The Orion (Blackout) from 247 Blinds is a made-to-measure vertical blind with a straightforward brief: block light across wide window openings. It comes in 17 colourways and starts from £9.11, making it one of the more accessible entries in 247 Blinds' vertical range.

Who it suits

Vertical blinds work best over wide openings - patio doors, bifold apertures, and conservatory walls where a roller or roman blind would need to be unwieldy in width. The Orion's blackout fabric class makes it genuinely useful in these situations rather than decorative only; a ground-floor patio door facing a neighbour's garden, or a large sliding door that doubles as a bedroom partition, are the kind of installations where you'd actually want full opacity rather than just dimming.

The blackout rating also makes it viable for bedrooms with wide windows, though it is worth noting - as with any vertical blind - that light can enter at the sides of the track and between vane edges. If total darkness is the priority in a sleeping room, pairing the blind with side-channel fittings or a lined curtain over the top will close those gaps.

Vertical blinds are not well suited to small, standard windows where a roller would be simpler and cleaner. They also carry a commercial character that can look out of place in period or heavily-styled interiors. The Orion is designed to be functional first.

The colours

17 colours available

The palette spans a useful cross-section of neutral and accent tones. On the neutral side, Pure White, Light Taupe, Hessian, Comet Grey, and Anthracite Grey give options from bright-white through warm beige to near-black grey - enough range to fit most modern interior schemes without forcing a statement. The accent choices - Deep Carmine, Royal Blue, and Sage Green - lean muted rather than vivid, which suits residential use better than primary-bright alternatives.

The warmest tones are Hessian and Light Taupe, which suit timber floors and natural-material schemes. Anthracite Grey and Comet Grey are the cooler, more contemporary reads. Deep Carmine is the boldest choice in the set; it works well in a room that can carry a solid colour across a wide span, but it rewards confident decorating.

Price by your dimensions

Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.

At its entry point the Orion is an accessible vertical blind, though the final price will depend on the width and drop you specify. Vertical blind pricing tends to step noticeably as the track widens, because more vanes are needed to cover the span. The price widget above shows the made-to-measure cost for the dimensions you have in mind.

How it compares

Within blackout verticals, the practical differences between ranges at this price level often come down to colour selection and vane weight rather than fundamentally different construction. A heavier vane fabric hangs more evenly and sways less in a draught; if you are fitting over a frequently-used door, it is worth confirming the vane weight with the retailer before ordering.

If the goal is blackout in a standard-width bedroom, a blackout roller blind will typically give a cleaner result and a smaller visual footprint. The Orion's case is strongest where the opening is genuinely wide and you need the sliding-panel operation that verticals provide. For rooms where both warmth and light control matter, a cellular or pleated blind will outperform any single-fabric vertical on insulation, but without the light-control precision of a tilting vane.

Fitting and operation

Vertical blinds fix to the ceiling of the recess or to the wall above the window face. Most tracks support both top-fix and face-fix installations. The vanes are linked at the bottom by a chain or weights to reduce swing; check that the chain is correctly threaded after installation if the vanes start moving unevenly.

Fabric vanes can be spot-cleaned with a damp cloth and mild detergent. Avoid soaking the fabric, as the blackout backing can be damaged by prolonged wetting.