I think the reason a lot of people don't care for them is because aesthetically they are not that pleasing to the eye; but I have to agree with you, from a functional perspective, they are great. I would not let a clerk in the store influence my choices; I always feel like there's an ulterior motive when they push a specific product like a higher commission or close out bonus. Have you considered the sheer verticals? They're a bit pricey but drop dead gorgeous and a great alternative if you have a view or like to filter light.

I myself would have bought them in a heart beat if the budget had allowed. As a compromise though, I put up a double rod and hung some shears on the inner rod and grommet drapes on the outer rod. I love the way the shears filter the light but since they're on rings, I can easily tuck them behind the drapes when I'm not using them or at night I can close the drapes entirely when we need privacy. It's worked really well as an affordable compromise.

Check out the XL verticals at The Shade Store.

I think verticals are a good solution for certain situations in general. There was a house in Architectural Digest within the past year that had vertical blinds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shade Store XL verticals

Pal and I are on the same page, those are exactly what I was talking about. Aren't they gorgeous!?!

I have them in my FR and breakfast area for the reasons you mentioned. I have better control of the light, they give me the clean look I prefer, plus, they're not dust catchers like my horizontal blinds are.
I prefer the fabric and buy the softest material I can find and I always choose a color that is close to the wall color. They take up very little space when stacked and are quiet compared to the clanging noise PVC would have as the blinds are opened and closed.
My sliders are done in fabric verticals but I have the windows covered in fabric w/pvc channel due to the SW exposure and the issue of glare when watching TV during the day. They've been up 9 yrs and the edge of the PVC is showing some yellowing, so I'll soon be replacing them. I'm now considering putting fabric verticals on the windows since our landscape had matured and I don't get as much direct sun as I used to.

Yes, there seem to be more naysayers here on the forum, but I think there are supporters out there that just aren't speaking up. ; )
BTW, I can't agree with the salesman that you to go with all PVC.

To me, despite practicality, they look dated...very 80s...and very office...I've been in a lot of drs offices that have them. While they add light control, they don't add softness.

But if they work for you, go for them.

I'm going to add my voice here. I have fabric verticals, no PVC backing, in my family room over the 8' slider. They are the best choice in my house for light control, privacy and sturdiness. I have dogs, ( well, down to just one now for the last month :-(. ) and find that the chunky woven holds up very well. Dated? Pfffffttt! Who cares! It's my home and it works for my life.

Helene

Well, you know what they say the first rule of design is? Function over form!

I think that's "form follows function," Irish :-)

To answer your question, Cloud: in my mind vertical blinds have an unfortunate association with rental apartments and office buildings. Also while they may be functional, they are just not pretty. I am shallow.... I like pretty.

Under no circumstances would I hang plastic vertical blinds even if that meant I had to dress under the bed for privacy.

I don't particularly like soft looks. I've never much liked drapes or curtains. Light filtering sheers make me think of hotel rooms (which almost always have them and I spend weeks each year in hotels because of business travel). I don't like looking at the blurred view through sheers. I'll admit that sheers have their practicality in letting light through while giving some privacy, but looking out through them bugs me too much. I like the clear sharp unfiltered view or to have something solid blocking it off when I don't want to see out.

Our house is Mid Century Modern. Here are some photos of the room:

Family room:

Kitchen - the window wall starts to the right of the photo just out of sight:

I like the verticals! I think they are a purpose driven design, and they do it well. I do not like the PVC ones, though!! We have dogs and cats, and the noise makes me crazy(er)!

With your pretty SS and wood, i think I would match the paint.

Good luck!

Nancy

I think the larger vane or all fabric ones would fit well with the design of your house.

Lumping all vertical window treatments in the same category is like saying I hate Mercedes E Class because Hyundai Accents look cheap.

I still have fabric verticals in our family room - for the sliding door and the other regular window. I keep talking about replacing them because the are OLD, and showing their age, but I really am loathe to replace them with drapery.

I LIKE the fabric verticals, like the light filtering, the ease of getting ventilation when they are turned, the option of having the window fully uncovered when they are turned and stacked back, and the way they can cover the window without bulk. I wouldn't see them in a very traditional room, but our family room is, well, a family room, and they fit in fine.

Dated? Pish posh. Everything that is popular at one time is considered dated at another. Much of decorating is cyclical- look at MCM right now. I am not a fan of sheers, so that wouldn't ever be an option for me.

I wouldn't care for the PVC as much, the noise factor and perhaps the less soft feel, but again, it should be what works for you.

I love my vertical blinds! they are textured pvc and at night when closed they look like satin brocade, and I do in some rooms have window treatments on top,even curtains pulled to the side in br's etc.
texture of guest suite:

I don't think they look cheap as much as institutional, regardless of the style or size. Obviously, some people still like and use them or they wouldn't be available for sale. The OP asked why the naysayers say nay.....whether or not one likes vertical blinds is opinion, but it's undeniable that they look dated. I embrace dated looks when I like them....to each his own :-)

I think that's "form follows function," Irish :-)

Well, it has actually been quoted both ways and says the same thing, but thanks for pointing it out. :c)

I have 4-panel glass doors and had a designer come to my house who sells both drapes and blinds. She said drapes would not work with doors that large, so I got Hunter Douglas vertical blinds. I'm happy with them. They have a large choice of fabrics and are easy to operate. I have seen some vertical blinds, which I'm sure are cheap, but look cheap, and think the HD ones look nicer.

Hey, don't put my POV down. Cloud swift asked and I'm answering. If they work for you, fine. But if you want to know why some of us, like me, are negative on these things, here's why. They are very commercial looking, they are very 80s, and the majority of them that I seen are in drs offices or other office environments. Many of them don't work, hang unevenly, and are broken. In residences, many of them were put up because they were inexpensive...a go to window covering like mini blinds of the 90s.

And stacked back without a fabric covering looks even worse IMO.

Now you can argue that the same can be said of other blinds and window treatments, but that's the association I have. This is all a matter of taste, experience and associations. Just like I haven't been able to drink orange soda since I was 7 when I had one and then got stomach sick right after. Orange soda may be fine for you, but not for me...and that's why.

You asked, I'm answering.

I think they look ok on a sliding door or windows that go to the floor. I had them in my office back in the 80s, but they were really a pain to adjust. I would have rather had nothing.

Geez Annie, could you have found a worse example. : )

I think the style of cloud's home lends very well to the use of verticals but I suggest she avoid using the typical header/valance and use either a shallow wood cornice or nothing. The slim header on Hunter Douglas verticals require no additional trim.

Below is the image I have of verticals......

Here is a link that might be useful:

I'm not fond of them because of the noises they make when they clang together. And they seem to never open/close nicely. I find I'm yanking on the cord all the time. And then there is that one right in the middle that never closes right :)

We have them at our condo at the lake in the family room and both bedrooms on sliding glass doors. They are the entire wall and we get a lot of light in all three of those rooms. I don't know what other solution we have :(

Thanks pal for posting the link of the XL verticals. I think the wider panes look much nicer. I may have to order a few samples from that site :)

I think there are several fabric prints on that site that would work for Cloud's home (BTW...love your kitchen!). They don't seem as dated as the typical verticals.

Good luck!

Oops, Irish, I thought you were making a clever wordplay........sorry.

I to would say my first thought of verticals are the PVC noisy things. I had them on the slider of a previous house. The previous owners left them and they were Levalor and a high quality mechanical workings. They weren't my style but functioned well and were of good quality. I created a swag over the rod thingy at the top with Waverly fabric and used Lincresta wallpaper on the walls and felt like they blended in o.k.
I think that in a nice fabric that blended into the walls would be a really good fit.
I agree with the poster above who said rather then the rod/cover thingy at top some sort of either stained or upholstered header would be nice.
I do think PVC would look institutional in your home.

These sliding panels are another type of vertical treatment that you might wish to consider.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sliding Panels

I know you said you don't like drapery but sinuous fold ceiling mounted drapery would look awesome in your place, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ripple Fold

palimpsest, now those are drapes I could get into....lovely and contemporary...perfect for her space!

I like those, too, plus the the link posted at the top of the thread.

We had vertical blinds on our previous french doors. We need to be able to close them for privacy but could open them wide during the day to let in maximum light, and there is nothing that is more functional than that.

About a year and a half ago we replaced the doors with the ones that have the blinds between the glass. Love them!

Only problem is we still have the vertical blinds in the storage room, and I can't give them away. Goodwill and Habitat Re-Store wouldn't take them. There is nothing wrong with them, and we have all the mounting hardware to go with it.

Love both those options pal linked!

The doors with blinds between the panes.... Very cool, gscience chick! BTW did u ever finish your deck? Inquiring minds want to see!

Pal, the ripple fold drapes have a clean tailored look which I find much more pleasing than pleated drapes. They would look nice in the room. However, they wouldn't provide the ability to block excess light while still having the yard visible as tilting verticals does.

Have you bought from the Shade Store? It seems like they only carry their own line and I can't tell what the quality of their mechanisms is which is very important for verticals. I'm also having trouble finding technical information on their site - e.g. what the size limits are.

Fun, those panels cover up to 120". Our window is over 144". Hunter Douglas has panels that cover up to 150" in a one way draw (and note that we don't have any stacking room on the door side so we have to have one way draw). That would mean that over 2' of our window would remain covered when they are fully drawn. And like the ripple drapes, they don't provide a view and shade at the same time.

Annie, those are awful looking but I've seen some awful looking cheap curtains too. That cheap, badly done or mistreated ones can look awful doesn't mean that they all do. The ones we had were good quality. They are about 27 years old and only recently did a few vanes develop problems with turning in unison with the others - which is reasonable to expect after that many years. We have over 60' of sliding glass doors and fixed pane windows on the back of our house covered with these and not a one looks like the pictures you posted.

Onedog, thanks - we found the kitchen forum here very helpful with our kitchen remodel. Do you know what brand the verticals at your lake house are? I've never found ours difficult to operate. Our cords operate smoothly with no yanking and only now that they are very old do we have trouble with a vane or two not turning correctly. I'm not sure what brand we had and I'm away on a business trip. I've heard good things about the quality of Graber's rail system.

We are leaning toward selecting a color that blends with the wall. There is a lot of pattern in the room already from the wood grain and the quartzite in the kitchen and fireplace surround. Plus we have a Kurdish rug on the floor, so we will probably go with a white or off white window covering without a pattern.

Here is a picture with the rug:

(BTW, the chair in the picture is quite comfortable and handy for holder our grand daughter while she has a bottle, but I feel that it doesn't really go and should be replaced with something visually simpler. The couch is getting quite worn and needs replacement. I was hoping to wait until our grand children were a bit older and tidier but it really is getting too bad and needs to be replaced in short order. So I have no need to take either into account in the decorating of the room.)

I have bought roller shades and cellular shades from them and they have all worked fine. One roller shade came off the roll and they made a new one immediately.

We bought a condo at the lake 4 years ago. It had been remodeled inside very nicely except that someone had not replace the 9-ft sliding glass doors (think 70's) in the 2 bedrooms and had put up vertical blinds on those. There were also vertical blinds on the nice doors in the den that are similar to the doors you describe...2 fixed panes with one door opening (not sliding). We replaced the sliders with new thermals and all the verticals as they just let in too much light...could never get them closed! Put up draperies in the bedrooms, but in the den/great room we used fixed panels on the sides and draw shades (like roman shades) on the door panels. I hated those verticals! It was pretty much like Annie posted above. You asked; I'm telling.

Cloud, if you like verticals and they work for you home, and I think they would work very well, than get them. Don't let anyone, the clerk or GW posters, make you feel you are wrong in wanting them. Verticals, like other blinds, are wonderful for controling light in your home. I'm with Annz on the cornice box to cover the valance area.

I think that the Hunter Douglas Luminette privacy sheers might be a good option.

I agree on using what works best for you and your space. Personally I think the cleans lines of the vertical blinds would blend in well.

I love your rug BTW.

Ooh, I love those blinds in the MCM type of pic above.

Kswl, yes, it's done. It's not a spectacular as your deck but very utilitarian looking. The color we chose wound up as more of a cocoa brown, but it works. It does show the pollen, though. We used the porch and floor paint. The color is a new Lowe's/Valspar color called Cliveden Virginia Soil.

Pre but post pressure washing: Never again for light paint!

Post: a view of my "car baby" in the background

On-topic, the French Doors with the blinds between the glass. I put one all the way down as an example.

Cloud-

If you like modern the vertical panels from Ikea might be a good choice. We have friends with a very modern style home (more so than yours!) And they love them--they are not my taste, but totally work on her door wall, and they replaced her verticals.

I love the whole room in the pic that I posted!