What a wider blade changes
Every blade in a panel is a slat that pivots. The wider each slat, the fewer of them a panel needs, and almost everything else follows from that one fact:
- View. Open, a panel of 114 mm blades is mostly gap. The fewer the blades, the fewer the lines across your outlook.
- Light per turn. Wide blades swing more open area per degree of tilt, so small adjustments do more.
- Privacy grain. Narrow blades give finer control near the closed end, useful where the window practically touches the footpath.
- Cleaning. Fewer, wider blades means fewer surfaces to run a cloth over. Ask anyone who owns both.
- Proportion. A blade has to look right in its frame. A 114 mm blade in a little sash pane looks like venetian bars on a doll's house; a 63 mm blade across a two-metre pane looks fussy.
The same window three ways. Width is mostly a proportion decision, then a view decision.
The quick match, window by window
| Window | Usual pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cottage double-hung sash | 63 or 89 mm | Modest panes carry smaller blades in proportion; finer privacy grain for street-close frontages |
| Standard bedroom window, newer home | 89 mm | The all-rounder: good view open, good close against a low sun |
| Full-height glass, living areas | 114 mm | Fewest lines across the view; big tilt authority for west afternoons |
| Wet areas (PVC) | 63 or 89 mm | Wet-area panes run smaller; PVC blades run heavier, so widths step down. See the wet-area guide |
| Bi-fold / sliding alfresco panels | 89 or 114 mm | Panel size and weight set the choice; decided at the measure |
Aspect still gets a vote
Width and tilt work together. A west window wants the authority of a wider blade so it can sit open most of the day and still beat the five o'clock sun when asked. A north window wants blades that open flat and disappear so the winter sun gets in. A south window barely cares, which is its charm.
Nobody regrets the blade width they chose standing in the room. People regret the one they chose from a brochure.
We bring sample panels in each width to every free measure, because ten seconds of holding one against the window settles what three web pages cannot. If you want a head start, run your rooms through the Aspect Planner; it suggests a width for each room and explains itself.