Integral blind colours offer key sales potential

The latest Venetian integral blind colours which have been developed to respond to changing home décor trends offer important sales potential according to Ian Short, MD of Uni-Blinds integral blinds manufacturer, Morley Glass.

Ian said: “White window and door frames may continue to dominate sales in the UK, but the new kids on the block are undoubtedly agate grey and black.”

According to Ian, this is reflected in sales of Uni-Blinds integral blind units, which are now available in both these colours within the Venetian range. Despite white and anthracite continuing to take the lion’s share of our sales, Morley Blinds has reported a noticeable shift to other colours as homeowners and architects experiment with different approaches to the look of their windows and doors.

Ian continued: “Innovation by profile manufacturers has provided end-users with easy access to high quality, visually appealing PVC-U and aluminium systems which are gradually shifting the perception that frames should be white. The anthracite boom has certainly turbocharged this shift, which means it accounts for an estimated 10% of all PVC-U windows installed, and the colour is the most popular in aluminium according to some fabricators and installers.

“What is particularly interesting to see is the greater variety of colours being chosen today by customers compared to, say, 10 years ago, particularly when it comes to our Uni-Blinds. All the bespoke integral blind units that we manufacture for customers are created using ScreenLine systems from the global market leader, Pellini S.p.A. which has been extremely active on new colour development in recent years.

“The arrival of new ScreenLine Venetian blind colours in agate grey (S120) and black (B160) during 2023, which are exclusively available in the UK from Morley Glass, was particularly welcome as they give homeowners the opportunity to complete their windows and doors with integral blinds for a fully ‘on-trend’ result,” continued Ian.

“Other integral blind colours, such as silver (S157), anthracite (S159) and slate grey (S158), can also look amazing within coloured frames, but agate grey and black have made an instant impact in the market.”

The rise in popularity of black and agate grey windows and doors is partly a response to changing trends, but also a reflection of the level of product innovation today in the fenestration sector versus previous generations.

Pellini S.p.A. has a team of colour specialists whose job it is to ensure the colours applied to the Venetian blind slats within all ScreenLine systems are consistently high quality. This is said to be crucial, given the intense heat that can build up inside an integral blind unit in the strong summer sunshine, coupled with the impact of UV light, which means any new product must be able to stand the test of time to meet customer expectations.

Ian concluded: “The window industry is getting better all the time at creating products with lasting colour, whether that’s on integral blinds or frames, and that provides greater inspiration for homeowners looking to make their properties just the way they want them.”