Light-coloured blinds, particularly white are the best choice for keeping your home cool in summer. Dark coloured blinds, especially black blinds, can have the opposite effect. They'll do their job in terms of privacy and light control, but the dark colour will attract the sun and could potentially add to overheating.

Black and Grey If you use too many dark shades in small spaces it can optically make the room appear smaller. Dark colours might also take out all the light of the room so we would recommend using them in the areas with wide windows.

As you will have seen, black blinds are a popular choice for both in the home and office. Whilst you may think that black blinds would be too bold, they can bring a welcomed break in a room's otherwise busy interior.

For some people, the problem with blackout blinds lies in the fact that they don't necessarily block out all light. Light can still creep in at the sides of the blinds when they're closed, illuminating the room to some degree.