Reviewing Graywind's motorised blinds for my home office
The article is reprinted from: Dream of Home
Author: SARAH MACKLIN
Release date: August 4, 2024
- AD – these blinds were gifted in return for an honest review.
Our home office has had a lot of a makeover since we first moved into our house in August 2020. The blue carpets (that matched the blue blinds) really did the shelving no favours, and all that wood.
The only photo I have of the true blue of the carpet and the blue blinds
This estate agent photo makes the room look smaller than it is, but you get the vibe. I love all the storage we have in here, including built-in filing cabinets, cupboards and shelves.
But I knew I wanted to do something with the shelves, and do something I did. In 2021, I painted all the built-in shelves black. At the time I felt like it was a brave move, but it feels so right in the room and even 4 years later, there’s no chips or scratches.
It took far more work than I ever imagined, hours and hours. It needed four coats because I was going such a dark colour, and my hands had blisters, my soul was crying and it probably took me 24 hours (spread over a couple of weeks) to finish it.
But this was the finished result:
But what was still the one thing that let the office down? Those blue blinds. So we ripped them out a few weeks ago with no replacement in mind, and that was when Graywind messaged me, like an angel sent down from heaven.
I've recently set up my own copywriting and content strategy business, so I needed my home office to have the perfect set up.
We were unsure of colours and styles, so we ordered a collection of samples first, which showed us the colour, texture, and shading level before we committed to ordering.
I chose their electric day and night blinds, in the colour white. I didn't need a blind that offered complete darkness, but one that could block out the sun in the afternoon while still letting light in, and these were absolutely perfect for that.
We took all the necessary measurements and also decided on some extras (mount, motor, remote control, etc). Because these blinds are motorised, there was a lot of options, such as an Alexa motor (powered by Alexa), a smart motor (works with Alexa and/or Google), a hardwired motor or a chargeable battery motor. With it being a home office, we chose the battery motor which needs to be charged approximately every six months.
Installing our Graywind motorised blinds
The packaging was perfect and everything was really neatly packed and protected. We took the blinds and all the accessories out of the box, and quickly realised the blind didn't quite fit. Not Graywind's fault – we hadn't taken into account the window sealant/edging that jutted out about 1.5cm on each side. Plus the walls were bowed which also didn't help!
So the job got a little messier than anticipated.
We screwed the mounting brackets directly into the window frame, which was the un-messy part. That was when we realised the blind didn't fit. So cue the scraper to chip away at some of the walls and the window edging.
The remote control that came with our Graywind blinds
While the window now needs some filling and repainting, I couldn’t be happier with how the blinds fit and look. You can slightly see in the top left of the window frame where we've had to chip away and the paint and some of the wall.
I love how subtle they are. You almost don't really notice them and they really blend in, even when they’re down.
Setting up and programming our motorised blinds
The blinds came with a really handy booklet that explained how to programme the blinds, which I definitely needed.
First, after you've installed the blinds, you need to charge the motor/battery for around 8 hours. When I realised the blinds need charging, I started to wonder whether we'd made a mistake. I didn't want a cable hanging across the room for hours every day. But actually, they need charging about once every few months! This is great news and means we can charge them overnight so they’re ready to go as normal the next morning.
I'm so glad we did go for the motorised blinds, as I hadn't realised all their features. Not only can you use the button to lift the blinds up and down as needed, but you can actually set them on a timer, so if the sun shines through at the same time every day or you’re going on holiday, your blinds will go up and down to the times you set.
The blinds are advertised as‘80%’blackout. I would argue that they are less than this, but I didn't need the blackout feature for my office, when I’ll be working in there in the day and need as much light as I can get.
So to review, I would absolutely purchase blinds from Graywind again. The packaging and delivery were excellent, the blinds themselves are exactly what we were after, and the fact they're motorised is a bonus.
