Projects and inspiration
Installs from the Western Cape and Gauteng, alongside the wider range Urbanshades fits: fixed and fold-arm awnings, shutters, venetians, indoor blinds and the aluminium extras that finish a home. Filter by type or region, or scroll the lot.
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A spa courtyard that never closes
The plunge-pool courtyard at a Sea Point spa, roofed with white louvre awnings. Guests use the pool deck in any weather now. On still days the blades open to the sky; when wind and rain come through they seal tight, and the light keeps filtering in.
About louvre awnings
Louvre awning over the patio doors
A crisp white louvre awning spans the full width of this Constantia home's sliding doors. Summer sun stays off the glass, winter sun tilts in through the blades, and the paved terrace finally earns its keep.
Roof and walls that adjust independently
A louvre awning overhead and outdoor blinds on the exposed sides. This Winelands veranda now closes against a south-easter in under a minute, then opens back up just as fast when the weather clears.
Ceiling awning in the Helderberg
An insulated aluminium ceiling fitted beneath an existing stoep roof. Cooler underneath in summer, neater overhead all year, with clean panel lines in place of bare sheeting and purlins.
About ceiling awnings
Louvre corner with roller blinds
A corner patio under the mountain: louvre awning above, roller blinds dropping down the open faces. The owners wanted an outside room they could actually use in July. This is it.
City Bowl courtyard cover
A compact Gardens courtyard, covered edge to edge without crowding it. White frame against the house, potted garden untouched below. City space, used properly.
New ceiling, same roof
No structural changes and no rebuild. An aluminium ceiling awning went in under the roof that was already there, and the whole patio reads as finished.
Roller blind on the weather side
One exposed side was all that kept this patio from being used through winter. A single tracked roller blind closed the gap with a clear screen, and the view survived intact.
Screening out the north-wester
Durbanville wind arrives sideways. An outdoor roller blind across the open elevation keeps the braai lit and the table dry while the weather does its worst beyond the screen.
About outdoor roller blinds
Entertainment area, enclosed on demand
Roller blinds turned this open Bellville entertainment area into a room you can seal in seconds. Down for wind and rain, up and invisible the rest of the year.
Outdoor roller blind against the Atlantic wind
Front-line Blouberg weather, handled by a single outdoor roller blind. When the flags along Marine Drive are horizontal, this patio stays calm behind the screen.
Louvres against the 4pm storm
A white louvre roof over a Gauteng patio, photographed with the blades standing open. When the afternoon build-up turns into rain, the roof closes in seconds and the patio carries on.
Panels and downlights over the patio
White ceiling panels with flush downlights, framed in charcoal to match the bi-fold doors behind. The highveld sun hits the roof above; the table below stays cool.
A drop blind for dust and low sun
One solid drop blind closes the garden side of this patio against wind, dust and the low winter sun. Raised, the full opening comes straight back.
A louvre roof out in the garden
A white louvre pergola with lighting built in, set against a lush garden. Blades open for sun on the paving, closed for supper outside when the clouds come over.
A flat cover with square edges
Charcoal frame, white fascia, dead-straight lines. A fixed aluminium cover that suits the estate architecture instead of fighting it, with solid shade over the wicker lounge.
Fold-arm over the water
A white fold-arm awning cranked out over a designer pool terrace. No posts, no frame: the arms hold the fabric flat and the paving stays clear.
Shutters on the pool elevation
Aluminium shutters running the pool side of a villa. Sun control by day, security when the house empties out: one product, both jobs.
About aluminium shutters
Zebra blinds in the bay
Alternating sheer and solid bands let you tune a bay window by the hour: full view, soft light or privacy, all on one roller.
About indoor roller blinds
Bamboo slats, low light
Dark bamboo venetians run wall to wall in a calm lounge. Tilt is everything with a venetian: this room goes from gallery-bright to cinema in a half turn.
Black frames, open corner
Black aluminium stack doors pushed back to a mountain-view deck. When the frames are this slim, the wall is mostly view.
Lunch under open blades
Louvres stand open over the outside table, striping the deck with midday light. When the wind gets up, one press seals the roof and lunch carries on.
Charcoal cover, downlights in
A charcoal fixed cover with downlights recessed into the panels and a styled lounge underneath. The patio works as hard at 9pm as it does at noon.
LEDs in the fold-arm
This retractable awning carries its own lighting, so the patio does not shut down with the sun. Fabric out, LEDs on, and the table stays lit.
Dark bi-folds, folded back
Dark bi-fold shutters stacked open around an ocean view. Shut them and the weather stays theatrical, on the other side of the slats.
Light-filtering, not light-blocking
Sheer rollers in a bright bedroom by the sea. They knock the glare down and keep the airiness, which is the whole point of a light-filtering fabric.
Warm slats in a spa bathroom
Sun through bamboo slats, stone tones everywhere else. Wood-look venetians bring warmth to a room that is mostly tile.
Screens with a forest view
Security and insect screens across a Knysna window, valley and forest beyond. Air moves, mosquitoes do not.
Glassed in under a louvre roof
A freestanding pergola closed on all sides with glass, lounge inside, sky overhead through the blades. Summer house in January, conservatory in July.
White cover over a quiet courtyard
A crisp white awning spanning an elegant paved courtyard. Nothing flashy: clean posts, straight fascia, permanent shade where the sun used to land.
Two arms off the balcony wall
Dual white fold-arm awnings shade the upstairs balcony of a modern villa. Wound in, they all but disappear against the render.
Security that opens to the pool
White bi-fold shutters with a lockable security shutter in the opening to the pool deck. The pretty part and the safe part are the same part.
Blush rollers in a styled lounge
Roller blinds in a blush tone, holding their own in a carefully put-together lounge. Blinds do not have to be white and invisible; sometimes they are part of the palette.
White faux-wood by the sea
Crisp white faux-wood venetians in an airy coastal lounge. The look of painted timber, without timber’s opinion of humidity.
Screens on safari
Sliding screens on a lodge bedroom that opens to the bush. Guests get the sounds and the breeze; the wildlife stays on its side of the mesh.
White louvres on a modern build
Crisp white blades over clean architecture, mountains behind. The roofline stays sharp whether the louvres are catching sun or shedding rain.
Louvred roof over the bi-folds
A charcoal structure carrying louvred panels over full-width bi-fold doors, lawn rolling away in front. Open the doors, tilt the blades, and inside and outside stop being separate rooms.
Canvas doing the talking
Striped canvas against a hard blue sky, arms locked flat. Retractable awnings let the fabric carry the personality while the hardware keeps quiet.
A wall of charcoal louvres
Charcoal shutters covering an entire lounge wall, blades set to half. Big openings do not need curtains; they need panels that fold.
Grey zebra against a blush wall
A grey zebra blind on a blush wall, bands half-open to the morning. One chain adjusts the room from bright to private.
Aluminium slats at scale
Silver aluminium venetians spanning a full glass wall. At this width most blinds sag or bow; slim aluminium holds its line.
About venetian blinds
Both stacks open
The same Knysna home from outside, screen stacks parked at each end. Fitted right, screens vanish into the reveals until they are needed.
Dusk, downlights on
Photographed at dusk with the integrated downlights glowing: a white louvre roof in Benoni that keeps the patio going long after the highveld sun has dropped.
A cabana by the pool
White aluminium overhead, loungers and linen below, water a step away. A fixed poolside cover that turns the deep end into the best seat on the property.
Red, and not sorry
A fold-arm awning in flat-out red, filling the frame. If the house can carry it, the colour range is wide open.
Three windows, one nook
White shutters on the three windows of a sunlit dining nook. Morning light gets shaped, not blocked.
Blockout where it counts
White blockout rollers on the glass of an ocean-view bathroom. Bath with the blinds up, privacy the moment they are down.
Black slats, black kitchen
Black wood venetians in a kitchen that commits to the theme: dark joinery, patterned tiles, slats to match. Wipeable, tiltable and exactly right for it.
The hub on the hall table
A Somfy hub the size of a paperback runs the motorised side of the house: blinds, awnings and screens on schedules or a phone. This is the brain.
Sealed against the midday glare
Louvres shut tight under a hard blue sky, sun bursting over the edge. Closed, the roof runs rain to a hidden gutter; tilted, it breathes.
Twin awnings, top and bottom
Matching white awnings shade the patio and the balcony above it on this double-storey home. Same profile, same fascia, one clean elevation.
Grey canvas over the pool terrace
Twin grey fold-arms shade a long stretch of terrace beside an estate pool. Big coverage at noon, gone by sunset.
Shutters around the window seat
White bi-folds set into a timber picture window with a seat built in. The kind of corner people buy the house for.
White rollers, Scandi room
Clean white rollers across a run of dining-room glazing. When the fabric matches the wall, the windows keep their architecture.
White venetians over the tub
Bright white venetians in a sunny South African bathroom. Privacy tilted one way, a view of the garden tilted the other.
Mesh, up close
A close look at the screen mesh, protea in front. Fine enough to disappear from a metre away, strong enough to be part of the security story.
Louvres over the pizza oven
An entertaining deck with a pizza oven at one end and a louvre roof over the lot. Tilt the blades and the smoke finds its own way out.
A wedge awning in blue
A louvred wedge awning in a proper blue, angled off the wall above a valley view. Proof the standard palette is not compulsory: aluminium takes colour and keeps it.
Sunset over the lagoon
Taupe fold-arm awnings on a balcony above the Knysna lagoon, photographed as the light went soft. The view is the feature; the awnings just make it usable at 2pm.
Black shutters, Table Mountain
Black aluminium shutters closing off an outdoor dining terrace, Table Mountain over the wall. Wind protection here is not a nice-to-have.
Beige bands over the counters
Zebra rollers in beige stripe the kitchen with late-afternoon light. Steam, splatter and sun: kitchen windows ask a lot, and these fabrics wipe clean.
Grey slats in a Knysna bathroom
A single grey venetian handles the light in this elegant Knysna bathroom. Small window, big difference.
Blinds that answer the app
Remote on the table, blinds on the glass, schedules in the app. Most of what we fit can be motorised and grouped into scenes.
Holiday-house shade
White cover, palms, pool. The kind of corner that makes a weekday feel borrowed from December.
Stripes over the tables
Green striped fold-arms pulled out over a café terrace: cover for the lunch rush, wound away for winter sun. Commercial work is the same product, sized up.
Black slats over the bath
Painted black timber shutters above a freestanding tub. Dramatic, private, and easy to wipe down.
A print worth rolling down
Blossom-print rollers bring the pattern a plain guest room needed. Made-to-measure includes the fabric library, not just the sizes.
Venetians with the window open
An aluminium venetian in a coastal kitchen, sea in the frame. Aluminium does not mind salt air, which matters this close to the water.
White stack doors to the pool
Late light through white aluminium stack doors, pool just outside. The line between patio and lounge is one track wide.
Dinner under a panelled ceiling
From the table you see no structure at all, just a neat white ceiling running out to the garden. That finish is the point of doing an aluminium cover properly.
Taupe canvas on a glass beach house
A Plettenberg Bay beach house, all glass and right angles, with a taupe fold-arm keeping the afternoon out of the living room.
Shutters cut to the gable
A special-shape shutter following the rake of a gable window. Odd angles are not a problem; they are a template.
Outdoor rollers at last light
Outdoor roller blinds dropped around a patio as the evening cools. The braai side of the house stays warm long after the sun is off it.
50mm slats, classic room
Wide 50mm wood-look slats warm a traditional living room. The chunkier profile suits older houses the way 25mm suits new ones.
Ceiling, windows, one system
An aluminium ceiling overhead and matching windows around it, garden green beyond. When one installer does both, the joins line up.
Symmetry in charcoal
A charcoal cover set dead centre on the back of a Benoni home, posts landing exactly where they should. Straightforward, square and built for hail season.
Canopy plus drop screens
On the Knysna waterfront, a retractable canopy runs overhead while drop screens close the sides. The deck reads as a room, then packs itself away.
Bi-folds over the kitchen counter
White bi-fold shutters above the counters of a modern kitchen: light control that shrugs off steam and wipes clean before the kettle has boiled.
Texture on the screen
Woven screen rollers in a dark, dramatic lounge. The weave reads as fabric, not plastic, and the light lands softer for it.
Dark walnut, up close
A close look at dark-walnut faux-wood slats. Finish matters most at this range, and this is the range you live with.
Fitting the skylight
A roof window mid-install, flashing dressed square to the tiles. For rooms under a deep roof, light from above beats light from the side.