The Tradechoice dimout pleated blind is a made-to-measure accordion-fold blind sold by Blinds By Post, available in 28 colour options from £17.45. Its dimout opacity class sets it apart from sheer or light-filtering alternatives - enough to reduce afternoon glare without plunging a room into complete darkness.

Who it suits

Pleated blinds stack neatly when raised, making this a good match for living rooms and home offices where the window view matters and you want to keep most of the frame clear when the blind is up. The dimout fabric cuts incoming light substantially, which works well for south- or west-facing windows in the afternoon when direct sun becomes a problem for screens or comfortable seating.

Bedrooms are possible but worth thinking through. Dimout fabric is not blackout - light will still enter through the material, and a pleated blind has no side channels to close the edge gaps. If you need genuine darkness for sleep, a heavier blackout fabric or a perfect-fit fitting with a blackout blind would serve you better. The same applies to a child's nursery where sleep quality depends on full darkness.

Bathrooms and kitchens are not ideal for this range. The brief does not describe the fabric as PVC-backed or moisture-resistant, so it is safer to treat it as unsuitable for damp rooms. If you need a pleated blind specifically for a conservatory roof or an angled window, check with Blinds By Post directly whether the fittings this range ships with accommodate that application.

The colours

28 colours available

Fourteen colours span a wide tonal range. The neutrals - White, Cream, Dove Grey, Grey, Anthracite Grey, and Taupe - make up more than a third of the palette and will fit most interiors without much deliberation. Anthracite Grey and Onyx Black sit at the darker end and would absorb more light even at the dimout opacity level, making them the more practical choice for rooms where you genuinely want the blind to do its job rather than just add a note of softness.

The accent colours - Lagoon, Neptune, Sky, Spring, Orchid, Saffron, and Terra - read as a considered group covering cool blues and greens through to warm oranges and pinks. If your room already has strong colour, the neutrals are the safer call. If you are looking to add interest to a plain scheme, the cooler tones in Lagoon and Neptune would complement grey or white walls without competing.

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 £17.45, this range sits at the accessible end of the pleated-blind market. Made-to-measure pricing scales with the area of the blind, so a small bathroom or narrow alcove window will sit close to that entry price, while a wider living-room window will cost proportionally more. The widget above shows exact prices at common width and drop combinations.

How it compares

Against other pleated blinds in the dimout class, this range competes on palette breadth - fourteen colours is a generous selection for a made-to-measure pleated product. Where it has limits is on opacity: if your search started with blackout in mind and you are considering dimout as a compromise, the gap between the two is real and worth weighing before ordering.

A roller blind with a dimout fabric would offer a similar light-reduction effect with potentially more fabric choice, though the stack profile is different - a roller wraps onto a tube rather than folding, which suits some window depths better. Cellular or honeycomb blinds share the pleated form factor and improve on it for thermal insulation, but are typically more expensive. If thermal performance is the main driver, that type would be worth comparing directly.

Fitting and operation

Pleated blinds are operated via a cord or tension spring mechanism that keeps the fabric taut as it raises and lowers. The stacked pleats take up relatively little headroom when the blind is fully up, which is one of the practical advantages over Roman blinds that gather fabric at the top. For inside-recess fitting, check the recess depth is sufficient for the mechanism headrail before ordering - Blinds By Post's product page will state the minimum required depth.