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Lantern Roof blinds for Orangeries and Garden Rooms

Orangeries (also known as Garden Rooms) are becoming a popular addition to many contemporary homes as they can offer a stylish, flexible space within your home which can be used as an addition of your kitchen, an extra living space, a home office or just another space where you can relax.

With the increase in popularity of Orangeries and Garden Rooms, lantern roofs are now becoming common place and although a lantern roof in comparison to a full conservatory roof reduces the light and heat form the sun entering the space below, as with a full glass roof conservatory, you may experience problems with heat gain and glare.

Lantern roof blinds can be an effective solution to reducing glare and heat gain in an Orangery or Garden room whilst also enhancing the ambience of your orangery and depending on the solution chosen, can reduce heat loss during the colder months of the year.

PLeated lantern roof blinds

To arrange your free no obligation survey or for more information and advice give us a call on

0800 086 2882

If you would like an idea of the cost of a blind for your Lantern Roof then click the Online Cost Request button.

When considering lantern roof blinds, you first need to decide whether the blinds are to be installed against the glass as in a traditional glass conservatory roof or whether you are happy to have a blind or blinds across the opening at the base of the lantern roof.

Blinds fitted against the glass

This option allows you to have the same choice of blind types as are available for a full glass conservatory roof but generally this would be either pleated blinds or roller blinds. Either of these blind types is available as rectangular and shaped, usually one blind per glass panel, (although one blind can cover more than one glass panel depending on the size of the glass panels) and can be manual or motorised operation.

Blinds fitted at the base of the roof lantern

This option usually requires much fewer blinds (generally one or two are sufficient) and depending on the choice of blind and the size of the opening, can often be achieved without the need for visible support wires when the blind is retracted.

The choice of blind for the base of a lantern roof is the same as that of blinds fitted against the glass but your requirements and the size of the opening will have much more influence on the type of blind that is most suitable.

Blind Options

Roller blind – suitable for all sizes of roof lantern, the roller blind is probably the most popular choice for the larger roof lantern apertures.

Available in a wide range of fabrics from

• screen fabrics which diffuse rather than block the light.
• solar reflective fabrics which reduce heat gain and glare
• blackout fabrics which prevent any light from passing through the fabric

The roller blinds for roof lanterns have a cassette at each end which are the width of the opening and side channels which run the length of the opening and are attached to each cassette. One cassette houses the fabric roll, the other cassette houses the spring system and the fabric travels in the side channels between the two cassettes.

As an option, a zip can be welded to the edge of the fabric which runs in the side channels and this zip then locks the fabric into the side channels. The benefit of this is that it prevents the fabric from blowing out of the side channels, reduces the possibility of any fabric sag and can extend the life of the blind.

Operation of the roof roller blinds can be either manual crank handle (generally for smaller sized openings) or remote control motorised and if motorised, it may be possible to have battery operation which negates the need for electrical power at the lantern roof base.
For a brochure detailing fully the lantern roof roller blind system click here.

Pleated blind – whilst not quite as suitable as the roller blind for the larger roof lantern apertures, the pleated blind is a very popular choice due to its unobtrusive style and it’s heat retention properties when manufactured with a cellular fabric.

The pleated roof lantern blind requires support wires running through the fabric to prevent the blind form sagging. Generally, these support wires are visible when the blind is retracted and if a single pleat fabric is used, they are visible to a much lesser degree when the blind is extended. Seeing the support wires when the blind is extended can be removed by using a pleated cellular fabric as the wires run through the middle of the fabric.

In some instances, depending on the width of the lantern aperture, if the pleated blind is fitted into a frame, then the frame will take most of the weight of the floating rail (the rail that moves the fabric from end to end) and it is then possible to route the support wires so they are not visible when the blind is retracted.

Operation of the pleated roof blind can be manual by means of a pole which locates into the floating rail and the rail is them simply drawn across the lantern aperture, or as with the roller roof lantern blind, it can be electrically operated by remote control and as with the roof roller blind, it can be battery operated.

Sail Blinds – more suited for medium to large roof lanterns, sail blinds can offer a more contemporary and modern option to the traditional roller and pleated blinds.

Sail blinds are not designed to provide 100% complete shading but with careful design and installation, sail blinds will provide shading where required thereby reducing heat gain and glare.

Sail blinds are a semi-permanent installation meaning they are not capable of being opened and closed in the normal way that roller and pleated blinds can but sail blinds can be removed in a matter of minutes if the shading is not required during the winter months or if the sail blinds require washing.

Whilst the sail blinds may not always be suitable as a solution for roof lanterns, they do offer a very different option to the roller and pleated blinds and have one major advantage in that they can be easily removed and are fully machine washable therefore ensuring your sail blinds always look their best.

For our sail blinds brochure with further information please click here

Lantern roof sail blinds

Summary – whilst there are not endless shading options for roof lanterns, the options that are available may involve a significant investment and require careful consideration to ensure they meet your requirements.

We would recommend you ask yourself the following questions: –

The first and most important question to ask yourself – What is my budget? The answer to this question will more than likely affect your answers to the following questions

Do we want the blinds against the glass or across the opening?

Are we concerned how many blinds there will be?

Do we want 100% shading?

Do we want to open and close the blinds regularly?

How are we going to operate the blinds?

Once you have an answer to these questions you will be in a much better position to know what solution is going to be right for you and you are likely to make the right choice that suits your individual needs.

Hopefully we have given you some idea of what shading solutions are available for roof lanterns in Orangeries and Garden Rooms.

If you have questions we have not answered here or would like to arrange a free no obligation site survey then please just give us a call or click the “Call Me” button and we will call you right back.

0800 086 2882

I was so pleased with their quality & workmanship and they don’t have pushy salespeople.
Competitive price, fitter very professional and courteous, very satisfied with job.
Excellent service from start to finish, communication first class, definately recommend.
Great service from Danny and his team.Very pleased that we chose to go with Marla.

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