Grey is the country's most popular blind colour, and a vertical blind carries it across the large windows verticals dress. A vertical hangs as a run of louvres that rotate for light and draw aside to clear the glass, suiting patio doors, bay windows, conservatories and wide office glazing - all places a versatile grey works. This guide spans a value plain, a blackout and the widest grey palette we found, drawn from three different UK retailers.
What grey brings to a room
Grey is the working neutral - it sits back and lets a room's furniture and colour lead, with a cooler, more contemporary edge than beige, and it suits the offices, conservatories and living rooms verticals tend to cover. On a large window a grey vertical is the safe, won't-date choice. Grey has a temperature: cool greys lean blue and read crisp, warm greys (greige) carry brown and feel softer. Depth runs from pale dove through steel to charcoal. Match the temperature and depth to the room and your existing greys - order a sample, since grey shifts more than most colours.
What to look for
- Louvre width: usually 89mm, with 127mm for very large windows.
- Opacity: light-filtering greys screen and soften daylight; a blackout vane suits a bedroom or a glare-prone office; a moisture-resistant fabric suits kitchens and conservatories.
- Shade and temperature: order a sample - cool blue-greys and warm greiges read very differently.
- Operation and safety: a wand-operated, cord-free system is safer near children, in line with UK requirements.
- Fitting: top-fix or face-fix with clearance above and a flat run to stack into.
How we chose
Three routes into a grey vertical, each from a different retailer: a low-cost grey with a few tones, a blackout anthracite for sleep and glare, and the widest grey palette for matching a specific shade.
Our picks
Ana Beige Shadow Pattern Vertical Blinds
at Unbeatable Blinds
A low-cost grey vertical from Unbeatable Blinds across several grey tones.
Orion Vertical Blinds
at 247 Blinds
A blackout anthracite vertical from 247 Blinds for a bedroom or office.
Splash Vertical Blinds
at Blinds By Post
A grey vertical from Blinds By Post with one of the widest grey palettes.
Pick details
Ana Beige Shadow Pattern Vertical Blinds
at Unbeatable Blinds
A low-cost grey vertical from Unbeatable Blinds across several grey tones.
For a grey vertical at the lowest sensible price, the Ana at Unbeatable Blinds is our value pick. It carries several grey tones at an entry price among the lowest for a made-to-measure vertical, which matters on the large windows verticals dress, where the area adds up. It is the sensible starting point for a grey vertical and leaves budget for the rest of the room.
Orion Vertical Blinds
at 247 Blinds
A blackout anthracite vertical from 247 Blinds for a bedroom or office.
When the grey needs to cut light - a bedroom, or an office with screen glare - the Orion at 247 Blinds is our blackout pick. Its anthracite vanes block daylight rather than dim it, in a deep grey that reads as a dressed, considered colour; rotate them closed for darkness or angle them to take light without glare. At a low-to-mid entry price for a blackout vertical, it is the choice for a glare-prone or sleep room. 247 Blinds is a second retailer to compare.
Splash Vertical Blinds
at Blinds By Post
A grey vertical from Blinds By Post with one of the widest grey palettes.
When the exact grey matters, the Splash at Blinds By Post is our pick for choice. It carries one of the widest grey palettes we found in a single vertical range, running from pale dove through the mid greys, so you can pick the precise tone and temperature the room needs rather than taking the one a range offers - and at a low entry price. Blinds By Post is the third retailer here to compare. It is the pick when you are matching grey to a sofa, a wall or a kitchen.
What we didn't include
We have kept this guide to grey, and to a value plain, a blackout and a wide-palette range. Other colours have their own guides. Motorised tracks suit very wide glazing but are an option rather than a different product; patterned vanes are a separate brief.