Throwing Shade

Blinds have always been in the picture, but these days, they're a design statement

- HANNAH MARTIN

Blinds are never the thing you notice. But window covers designed to block out the sun have been around for millennia. In ancient Egypt, people hung up wet strips of fabric; in Iran they developed horizontal wooden slats to obstruct light, later termed "Venetian" when they arrived in Italy on trade ships. By the mid 20th century, the humble blind was yet another subject ripe for innovation as manufacturing techniques evolved.