For years I bought blinds the way I buy produce, whatever was closest to the door, no real thought to it. Ended up with a set of vinyl ones in a rental years back that yellowed within a winter and never sat straight on the track. What fixed it was realizing blinds are more like furniture than fabric, you have to think about them that way or you end up replacing them every time you move.
If you're starting from nothing, go with a simple cordless cellular shade or a basic faux wood blind before you touch anything fancier, both are forgiving while you figure out how much light and privacy you actually want in a room. Faux wood holds up better than you'd expect against humidity, so it's the one I'd put in a kitchen or bathroom without worrying about warping. For color, white and off white sound boring until you live with them, they let the window do its job without arguing with your walls, and a soft gray or a warm greige works almost everywhere else. I'd stay away from anything with a strong stain or a bold print unless you've already committed to the rest of the room matching it, because blinds are harder to swap out on a whim than a throw pillow.
Measuring is where most people lose the plot. You want to measure the actual window opening, not guess from across the room, and decide up front whether you're mounting inside the frame or outside it, since outside mount needs extra width on both sides to block light properly. Write down the measurements twice, because I've ordered a blind two inches short because I measured once while distracted and trusted my own math. Mistake most people make is going too narrow or too short, leaving gaps of light at the edges that make the whole window look unfinished, so round up slightly on width if you're ever in doubt. For a bedroom, depth matters too, a blind mounted too shallow will let morning light sneak around the sides no matter how blackout the fabric claims to be.
The detail that actually makes a blind worth living with, once it's up and working, is a cord lock or lift mechanism that holds its position without slipping down an inch every hour, because nothing ruins the satisfaction of a well fitted blind faster than having to readjust it every time you walk past the window.
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