Glossary

Aluminum Blinds – sometimes referred to as mini-blinds (1” slat) or macro-blinds (2” slat) and blind slats are made of curved aluminum.  Aluminum blinds are lightweight and very affordable.

 

Basswood – the premier wood used to manufacture blinds because it is light in weight and has a lovely wood grain

 

Blackout Liner – an option available on some fabric or wood shades to eliminate incoming light and provide maximum privacy

 

Blackout Shades – eliminates 100% of incoming light; a popular choice for bedrooms and media rooms.

 

Bottomrail – refers to the thicker material at the bottom of a blind or shade which secures the cords that run through the blind slats or shade fabric and provides stability so the product will hang evenly

 

Box bracket – refers to the box-style installation bracket used for most horizontal blinds.  

 

Braided cord ladders – the braided polyester cord that runs through the slats of a horizontal blind to aid with the tilting of the slats and the raising and lowering of the blind.

 

Cellular Shades – also referred to as “honeycomb” shades because of the way the shade fabric is fused to form the pleats or cells.  Cellular shades are available in both light-filtering and blackout fabrics and provide superior insulation.

 

Center Support Bracket – a bracket supplied when a horizontal blind is ordered at a width that will require more support than the right and left end brackets provide

 

Clearance – the available depth for installing a blind or shade within the window opening or recessed area

 

Cloth Tape – a decorative option offered on some 2” horizontal blinds  which replaces the standard ladder cords with a 1 ½” cotton tape

 

Common Valance – one continuous valance that will cover two or more blinds

 

Continuous Loop Lift Cord – a looped cord and clutch mechanism option used for raising and lowering horizontal shades; recommended for windows greater than 72” wide.  

 

Control Location – refers to the placement of the controls that operate a blind or shade

 

Controls – refers to the mechanisms used to operate blinds or shades such as raising or lowering or opening and closing.  Controls may consist of cords, wands or chains depending on the type of product.

 

Cord Cleat – is the apparatus that will help get excess cord out of the way when a shade is raised

 

Cord Equalizer – the part or housing that joins the lift cords that extend from the headrail of a horizontal blind or shade and prevents tangling of the cords to assure smooth operation of the unit

 

Cord Lock – the mechanism that will lock a blind or shade at the desired height when raising or lowering it

 

Cord Tilt – the cord that controls the tilting or opening and closing of the slats on horizontal blinds or the vanes on vertical blinds

 

Cut-out – an option available for blinds that will be installed in a window that has tile or molding obstruction or on doors with knobs or lever handles that need to be accommodated

 

Depth – amount of flat space available within the recessed area of a window opening for installing blinds or shades

 

End Caps – used to close off the ends of bottomrails or headrails on some blinds or shades

 

Factory Deduction – refers to the standard deduction a factory takes on inside mount products to allow space for the installation hardware and smooth operation of the product within the window opening

 

Faux Wood – man-made PVC material that provides the look of wood blinds at a lower cost.  Faux wood materials are treated with UV inhibitors so they resist warping, clean easily and are well-suited for even hot or humid climates.  Faux wood blinds are 20-30% heavier than wood blinds.

 

Headrail – the metal or wood housing located at the very top of a blind or shade and contains the mechanisms or operating parts of the product

 

Height – the length or measurement from top to bottom of a window opening or mounting surface

 

Hobbled – an option available on fabric roman shades that gives a soft drape to the fabric panels

 

Hold-down Brackets – brackets that secure a blind or shade to the mounting surface at the bottom; hold down brackets are most often used on doors where the blinds or shades will not be raised or lowered often

 

Honeycomb Shades – another name for cellular shades which have a “honeycomb” appearance due to the way the fabric is fused to form the cells

 

Horizontal Blinds – blinds that are constructed of slats that run left to right horizontally

 

Inside Mount – refers to a blind or shade that will be installed within the recessed area of a window opening

 

Ladder cords – the cords that separate and support the individual slats on a blind

 

Ladder spacing – the distance between the ladder cords

 

L-brackets – term used to refer to a bracket used to extend the mounting brackets from the mounting surface or to attach valance side returns to the front piece of the valance

 

Lift Cord – refers to the control cord used to raise and lower a blind or shade

 

Light-filtering – fabric that allows some light to filter through; semi-opaque

 

Louver – a term that is also used to refer to the individual vanes or slats on a vertical blind

 

Matchstick Shades – another term used for natural wood or woven wood shades

 

Mini-blinds – usually refers to 1” aluminum blinds

 

Motorized Tilt – an option available on some blinds where a battery-powered motor opens and closes the blind slats and operation is activated by using a  remote control

 

Mount type – refers to whether a window covering will be installed within a window opening (inside mount) or on the wall surface or trim outside the window opening or on the surface of a door (outside mount)

 

Mullions – metal, wood or vinyl frame strips that separate sections of window glass

 

Multiple blinds on one headrail - two or three separate blinds that are mounted on the same headrail; this option is designed for windows where two or three windows share a common opening

 

One-way Stack – vertical blind vanes stack up on the same side where the controls are located

 

Opaque – refers to fabric that eliminates incoming light; example: blackout shades

 

Outside Mount – refers to blinds or shades that will be installed outside the window opening to a wall surface, trim molding, or doors; also called a surface mount

 

Pleated Shades – made from a single layer of fabric that has been pleated with evenly spaced horizontal pleats

 

PVC Backing – an option offered on fabric vertical blinds where the fabric vanes are inserted into a vinyl sleeve to provide additional light control and privacy

 

Returns – side pieces of an outside mount valance that cover the mounting hardware or ends of the headrail

 

Reverse Roll – an option offered on roller shades where the fabric is attached to the roller so that it rolls off the front of the roller further from the window glass; standard roll is where the fabric rolls from the back of the roller closest to the window glass.

 

Reverse Stack – vertical blind vanes stack up on the side that is opposite from the location of the controls

 

Roller Shade – straight piece of vinyl or fabric attached to a roller that raises or lowers by a spring mechanism or a continuous loop lift cord clutch mechanism

 

Roman shade – shades made of fabric panels or natural woven wood materials that raise and lower in roman-style folds

 

Route holes – holes that are machine punched into the slats of horizontal blinds for the ladder cords to run through

 

Routless – option offered on horizontal blinds where the slats have no route holes and the ladder cords are held in place by small notches at the back of the slat instead; provides additional light control and privacy

 

Semi-opaque – fabric that allows light to filter through but still provides privacy

 

Slats – pieces of wood, faux wood or aluminum that are strung together to produce a horizontal blind

 

Spacers – a part used behind a mounting bracket to bring it out from the mounting surface enough to clear molding or trim when doing an outside mount installation

 

Split stack – a vertical blind opens from the center like draperies and half of the vanes stack up on the left and half stack up on the right when the vertical is opened

 

Spring roller mechanism – the spring mechanism inserted into the roller of a roller shade to allow the shade to be raised and lowered by grasping the hem of the shade; no lift cord is necessary

 

Stack size – refers to the amount of space a product will occupy when horizontal blinds or shades are fully raised or vertical blinds are opened and stacked

 

Standard Roll – roller shade fabric rolls off the back of the roller closest to the window glass

 

Tape edge – optional decorative tapes that can be applied to the outer edges of woven wood shades for color accent

 

Tassel – the decorative part that covers the knot at the ends of the cords that control the operation of blinds and shades

 

3 on 1 headrail – three individual blinds that share a common headrail but operate with separate lift and tilt controls; used when three windows share the same opening

 

Tile or molding cut-out – refers to a blind or shade that needs to have notches or edges cut out to 1) accommodate trim or molding that extends into a window opening or 2) doors with knobs or lever handles that overlap the glass area

 

Tilt mechanism – the wand or cords used to control the opening and closing of the slats on a horizontal blind

 

Top-down/Bottom-up – option offered on shades that allows the shade to be lowered from the top while still keeping the rest of the window covered to maintain privacy;  shade fabric can also be lifted from the bottom like a standard lift mechanism or lowered from the top and lifted from the bottom at the same time to cover just a portion of the window if desired

 

2 on 1 headrail – option offered on many products where two separate blinds or shades share a common headrail but operate individually with separate controls; ideal for applications where two windows share the same large opening

 

Valance – the decorative trim piece that covers metal headrail on a blind

 

Valance clip – the part that is used to attach the decorative valance to the headrail of a blind

 

Valance returns – the side pieces on an outside mount valance that cover the mounting brackets or ends of the headrail

 

Vanes – the term used to refer to the vertical louvers or slats on a vertical blind

 

Vertical Blinds – refers to a blind where the vanes or slats hang from top to bottom vertically rather than left to right like a horizontal blind; vanes rotate to control light and privacy and stack when opened

 

Wand Tilt – the vertical rod or wand used to control the opening, tilting, and closing of the slats on a blind

 

Width – refers to left to right measurement of a window opening or mounting surface

 

Wood Blinds – blinds manufactured with slats and valances made from premium basswood or imported hardwoods; wood blinds are lightweight and provide more insulation than blinds made from man-made materials or metal

 

Woven Wood Shades – horizontal shades produced from natural wood and man-made materials in a variety of textures, patterns and finishes