Blinds in Hurlingham

Hurlingham is a big-stand suburb with old trees, which changes the shading problem in a way people underestimate. A mature garden gives you dappled shade for part of the day and none at all for the rest, and the sun moves through the gaps as the afternoon goes on. A blind chosen for the worst hour is wrong for the other six.

That is exactly the case where venetians earn their place: tilt the slats and you steer the light onto the ceiling instead of the television, without going dark. In the renovated open-plan additions we see a lot of here, a sunscreen roller on the big glass and venetians in the study is a very common and very sensible combination.

Renovation is the other Hurlingham theme. Houses here get extended rather than replaced, and the new wing almost always has more glass than the old one. If the ceiling is still open, that is the moment to plan a concealed blind box — it costs far less before the boards go up than any retrofit ever will, and it is the detail that makes the new room look designed.

Where the ceiling has already closed, a colour-matched cassette pelmet gets most of the way to the same look. We will tell you which of the two your room can take after standing in it.