If you’re looking to purchase a set of blinds for your living or office space, you may need to decide between ‘custom’ and ‘ready-made’ blinds. Each style has its own benefits and drawbacks, so let’s take a look at what those are.
Firstly, let’s define what is meant by the terms ‘custom’ and ‘ready made’ as they apply to blinds. ‘Ready-made’ blinds are blinds not designed for any specific window or space, but are widely and easily available to a majority of consumers. For the purposes of this article, think of them as ‘one size fits all’ and you won’t go far wrong. Conversely, ‘custom’ blinds are blinds that have been designed and built with a specific window or space in mind. They are made-to-measure, and will be perfectly suited to your window or space.
Next, we will examine the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each style, before arriving at our conclusion.
Ready Made Blinds: The Pros.
- Easy availability – Ready-made blinds are widely available from any number of shops, traders, or manufacturers.
- No waiting around – Ready-made blinds can be purchased and fitted on the same day.
- Affordability – Ready-made blinds are by far the most affordable option available to the average consumer.
- Variety – Ready-made blinds are available in a diverse variety of colours, materials, and styles. These styles range from plain, neutral tones to loud colours, and intricate patterns.
- Easy Installation – In most cases, you can install ready-made blinds entirely by yourself. It’s easy to do, and won’t add to the overall cost.
Ready Made Blinds: The Cons.
- Accidents can happen – Although installing ready-made blinds IS easy, it’s also fair to say that mistakes are possible. You could mis-measure, accidentally pick the wrong colour, or have trouble installing them.
- Lower quality – Ready-made blinds are usually very affordable. However, costs are often kept down by the manufacturers using cheaper materials.
- Not customisable – Ready-made blinds are available in a wide selection of colours, styles, and etc. However, custom blinds can be made in literally ANY style you want. There’s just no competing with that.
- May not fit – Although ready-made blinds are designed to fit most windows, not all windows are alike. A perfect fit may not be guaranteed.
- Won’t last as long – The cheaper price tag and lower quality of ready-made blinds probably means that they will lack the longevity of their custom-made equivalents.
Custom Blinds: The Pros.
- You choose everything – The materials, the style, the colour – it’s all up to you. You won’t have to ‘make do’ with the best of a sub-par selection. Everything will be fashioned according to YOUR preferences.
- A perfect fit – Custom blinds will fit your window or space exactly.
- Tailored to your needs – Custom blinds afford you a greater amount of choice with regard to temperature or light control, heating or cooling, and other functions as well.
- Higher quality – Custom blinds will usually represent higher quality than ready-made blinds.
- Professional assistance – Your custom blinds will be created by experts, and fitted by trained professionals. You won’t have to do anything once you’ve placed your order and paid the bill.
Custom Blinds: The Cons.
- Expensive – Custom blinds are many times more expensive than the cheapest ready-made blinds.
- Waiting – Obviously, making blinds from scratch takes time. Custom blinds are therefore not the best option for those in a hurry.
- Inconvenience – It’s much easier to simply buy blinds from a shop or website than it is to have them custom-made.
- You have to find the right company – There are a lot of blind manufacturers out there. Finding the right firm for you can take time.
- Difficult to replace – Ready-made blinds can be replaced cheaply and easily when they become old or broken. This is usually not the case with custom blinds.
So, Which is Better?
As we’ve hopefully demonstrated, there are pros and cons attached to both options. However, for their higher quality, longevity, value for money, availability of options, and customer service, custom blinds are definitely the superior option. Don’t get us wrong, ready-made blinds are a great choice for those in a hurry or on a budget – and they can still provide everything you need. However, custom blinds are by far the better option, if you can afford to choose them.
This is a collaborative post
