds are genuinely useful on very tall windows, in villas with double-height living rooms and in holiday homes that stand empty for months.
Quick comparison
| Type | Light control | Moisture tolerance | Typical place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium venetian | Tilt slats | High | Kitchen, bathroom, seafront |
| Wooden venetian | Tilt slats | Low | Study, living room |
| Roller / blackout | Open–close, darkening | Medium | Bedroom, nursery |
| Screen roller | Cuts glare | Medium | View rooms, offices |
| Zebra | Day–night bands | Medium | Living room, bedroom |
| Pleated | Top-down, bottom-up | Medium | Glass balcony, roof window |
| Silhouette | Soft, diffused | Medium | Living room, bedroom |
| Sash curtain (briz) | Filtered, moves with the sash | Washable fabric | Kitchen, French doors |
| Sheers + drapes | Layered | Depends on fabric | Living room, bedroom |
Two types on one window
Often the best result comes from two layers rather than one. Pairings we fit regularly:
- Screen roller blind with drapes: glare control by day, a closed, cosy room at night.
- Sheer curtain with a blackout roller: the sheer softens the view, the blind behind it darkens the bedroom.
- Wooden venetian with drapes on a decorative pole: precise light control plus a warm frame.
With layered set-ups, both products are measured together so tracks and brackets do not get in each other’s way.
From comparison to decision
Once you know the types, our step-by-step guide on how to choose curtains for each room helps you narrow things down. Average prices per m² for wooden, aluminium and pleated blinds are on our prices page; everything else is quoted at the visit. The same type can look completely different in another fabric, so get in touch for a free home visit – we hold samples up at your window, and overseas owners can follow along on a WhatsApp video call.