Blinds and Shades Trivia
It is amazing all the tid-bits of information that we are unaware of. In addition, there are those things we think we know and come to find out we were mistaken. For example, you probably think that venetian blinds originated in Venice, Italy. This is not the case. Venetian blinds actually originated in Persia around 1100AD. It was due to trade routes through Italy that these blinds became popular. Venetian blinds became widely used throughout Europe in the 1700's. Window coverings have ancient origins. Curtains were a utility feature and hardly thought of as interior decorative design. Window coverings were used to block out the sun on hot days and keep out the chill during the winter. The first air conditioning units were hides soaked in water and hung up over the openings of the structure. As a the breeze entered the home, the air would be cooled by the dampened window coverings. The Egyptians used strips of wet cloth to keep the sun and dust from entering their homes. The first