The California range at Blinds By Post is a made-to-measure vertical blind sold in 4 colourways, priced from £16.80. The shade card is short and sensibly spread: Sky, Sand, Steel and White, names that between them promise a softer blue, a warm neutral, a mid grey and a plain white. There are no cassettes or motors in the listings - this is a straightforward louvre blind on a standard headrail, sold on the virtues verticals have always had: it tilts, it draws aside, and it covers a wide opening in one piece.
Who it suits
Vertical blinds earn their keep on wide glass. Patio doors, conservatories and broad living-room windows are awkward territory for anything that lifts from the bottom, because a pull-up blind of that width grows heavy and reluctant; a vertical simply hangs its louvres from a track and draws them to one side, so a single blind can span an opening that would otherwise need two or three. The louvres also tilt in place, which is the control owners end up using daily - angle them to take the edge off glare while keeping the room light, close them for privacy, or sweep the whole set back to clear the glass entirely.
The California card being as calm as it is, the range suits rooms decorated in quiet neutrals rather than schemes after a statement at the window. Sand promises warmth for a north-facing room, Steel and White will disappear politely into most modern interiors, and Sky offers the one cooler, softer note. As with any fabric vertical, confirm the opacity on the listing before ordering for a bedroom: louvres overlap rather than seal, so a room that needs true darkness is better served by a blackout blind than by any louvre alone.
The colours
4 colours available
Four names, four sensible stations. Sky is the one with personality, the pick for bathrooms, bedrooms and coastal-leaning schemes that want a hint of colour without commitment. Sand sits at the warm end and flatters wood floors and cream walls; Steel is the modern default, at home beside the charcoal and aluminium accents most recent interiors already carry; White is the plain answer for rentals, offices and anywhere the window should simply look tidy. Screen colours are approximations at the best of times, and a louvre fills a lot of wall once it is hung, so order samples before committing - particularly between Sand and White, where the gap on a monitor can look smaller than it will in cloth.
Price by your dimensions
Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.
Price down 3% since 10 Aug. (our checks since 6 Jun)
Verticals are generally among the more economical ways to dress a large opening - the cloth is light and the mechanism simple - and California's entry point sits at the accessible end of the made-to-measure spectrum. The figure you actually pay is set by width and drop: a patio-door blind uses several times the fabric of a small window, so put your own measurements against the table above rather than budgeting from the smallest size.
How it compares
Against a roller, a vertical adds tilt - you can feather the light through the day rather than choosing between up and down - and it scales to widths no single roller handles gracefully. Against a venetian, the fabric louvre looks softer and suits big spans better, though it will not wipe down as readily as a metal slat. Within Blinds By Post's own vertical shelf, California is the compact neutral option; buyers wanting pattern or stronger colour have larger ranges to browse.
The name also travels. California appears at three other UK retailers we track - 1Click Blinds, Vertical Blinds Direct and Wilsons Blinds - and the price of the same blind at the same measurements differs between shops, because each prices its own make-up of the cloth. Our California vertical comparison puts the four side by side at your dimensions, and it is a minute well spent before ordering.
A note on care
Verticals ask very little. Run a soft brush or a vacuum on a low setting down each louvre every few weeks, and lift marks with a barely damp cloth rather than soaking the fabric. Keep the bottom weights and stabilising chains connected so the louvres hang straight and swing together, and draw the set flat before dusting so you can reach the full face of each slat. The quiet advantage of the format is repairability: a louvre that is stained, sun-bleached or damaged can usually be replaced on its own, which keeps the blind serviceable for years without renewing the whole set.
Likely the same fabric, at other retailers
California vertical blinds are sold under the same name by more than one UK retailer, and the price scales identically across window sizes - a strong sign it is the same fabric from the same supplier:
- Blinds Direct from £14.20
- Blinds By Post this page from £16.80
- Vertical Blinds Direct from £20.08
- Wilsons Blinds from £23.39
- 1Click Blinds from £45.26
We match these on the shared name and an identical price curve, not an independent inspection, so treat it as likely the same fabric rather than confirmed - and check the specification and colour at each retailer before buying.