How to Choose the Right Tilt Option for Your Window Treatments

Slat blinds with tilt are the best option to maintain privacy in your home while still letting in some light. They give you a partial exterior view and help filter sunlight to reduce glare.

Slat blinds come in a variety of styles, materials and colors. The most common styles are vertical and horizontal. Vertical blinds are often the choice for full-length windows and sliding glass doors. Horizontal blinds are more common for standard-size windows.

The color and material choice depends on your chosen color palette for the room, the amount of light the window receives in a day and the function you want your blinds to perform. For example, you might want the blinds to reflect light in the room or out of the room. You might want the blinds to help control temperature. Or you might want the blinds to let in maximum light and provide the best view.

Slat blinds consist of a header that hides the hardware, slats and thin braided ropes or cords that hold the slats in place. The cords thread through and around each slat in order to control the movement of the blinds. The cords that run through the slats raise them up and down. The cords that thread around the slats tilt them up and down.

Curved slats reflect the light in specific ways. Tilting them so the curve faces into the space reflects more light back into the room.

A 90-degree angle is considered open. All other angles increase privacy. A 180-degree angle is closed.

The tilt wand is the most common way to control slat blinds. It inserts into the header by a hook. The wand is typically two-thirds the length of the blind height.
You simply twist the wand to control the angle of the slats.

The tilt wand is usually on the left side of the blinds. Customized blinds offer an option to change control placement to suit your needs.

Some horizontal blinds are designed to tilt when you simply adjust the bottom rail. If you push up on the rail, the slats slant down or close. If you tilt the bottom rail downward, the slats tilt up to open.

A motorized solution is a popular option for high and hard-to-reach windows or multiple windows in the same room. Motorized tilt is available for slat blinds like wood, faux wood or aluminum.

The motorized tilt control system uses a small motor in the header and a remote control that allows you to operate the tilt and raise your slat blinds from anywhere within the sensor's range.