Getting the sun off your monitor without closing the room

Openness factor, explained plainly

Screen fabrics are rated by how much of the weave is open. Five per cent is tight and gives strong glare control with a dimmer view. Ten per cent keeps more of the garden visible. Three per cent is what we fit on the worst west elevations.

• 5 per cent openness: the reliable default for a desk facing a window.
• Venetian slats angled upward: bounce light off the ceiling instead of the screen.
• Vertical louvres: best on very wide office windows and patio door runs.
• Motorised control: the blind moves as the sun does without you getting up.

Position matters as much as product

A desk side on to the window beats a desk facing it or backing it, every time. We will say so during the visit, because a well placed desk plus a modest screen fabric beats an expensive blind fighting a bad layout.

Loft offices and rooflights

Converted lofts across Kent are the worst rooms for this, because the glazing is above eye line and the sun tracks straight across it. Side channel rooflight blinds in a screen fabric are the specific answer.