The Messina range from Blinds By Post is a made-to-measure vertical blind offered in 6 shades, starting from £11.93. It is a light-filtering louvre blind with a small, mixed palette that runs from pale, airy tones to a deep dark, giving a single product two quite different looks.
Who it suits
Vertical blinds hang as a row of fabric louvres that tilt to angle the light and draw to one side to clear the glass, which makes them well suited to wide windows, patio doors and conservatories. The Messina palette has enough range to cover both quiet and bolder briefs: the softer, lighter shades keep a room feeling open and airy, while the darker tone gives a more defined, contemporary edge for a room that wants contrast.
Because each louvre tilts independently of the draw, you can admit angled daylight while holding a degree of privacy, then pull the blind aside for the full view. On a bright window the tilt is the main draw, letting you manage glare through the day without closing the window off entirely.
Across a conservatory or a run of patio doors, where the area to cover is large, the draw-to-one-side action is the practical advantage: the louvres stack to clear the whole opening rather than lifting a single heavy panel. Having both lighter and darker shades in one range also means you can choose how much the blind asserts itself - the soft tones recede into a scheme, while Raven gives a defined edge if you want the window framed more strongly.
The colours
6 colours available
The Messina palette spans a small but varied set of shades: Sky and Riviera sit in the cooler blue register, Whisper and Warmth offer lighter, softer tones, Femme adds a further option, and Raven anchors the run with a deep dark. It is a compact collection rather than a broad colour chart, so the decision is about which of these tones fits your room rather than sifting a long list. Colour on a screen and colour filling a window can differ considerably, so request a sample before committing to a full-sized blind, especially where you are choosing between the closely related softer shades.
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 20 Aug. (our checks since 6 Jun)
Vertical blinds are among the more affordable made-to-measure styles, and Messina sits at an accessible entry point. Only the standard fitting is offered, so the from-price is the clear starting point and the final cost tracks the size of your window rather than the choice of fitting.
How it compares
As a fabric louvre blind, Messina is a light-filtering style: the louvres reduce and soften daylight rather than block it, and the overlaps between slats always let a little light through, so even the darker Raven is not a blackout option. For a fully dark bedroom, a roller or pleated blind in a blackout fabric would be the better route, so it is worth deciding which matters more before settling on a style.
Against a roller, a vertical blind swaps the single flat panel for tilt-and-draw flexibility that handles wide spans and doors more easily, where a roller is simpler but fixed as one sheet. Against a horizontal venetian, the vertical louvres cope better with tall or door-height openings and clear to the side rather than stacking at the head, and the soft fabric reads warmer than hard slats. Among made-to-measure styles generally, a vertical blind like Messina is one of the more economical ways to dress a wide or door-height window.
A note on care
Vertical louvres are straightforward to keep clean. Dust them with a soft brush or a vacuum on a low setting, and lift marks with a damp cloth rather than soaking the fabric. The style has a useful advantage: a single damaged or stained louvre can be replaced on its own, so one accident need not mean replacing the whole blind. Draw the louvres flat and tilt them open before cleaning to reach the full face of each slat.
Likely the same fabric, at other retailers
Messina 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 this page from £11.93
- Blinds Direct from £43.20
- So Easy Blinds from £51.57
- Vertical Blinds Direct from £60.78
- Wilsons Blinds from £71.50
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.