In today's marketplace, there are three primary options when ordering your wood or faux wood blind tilting feature.  They are motorized tilt, wand tilt, and cord tilt.  Let's take a quick look at each option.

Motorized Tilt
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The least used and known tilt option is the motorized feature.  Motorized tilt is great for child safety and for hard to reach windows, but the cost of this option is often prohibitive, especially for consumers of wood and faux wood blinds which are looking for lower priced window covering options.

Wand Tilt

The wand tilt is the familiar "stick" which connects to the head rail of your wood or faux wood blind.  As you twist the stick, the blind will tilt open or closed.  The advantages of the wand tilt feature are that it eliminates cords, which is great for child safety, and if your lift feature and tilt feature are located on the same side of the blind, the wand won't tangle with your lift cords.  However, a significant downside of the wand tilt feature is that the mechanics of this type of mechanism make it far more likely to fail over time.

Cord Tilt

The cord tilt mechanism has become the standard wood and faux wood blind tilting feature over the past decade.  Cord tilts tend to allow you to close your blinds tighter without damaging the mechanism and they are easier to use.  A simple tug on one cord or the other easily tilts the blind, and tilt cords are less noticeable in your window then a wand.

Here is something else to consider.  Wood or faux wood blinds over 96" in length require a cord tilt - no wand option is available.  What does that tell you?  That a wand won't handle the weight and extra torque required to completely close longer blinds.

Just some tidbits for your consideration as you shop for your wood or faux wood blinds.  Of course, we would love to help you work through the tilt options on your faux wood blind project.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Faux wood blinds are much heavier than real wood blinds.  As such, for larger windows the weight becomes more and more of an issue.

Consider this - faux wood blinds weigh approximately 2x's more than real wood blinds.  So, if a 36" x 48" wood blind weighs about 10 pounds, then the same size faux wood blind would be approximately 20 pounds. These weights are just rough estimates for the purposes of this blog article.

However, when we are talking about larger windows the weighs become more significant.  Please kindly follow the logic.  If a 96" x 60" wood blind weighs 25 pounds, then the same size faux wood blind could be 50 pounds. As you can see, we are now dealing with weight that would stress the cords, lock mechanisms and even your ability to lift it.  In fact, some of these larger faux wood blinds can be so heavy that they are impossible to lift with just the cord, and as such require a hand underneath the bottom rail to help carry some of the weight.

The industry deals with this weight issue by limiting the size of these blinds.  For instance, top line brands might be willing to make faux wood blinds as wide as 86" as long as the height of the blind does not exceed 48".  If a fabricator is willing to make a large faux wood blind, then they will advise NOT using the lift function of the blind and/or will require a warranty waiver.  For the mid-level or cut-down faux wood brands, the width of the blind generally will not exceed 72" with a maximum height of 96".

This is why larger windows are almost better handled with real wood blinds, whenever design parameters work with that choice.

Of course, we would love to help you work through the weight issues of your faux wood blind project.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

Perhaps you love the look of plantation shutters, but like many of us are living on a budget.  In this case, we have a suggestion - consider real wood stained blinds with a 2 1/2" slat.  The larger slat matches the view through provided by shutters with 2 1/2" louvers and the stain provides a higher end design look.

The larger view through, coupled with the rich look of stain, creates a look which rivals the elegance of shutters, except done on a budget.  Of course, plantation shutters are in a league of their own with thicker louvers and their panel door look.  However, when you consider that most people choose white shutters, the option to have a rich stained look in a 2 1/2" wood blind maximizes value toward a shutter-like look - but on a wood blind budget.

One last thing to remember, your design look will be stand alone - meaning that the stained wood blinds with the 2 1/2" louvers will be on display in your home and there will be no shutters in sight with which to compare. As such, the high-end elegance of your wood blind design choice will be seen for the exception look and beauty which it represents - and only you will know how much money your saved.

If you would like 2 1/2" stained wood blinds in your home, then we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.

The motor systems on horizontal wood and faux wood blinds is designed to tilt your blind to any angle. The motorized system will not lift the blind - wood and faux wood blinds are just too heavy to work well with a motorized lift system.  As such, manufacturers do not currently offer motorized lift option for wood or faux wood blinds.

However, most people rarely if ever lift their wood or faux wood blinds, rather they tilt them for light control and privacy, as such motorized tilt can be a convenient feature.  The motor in these blinds is a 12 volt system delivered with either a battery tube which contains 8ea lithium batteries, or else a hard wire plug with a 12 volt transformer.  Obviously, the hardwire option provides a better more consistent power stream which does not require periodic battery replacement, but for the corded option you do have to deal with how best to run the cord form the top of the headrail to the nearest outlet location.

Are you looking for a motorized tilt system for your wood or faux wood blind?  If so, then we would love to help you.  Also, for a rough idea of what your project might cost, check out our online wood and faux wood blind calculator.