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Conservatory blinds may have been the last thing on your mind. Your conservatory is finally finished and you've been aching to use it! An extra room where you can relax away from the daily grind. It's your personal retreat where you don't have to watch children's programs, or even your partner's programs! No more sport or mindless programs! Reading, listening to music, sitting with the laptop, or just wondering if your eldest son will cut the grass before the weekend! Life is good, even if it is too hot to sit in the your new sun room!

Oh! No-one told you about all that glass sending temperatures to over 40 degrees centigrade?! What about the glare?! Have you got your sunglasses on?! Are your plants already dying from the heat?! You would never expect it in the UK! Joking aside, you only have two choices. Install conservatory blinds or suffer the heat and glare. I'll assume that after having spent a small fortune on the addition to your home, you'll want to be comfortable in it!

There are three important questions to consider.

1. Will I need to do the sides and the roof?

You only need to do the roof if the heat generated by it is excessive. This is usually the case if your roof is a glass one,... unless it is made with UV reflective glass or your conservatory faces north (in the Northern hemisphere). The polycarbonate roofs are not so bad, especially if has been treated with a tint. You will find that installing window blinds on your side windows is inevitable, if only from the point of view of privacy, and this may also be an adequate solution to keeping the conservatory cooler and much more usable.

2. What type of blinds are available?

They can be divided into three groups, namely, made to measure traditional ones, specialised ones and those made for roofs. Traditional ones would consist of roller, venetian, roman, and vertical. Wooden, blackout and pleated, along with a new type where no drilling is required would fall into the second group. Electric or motorised as well as pole-operated types fall into the third group - those for your conservatory roof. Choosing any from each group can be used for shading, but it should be noted that the traditional ones can have their drawbacks. Those that are made with sun rooms specifically in mind, for example, are fitted close to the glass leaving your window sills available for plants, ornaments or lighting. Because these shading systems tend to be fixed at the bottom as well as the top, you don't have the problem of your blinds flapping about in the breeze when you decide to open the doors and windows.

3. Can I do it myself?

Yes and no! Yes as regards side ones. A definite 'no' when it comes to roof shading!

There are several companies to be found who can provide you with comprehensive instructions on how to measure your side windows and also how to install them. These systems are made specifically for conservatories and do not involve any drilling. There are no holes to be drilled. Brackets simply fit between the glass and the glazing gasket When it comes to the roof, the correct measuring of obtuse and acute angles for intricate shapes and large three or four-sided blinds is crucial to the end result. It really is not a job for anyone other than a professional and that is what you will be paying for - a bespoke, error free installation. Mistakes are very costly since each roof blind is made specifically for the new addition to your home. All in all, the addition of conservatory blinds is an undertaking of considerable magnitude. However, no-one can deny that installing them creates a sense of warmth whilst adding your personal touch.