Wooden shutters vs. Faux Wood Blinds: Is There a Battle Going On?
Wood blinds have been the most sought after blinds for some time now. People love the look of natural wood blinds that complement their home décor. With wood blinds, wood blinds are the choice of a consumer looking for simple, warm and natural options for window coverings.
A key point about real wood products for window treatments is that they are moderately high in cost. This fact usually puts a red light somewhere in the way of deciding how much we want to spend to get them.
So what do you do if you want the look of real wood, but the price stops you before you can make a good decision? You guessed it: look for cheaper faux wood blinds.
In a short period of time, faux wood blinds have created serious competition for the classic “raw” wood blinds.
“Fake” wood means “imitated” wood.
Different manufacturers call the same faux wood blinds by different names like… Everwoods®, NuWoods® or Woodmates®. Regardless of the name, the slats and bottom rails on these blinds are made from vinyl only or from composite materials, which are wood and vinyl.
The use of vinyl in these products, whether in a portion or 100%, makes them resistant to moisture, more durable and costs much less to produce. The advantages can help you decide which blinds to buy. First, the price is better. Second, you can use faux wood blinds in high humidity and high traffic areas (where real wood blinds would suffer visible damage).
As with all products, there are pros and cons to faux wood blinds.
The professionals…
It costs much less to produce
-Resists moisture
-The slats do not deform
-The slats are easily changeable
-Withstand abuse in high traffic areas
-Give the look and feel of real wood products for less
The cons…
-Faux wood materials are heavier than wood.
(large individual blind sizes are limited by material weight)
-Faux wood slats are less rigid than wood slats and need more support ladders
(support ropes that run from top to bottom and separate individual slats from each other)
-Cheaper 100% vinyl products can “yellow” over time
-Still limited in color and finish options
(technologies for final appearance options have drastically improved and are catching up quickly)
After all this “battling the blind”, what is our suggestion for the best choice you can make?
For real wood blinds, if you still prefer them to faux wood, you can’t go wrong with your investment because they add value and a natural feel to your home decor. Manufacturers use basswood, poplar, maple, cherry, and even knotty pine wood to give you a wide variety of finishes and stain color options to match your furniture, flooring, or window sills more precisely.
On the other hand, if you can compromise, alloy or composite (wood and vinyl blend) faux wood blinds offer a modest investment.
The battle between real wood blinds and faux wood blinds continues quietly. And the way it’s going, it looks good in his favor: the customer. He simply gives you new, cheaper options when shopping for wood or faux wood blinds. Now, without having to sacrifice that natural look for a premium price, he can have a look-alike for less, no matter what room in his house or cabin.
