Basswood Blinds Offer Beauty And Durability

One of the most used woods for blinds is basswood, easily worked with hand tools and sanded smooth for staining in a multitude of colors. Basswood blinds can be strong, durable and weather resistant for external uses and polished and decorated for internal applications. They can be made into rollup blinds are with thicker slats for vertical blinds.

There really is no limit to the applications of basswood for home decorating, but mostly its use in window blinds provides unique beauty as a window dressing. Most basswood blinds are designed with small, thin slats and installed as a rollup blind. In some applications, the strips are wider and used as vertical blinds in taller windows or doors. Picture windows dressed with basswood blinds appear more luxurious than many other types of blinds.

Basswood works well as milled trim and other uses and can be stained to match throughout the home, enabling the homeowner to coordinate the appearance of the rooms trim work and basswood blinds to create a consistent look throughout the house. It is also an excellent wood for pattern making, carvings and furniture. Trees grow up to about 65-feet tall and Indians used to use the fiber from the trees as string and to make ropes.

Protection Against Mildew Necessary

As with most outdoor products, damage from dampness and the growth of mildew is possible. Treating the wood with a quality stain can help protect it from damage and if mildew is a problem, cleaning with a diluted solution of bleach can keep it clean and fresh. Many recommend this process be used about every 10 days to two weeks for basswood blinds used outdoors.

Interior basswood blinds do not require similar precautions, however with the finish on them they will need dusted periodically, like most pieces of interior furniture. The use of natural wood will add to the beauty of any home and basswood blinds can make a unique statement about your window dressing. They are available in many colors to match most decors and can be custom ordered to fit any window opening.

Enclosures to help keep them steady and in place are available from some manufacturers, but for most applications, the rollup variety works just fine as a window blind. The wood is light and soft with a general natural resistance against warping, however in moist environments basswood blinds may show signs of twisting. It also offers uniform texture with barely visible grain.