Cape Town is four climates in one city. A flat in Sea Point, a house under the oaks in Constantia, an estate home in Durbanville and a stoep in Somerset West each ask something different of a window. After 25 years of measuring them, this is what we specify, and why.
Four climates, one city
- The Atlantic Seaboard and Blouberg: glare off the sea, a low western sun, salt air and the south-easter.
- The Southern Suburbs: mountain shade, big trees, the wettest winters in the city and damp that lingers.
- The Northern Suburbs: hot, dry, bright summers and large north- and west-facing glass on newer homes.
- Helderberg and the Winelands: the strongest wind in the metro, wide stoeps and farm-style homes that live outdoors.
The right blind is the one specified for the window in front of you, not for the city in general. These are the four problems we solve most often.
The sun
Cape Town sun is high in summer and low in winter, and the UV is strong all year. On a north- or west-facing window it bleaches floors, fades fabric and heats a room until the air conditioner cannot keep up. The answer is rarely a blockout, because then the room is dark all afternoon.
- Screen roller blinds are the first thing we specify on a sun-facing window with a view. A screen fabric such as SheerWeave 4500 cuts the glare and most of the UV while you still see the mountain or the sea, and by day the room is private from outside. The roller blind designer lets you pick the fabric and openness and see the price live; in Cape Town we also measure and fit roller blinds for you.
- Light-filter fabrics soften the light in a living room without a view to protect.
- Blockout rollers belong in bedrooms, media rooms and a west-facing study used in the afternoon.
- Shutters tilt to take the sun off the room while the light stays, and they never fade. See the shutters buyer’s guide.
Double roller and Vision blinds put a screen and a blockout in one headrail, which is the neat answer for a bedroom with a view.
The wind
The south-easter blows from spring to late summer, hardest in Helderberg, on the Seaboard and across the Cape Flats. Outdoors, it decides the blind for you: a free-hang blind on an exposed patio spends half the summer rolled up, while a Zip X blind with its fabric locked in side tracks stays down and keeps the space usable. Our outdoor and patio blinds guide compares the systems.
Indoors, wind matters if you like the windows open. A venetian blind in an open window rattles; a roller blind with a weighted bottom bar sits still, and a cassette keeps the roll tidy. On sash and casement windows that are often open, we specify rollers or cellular blinds rather than slatted blinds.
The winter
From May to August the north-wester brings rain and cold, and single-glazed windows lose heat fast. Two things help more than anything else.
- Cellular blinds trap a pocket of still air in their honeycomb cells against the glass. They are the most insulating blind we make, warmer in winter and cooler in January, and they work in sheer through to blockout. Design a cellular blind online from R1,671.
- Lined curtains, especially a wave curtain with a blockout lining, make a bedroom noticeably warmer. Made in our own workroom; order wave curtains online from R1,165.
Shutters insulate well too, a solid panel on the frame, which is one reason they suit the older, draughtier homes of the Southern Suburbs.
The damp and the coast
Winter damp in Rondebosch and Newlands, steam in bathrooms, and salt air from Mouille Point to Gordon’s Bay all punish the wrong material. Wood swells in a wet room; some fabrics mark. What holds up:
- 35mm aluminium venetians in bathrooms and kitchens: they wipe clean and shrug off steam. From R710 in the aluminium designer.
- Screen and blockout rollers in fabrics that wipe down, with a stainless steel ball chain option on the coast.
- Shutters in the moisture-friendly option of the Urban range for bathrooms and seaboard homes.
- Wood venetians for living rooms and bedrooms, where their warmth belongs, and not for the shower room.
Area by area
| Area | The problem | What we specify most |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Seaboard | Glare, salt, tall glass | Screen rollers, Zip X on balconies, Somfy motors on high windows |
| Southern Suburbs | Shade, damp, cold winters | Light-filter rollers, cellular, shutters, lined curtains |
| Northern Suburbs | Heat, big north and west glass | Screen and blockout rollers, motorised, double rollers |
| Helderberg and Winelands | Wind, outdoor living | Zip X, shutters, screen rollers |
| City Bowl | Floor-to-ceiling glass, city lights | Motorised blockout, screen rollers, shutters on heritage homes |
Tall glass and the case for a motor
Much of Cape Town’s newer housing has double-volume glass and wide sliders. A blind you cannot reach is a blind that stays where it was. Somfy motorised blinds move on a remote, a wall switch or a schedule, and a west-facing screen that drops itself at three o’clock does more for a hot room than any fan.
What it costs
Online, made to measure and including VAT: aluminium venetians from R710, roller blinds from R989, retro venetians from R1,133, wave curtains from R1,165, wood venetians from R1,350, cellular blinds from R1,671 and outdoor free-hang blinds from R7,110. In Cape Town our own team measures free and fits for R200 per blind plus a once-off R850 call-out. The blinds price guide explains what moves the price.
Blinds for Cape Town: your questions
What are the best blinds for a hot, sunny room in Cape Town?
Screen roller blinds on a window with a view: they cut glare and most of the UV while you still see out. Blockout rollers for bedrooms and afternoon rooms, and shutters where you want to tilt the sun away and keep the light. Motorise anything you cannot reach.
Which blinds keep a Cape Town house warm in winter?
Cellular (honeycomb) blinds are the most insulating blind we make, followed by lined curtains and shutters. All three hold a layer of still air against the glass, which is where a single-glazed window loses its heat.
What blinds are best for a bathroom in Cape Town?
35mm aluminium venetians, a wipe-clean roller blind, or shutters in the moisture-friendly option of the Urban range. Avoid wood venetians in a wet room.
What blinds work in the south-easter?
Outdoors, Zip X blinds, because the fabric is locked in side tracks and stays down in wind. Indoors, on windows you keep open, a roller blind with a weighted bottom bar in a cassette sits still where a venetian rattles.
Do you fit blinds across Cape Town?
Yes. We measure free and fit with our own team across greater Cape Town, from the Atlantic Seaboard and the Southern and Northern Suburbs to Helderberg and the Winelands, from our showroom and workshop in Maitland. Elsewhere in South Africa you order online and we courier.
Specified for your window, not the average one
Design your blinds online and see the price as you go, or book a free in-home measure anywhere in greater Cape Town.
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