You may have decided to install blinds in your home and take advantage of the variety of colours and patterns on offer. Once you've chosen the design, you'll need to get specific with blind sizes to fit your windows. But should you mount the blinds inside or outside the window frame? Here are the pros and cons of each option.

Inside-mounted Blinds

Blinds are often mounted inside the frame, giving them a traditional look. Thus, the window frames are in full view, which is perfect if you want to highlight them. For example, you might want to show off stained timber windows. Or you may love the look of white-painted contoured frames that you don't want to be concealed with blinds.

Inside mounting gives windows a minimal look as the blinds don't protrude from the wall. Instead, they are neatly contained by the window frame. If you plan to layer the windows with curtains, then mounting the blinds inside will be easier as the blind brackets won't fight with the curtain rod for wall space.

However, if you want to completely darken a room, this option may not be the best as it will leave a small gap between the blind and the frame on either side. And this gap will let shards of light inside. If the sun shines directly on the window, these flickers of light can be quite bright.

Outside-mounted Blinds

Outside-mounted blinds cover the window frame. They can be attached to the top part of the frame or the wall. You might prefer to hide the window frames if they're not particularly attractive or if they don't match the room aesthetic you're creating.

Outside-mounted blinds will also resolve the room darkening problem as they don't leave any gaps at the side. Thus, this installation is ideal for a bedroom, unless you want to be woken up at the crack of dawn.

Another advantage of the outside-mounted style is that it makes the windows look larger, especially if you mount the blinds to the wall. With the frame totally hidden, you can install wide blinds that give the sense of an expansive window, especially when they're closed. But even when open, the widely set blinds can subtly provide the illusion of bigger windows.

Getting the window measurements absolutely perfect is not as crucial as it is with inside-mount blinds that have a set area. If you have shallow window frames and something protrudes, such as a winding mechanism, then outside-mount blinds will provide extra space.