Blinds in Vidya Nagar: Custom Window Solutions

Where a wardrobe stands on one side of the window and a study table under it, as in many Vidya Nagar flats, a blind earns its place by taking up no room at all. Fitted inside the recess it leaves the wall and the desk free. For a student's room a sunscreen roller keeps daylight on the books and cuts glare on a screen; for the west side of a block, a zebra or blackout roller holds back the late-afternoon heat. Because the neighbourhood is inland and tree-shaded, with almost no salt, wooden venetians and bamboo blinds last well here, which is not true nearer the coast.

• Study tables under windows: a sunscreen roller inside the recess, chain on the side away from the desk, so nothing hangs over the books.
• Flats facing a neighbouring block: zebra blinds, which give privacy across the gap between buildings while still letting daylight in.
• Bungalow sit-outs: bamboo blinds for shade, since the inland air here does not rot them as sea air would.