5 surprising facts about Venetian blinds!
Venetian blinds are an elegant and practical way to dress up the windows in your room. They are affordable, hassle-free unlike curtains, and let in only as much light as you want.
They also come in different types, like Aluminium blinds, roller blinds, wooden blinds and vertical blinds. These are an everyday part of our indoor décor, and we usually do not spare two thoughts about the origin or history of these venetian blinds. Well, except for maybe the thought that those blinds online were such a bargain!
Here are a few interesting facts about venetian blinds that might surprise you:
Venetian blinds are not from Venice!
Although the origin of venetian blinds dates back to several centuries, they did not originate in Venice, as many wrongly assume. In fact, they were thought to have been invented in Persia. Venetian traders are thought to have brought the blinds back to their nation. Following this, Venetian slaves are conjectured to have brought it with them to France when they were freed. They installed them in their homes for their comfort, and also sold the blinds for their livelihood.
Venetian blinds were once a status symbol!
In 1761, St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia pioneered the venetian blind trend in the United States of America, by covering its windows with this brand new design. Imagine that! Taking that leap from stained glass windows to 2” wood slats that unfurl! There are also several illustrations that show the signing of the Declaration of Independence within the Independence Hall in America, with windows covered with venetian blinds! The RCA Building in New York City, which is presently the GE Building, was the first large commercial building in the States to use the venetian blinds, soon after it opened in the early 1930s.
The slats could not be rotated!
The slats were not as dynamic or adjustable earlier, as they are now. In 1841, John Hampston of New Orleans was the first to innovate on the original design and develop a mechanism that enabled the user to control the angle of blind slats. Nowadays, you get to buy venetian blinds online with a lot of innovative designing and mechanisms that make it so much easier to use and maintain.
Vertical blinds are just a few decades old!
The original design of blinds has always been horizontal. The vertical blinds were invented and designed by Edward Bopp and Frederick Bopp in Kansas City, Missouri, patented under the company name Sun Vertical. They sold the patent and company in the 1960s.
There is a Japanese version too!
The Japanese have their own window covering that has a series of wooden slats that move and stack one-in-front-of-the-other. These are known as Shoji blinds. Japanese Shoji screens slide on a conventional panel blind track in such a way that the panels stack one-in-front of the other. The slats may also stack on either or both sides of the window, as well as inside or outside the recess. These screens also serve the purpose of room dividers or wardrobe doors. Who knew!
Now that you know some interesting titbits about venetian blinds, you may be tempted to get a beautiful set of blinds for your windows. You can get the most affordable and stylish blinds online, at exciting prices and also in colour schemes and designs that will suit your home or work space best.
