Day & Night Blinds

A day and night blind is two layers of fabric in one. Each layer has horizontal stripes that alternate between a sheer band and a solid band. Pull the chain and the two layers slide past each other. Line the sheer stripes up and you get soft daylight and a view out. Offset them and the solid stripes close the gaps for privacy. You may also hear them called zebra blinds.

They suit rooms where the light changes through the day and your needs change with it: a front room facing a busy pavement, a home office that catches the low afternoon sun, or a kitchen-diner overlooked by the house next door. Instead of choosing between a bright room and a private one, you simply adjust the bands.

How they compare with other blinds

Compared with a roller blind

A roller blind is either up or down. To keep your privacy during the day, you lower it and live with however much light the fabric allows. A day and night blind gives you the settings in between, which is the main reason people choose one.

Compared with nets and voiles

Voiles give a lovely soft privacy, but they’re always there. A day and night blind rolls right out of the way when you want the full window, and closes in the evening without needing a second layer. Some people still like both, with a voile for softness and the blind for control.

Compared with blackout blinds

Day and night blinds are about daytime privacy and gentle light, not darkness. Even with the solid bands closed, a little light passes through the fabric and around the edges. For a bedroom that needs to be dark, a blackout blind is the better choice.

Choosing your fabric

The look of a day and night blind comes down to three things, and it helps to see them at the window rather than on a screen.

• Band width. Narrow bands read almost like a texture from across the room. Wider bands make a stronger, more graphic stripe that suits plain, modern spaces.
• Density of the solid band. A lighter weave lets a warm glow through when closed, which keeps a lounge feeling bright. A denser band is more useful in a room with a television or computer screen.
• Colour. Pale shades keep a room feeling airy even with the bands closed. Charcoal and slate tones make a confident statement against white window frames.

Because the bands need to run perfectly level, a made-to-measure blind matters even more here than with a plain roller. They usually sit inside the window recess, but where the recess is shallow we fit them across the frame instead.

How it works

1. Pick a time. Call, WhatsApp or book through our quote form, and choose any day of the week.
2. See the bands in your own light. We bring day and night samples so you can hold them at the window and see how the stripes look open and closed. Measuring and quoting cost nothing, and you’re not obliged to order.
3. Made to size. We use the measurements from your visit, so the bands sit straight across each window.
4. Fitted and set up. Our fitter installs each blind, secures the chain safely and shows you how the bands work. Fitting is included in your quote.

We’ve been in the trade for 20 years, so our team can tell you quickly whether a day and night blind suits a room, or whether something simpler would do the job just as well. For more background, read day and night blinds explained.