The Como is a blackout vertical blind sold by Swift Direct Blinds, available in 17 finishes with prices starting from £8.22. The range splits across two distinct fabric families - four named "Blackout" options aimed squarely at light control, and four softer-named alternatives that round out the palette with warmer tones.
Who it suits
Vertical blinds are best suited to wide window openings and patio doors, where the vanes slide along a track rather than needing to be raised as a whole panel. The Como's blackout specification makes it a practical choice for bedrooms that have a wide opening or a French door, where light control at dawn matters and a standard roller might not cover the full span cleanly.
Conservatories with full-height glazing are another obvious fit. If a space gets direct sun in the morning and you need to reduce glare without losing the sense of the garden beyond, a blackout vertical lets you rotate the vanes to control light rather than blocking it entirely.
The Como is less well-matched to narrow bathroom or kitchen windows, where an aluminium venetian or a PVC-fabric roller would typically be a better fit for both scale and moisture tolerance. Fabric vertical vanes should not be used in consistently high-humidity environments without confirming the fabric's suitability with the retailer.
The colours
17 colours available
The range breaks into two distinct groupings. Blackout Balance, Blackout Harbour, Blackout Impact, and Blackout Space are named to signal function first - these are likely the most straightforward choice for anyone prioritising light control and not particularly concerned with a decorative finish name. The descriptions follow a familiar pattern: contrast between them will come down to shade and texture rather than structural differences in opacity.
Bliss, Kiss, Skies, and Sorbet carry more decorative names and suggest softer, possibly warmer tones. Without swatches in hand it is worth ordering samples before committing, as finish names in this category do not always map obviously to a specific colour. The retailer can supply samples; this is standard practice for made-to-measure blinds and worth using before placing a full order.
There are no premium-priced variants noted in the range - all eight finishes start from the same base price.
Price by your dimensions
Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.
Starting from £8.22, the Como sits at the entry-level end of the made-to-measure vertical blind market. As with all made-to-measure pricing, the final cost rises with width and drop - wider patio-door spans will cost more than a modest bedroom window. The price-by-dimensions grid above reflects current pricing across a standard set of common sizes.
How it compares
For anyone whose primary requirement is blackout at a patio door or wide window, the Como does what it needs to at a competitive entry price. The main alternative to consider is a blackout roller blind, which gives a cleaner stack when raised but is not practical for very wide openings - most rollers become unwieldy beyond around 2.4 metres in width. A panel blind could cover an equivalent span, but those are more specialist and less widely available.
If thermal performance is a priority alongside light control, a cellular or honeycomb blind would outperform any vertical on insulation - but honeycomb verticals are a specialist product and the two types are not directly comparable in terms of operation or aesthetics. For pure blackout at a wide opening, a vertical blind remains the most practical everyday solution.
Fitting and operation
Vertical blind vanes are suspended from a top track and linked by a chain or cord at the bottom to prevent them swinging in draughts. Standard installation is a top-fix or face-fix bracket arrangement; most vertical blinds support both, and Swift Direct Blinds will specify the fitting hardware included with the order.
The vanes rotate to control the angle of light and slide along the track to open. For cord-safe installation - particularly relevant if children use the room - confirm the control mechanism with the retailer before ordering. Wand operation avoids a loose hanging cord and is the standard recommendation for family rooms.
Likely the same fabric, at other retailers
Como 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 By Post from £8.00
- Swift Direct Blinds this page from £8.22
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.