The short answer
For most rooms with a roof window, yes. A roof window faces the sky, so it takes in more heat and glare than a wall window, and it has no curtain track or sill to hang a fabric from. A blind made for the window fits the frame, stays put when the sash opens and gives you control of daylight at the point the window is most exposed. The exceptions are rooms where the window is out of sight or high up and the light never bothers you. In a bedroom, a loft room or a kitchen with a south-facing slope, the blind is usually the part you will be glad you chose.
What a blind does on a roof window
A roof window sits at an angle, often directly under the sun at midday. Without a blind, the room gets the full strength of that, and in summer the loft rooms of many houses feel it first. A blind sitting in the window recess takes the edge off glare and, depending on the type, some of the heat. At night it stops the glass being a dark panel in the ceiling, and in a bedroom it keeps the room dark when the sky is not.
What matters is the room: how it feels at noon in July, how it sleeps on a light morning and whether the window looks finished at night.
The types, and who each suits
Most roof window blinds fall into a few groups. Each trades light control, insulation and look differently.
- Blackout
- A fabric with a coating or backing that stops almost all daylight. The obvious choice for bedrooms, nurseries and anyone who works nights. The fabric runs in side channels so there are no gaps at the edges, which is what separates a true blackout from a heavy curtain.
- Light-filtering roller
- A plain roller in a woven fabric that softens glare and lets a gentle glow through. Good for kitchens, studies and landings, where you want daylight without the glare.
- Pleated
- A pleated fabric that can be set part way down, from the top or from the bottom, so you can shade one end of the window and leave the rest clear. Useful where the sun comes in at a low angle for part of the day.
- Honeycomb
- A pleated blind with air cells in the fabric. The cells trap a layer of air against the glass, which cuts heat loss on cold nights. Worth considering in a north-facing room with a lot of glass.
- External blinds and awnings
- Fitted outside the glass, so they stop the sun before it warms the pane. They do more against overheating than anything fitted inside, and they have to be chosen when the window is installed or at least be planned for, because they need a fixing point at the frame and, in some systems, a power supply.
Manual, electric or solar
A blind on a roof window is often out of reach, so the operating method matters more than it would on a wall window. A manual blind pulled by a handle or rod works well on a window you can reach from the floor. Where the window is high on a steep slope, a motorised blind raised from a wall switch or remote saves standing on a chair.
Electric blinds need a power feed, and cabling is much easier before the lining is plastered than after. That is a finish question as much as an electrical one: a cable hidden in the reveal leaves a clean edge, while a surface-run cable is something you look at for years. Solar-powered versions avoid the cable, with a small panel in the frame or on the roof side of it. If you are choosing an electric opening window as well, our page on electric opening rooflights covers how those are wired, and the same planning covers the blind.
Is it worth the money?
The question is which jobs the blind is doing for you. If it keeps a bedroom dark, protects furniture from direct sun or cuts glare on a screen, the blind pays back straight away in how you use the room. If you are hoping it will cut heating bills, a honeycomb blind helps a little at night, but the window's own glazing does the heavy lifting, so spend on the glass first. Our guide to VELUX glazing options explains what each pane does.
Where the blind earns less is a window high in a stairwell that you rarely look up at, or a room already shaded by a tree or a neighbouring gable. There, a basic or no blind is a sensible choice and you can add one later, as a compatible blind can be fitted to an existing window.
Fitting a blind to an existing window
A blind made for a particular window fits its size and frame, which is why the size code matters. A blind for a different window size will not sit correctly in the recess, so the code on the label of your window decides what you can buy. If you are unsure of it, how to find your VELUX size code shows where to find it.
The blind's side channels and head box also take up a little room in the reveal, which is another reason to think about the lining. A splayed lining gives the blind clear space to run and keeps the daylight spreading into the room when it is raised, while a tight straight lining can leave the blind catching on the plaster.
Colour, fabric and the lining
A blind is one of the few parts of a roof window you will look at every day, so its colour deserves a moment. A white or pale fabric against a white lining disappears when it is raised and glows softly when it is down. A dark blackout blind in a pale room reads as a deliberate dark panel, which suits a bedroom but can feel heavy in a hallway. The fabric also changes with the light: a pale blind seen against a bright sky looks warmer than it does on the shop sample.
If the lining is being painted, choose the blind first or at the same time, so the paint and the fabric are seen side by side and not guessed at separately.
Choosing at the quote stage
The easiest time to settle blinds is when the window is being fitted. The frame can be checked for the right fixings, any cable can be run before plastering and the colour of the blind can be matched to the lining and the paint. On a new installation or a whole-window replacement, say that you want one when you ask for a quote, and the finish schedule can record the blind position with the rest of the room's detail.
For the wider picture of fitting these windows, see VELUX window installation, or ask for a quote and we will talk through the room.