With the advance of composite woods it is no longer easy to tell the different between real wood and a faux, or composite wood choice for your "wood blinds". Read more to find out the pros and cons of choosing a real wood blind or a composite or faux wood blind.

The Feel of Real Wood

In most cases, real wood blinds are made from Basswood.  It is a lightweight., hardwood which accepts finishes well and is favored for wood carving, furniture, instruments and other high-end uses.  It can be polished to a variety of finishes, including Mahogany, Cherry, and Pine, as well as painted and distressed finishes. Blinds can also be made from real Cherry, Pine or Oak woods.  These blinds are obviously the very highest-end wood blind products and have a higher price tag to match.

Lightweight & Elegant

The obvious benefit of real wood is in its authentic look and feel, as well as its light weight, which is particularly useful in large windows where heavy blinds may be harder to maneuver.  On the downside, real wood is more expensive and can warp slightly, although we’ve only seen this a handful of times in the past 80 years we’ve been in business. The Chalet® collection of Basswoods by Hunter Douglas is very inexpensive and beautiful as well.

An Affordable Alternative

The Hunter Douglas EverWood® collection is a unique blend of North American hardwood and advanced composite materials.  Unlike real wood, artificial blinds won't warp or crack and are generally less expensive. On the aesthetic side, artificial blinds have evolved light years beyond the flimsy or synthetic-looking products of the past. Hunter Douglas recently introduced a new line called TruGrain® to their EverWood® line, which offers the stability of composite materials with the beautiful graining previously only available with real woods.  So, while appearance is less of an issue with artificial woods, weight remains a drawback.  They are heavier than their authentic counterparts, so for large window treatments, real wood remains the best option.

Exciting Options

Today you can get real wood or artificial wood with a cordless mechanism,  allowing you to lift or draw down the blind with a simple push on the bottom rail.  Meanwhile, the pull cord is still available for traditionalists, but new mechanisms keep the cord to a desired length and the slack out of view.  Lastly, consider what kind of the fabric tapes you’ll want running down your blinds.   Artificial wood blinds require more rows of tape to stabilize the blind than real wood, and wider blinds also require more tape, so ask your Dealer about this, as well as about slat size to achieve the look you want.

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