If you've just moved into a new, unfurnished apartment, you'll want to make it look like a home as soon as possible.  Window blinds are a very expensive purchase, so many people decide to defer buying them, opting instead for Temporary window blinds.

The beauty of temporary blinds is that they allow you to turn your empty and soul-less apartment into a more homely living space, without having to go to the expense of buying a set of regular window blinds straight away.  Because they are so cheap, you can throw them up as a short term measure until you get used to your new home, learn all its quirks, and are ready to buy a perfect set of fitted blinds that match your new home's personality.

Temporary window blinds are a really simple, but really new concept.  Usually they are made of nothing more than paper, although occasionally more heavy duty nylon temporary blinds can be purchased as well.  The paper variety come in one standard size, but because paper is so easy to manipulate, you need only cut the paper to fit the size of your window, stick it to the wall, and voila, you've got a perfectly fitted window blind.

I mentioned that one of the big benefits of temporary blinds is their low cost - that's because, being made of paper, they cost very little for the manufacturer to produce.  Indeed, so cheap are they to manufacture, that companies can sell a single temporary blind for as little as $6, although it's more usual to buy paper blinds in a box of five or six.

We might say that their greatest asset is the cost, but people who have bought some are not complaining about the looks. In fact the paper  pleated blinds look really pretty nice.

You might think that the paper and the temporary moniker would be synonym with thin and translucent, but in fact you can also buy some temporary black out blinds if you want to block the light completely. These are great for nurseries as some babies have difficulties taking a nap during the day.

There are two main companies that have emerged onto the temporary blinds market place.  The first, based in the United States, is Redi Shade, a California based company that manufactures and distributes a variety of blinds, including pleated paper blinds, and cordless cellular shades.  They've had time to establish a big distribution network, and you can find their shades in stores like Amazon and Wal-Mart.  In the UK, the market has been cornered by an upstart company called Blinds in a Box, who got their big break when they appeared on a BBC television program called Dragon's Den.  They secured a significant investment from the entrepreneurs behind the show, and are currently consolidating their position in the UK temporary blinds market.

It's a bit trite to finish this article with a  line like 'temporary blinds are here to stay', but they've made such a massive impact on the blinds market that I really can't see them going anywhere.