Roller blinds made to measure in Cape Town
Blockout for bedrooms, soft light-filtering weaves, screen fabric that keeps the view and zebra blinds that switch between the two. We measure your windows, cut each blind to the millimetre and fit it ourselves, on a child-safe chain or a quiet motor.
Four fabric families
All four are made to measure; the right one for each room comes down to how much light you want coming through.
Blockout
A coated fabric that stops light completely. In midsummer the Cape sun is up before six, and a blockout roller keeps the bedroom dark until you decide otherwise. The standard choice for bedrooms, nurseries and anyone who sleeps in daylight hours.
Light-filtering
A woven fabric that turns direct sun into an even glow. The room stays bright and nobody can see in, which suits living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms where full blockout would feel like a cave.
Screen
An open-weave mesh that cuts glare and UV without giving up the view. By day you see out and passers-by see fabric. After dark that reverses once the lights go on, so screen usually pairs with curtains or a second blind in bedrooms.
Zebra / day-night
Alternating bands of sheer and solid fabric on one roller. Line the sheer bands up for light and a filtered view; move the blind a few centimetres and solid overlaps solid for privacy. Venetian-style control from a single clean roll of fabric.
Cut to the window, not close to it
Urbanshades makes indoor roller blinds to measure in Cape Town, the other way round from an off-the-shelf blind that comes in a standard size and expects your window to cooperate. We measure each opening ourselves, check whether the reveal runs square, and cut every blind to the millimetre, so it sits inside the reveal with a tidy, even margin or face-fixes over the frame with proper overlap. There are no light stripes down the edges and no tube sagging across a wide span.
Operation is a stainless chain with a child-safe tensioner anchored to the wall, or a motor with remote and app control. The measure is free anywhere in greater Cape Town, your written quote is fixed and with you within 48 hours, and the finished installation carries a written guarantee registered to your address.
The parts you live with every day
Fabric gets all the attention, but the fit and the controls decide whether a blind still pleases you in five years.
Every blind is cut to your opening after we measure it ourselves, mounted inside the reveal for a flush look or face-fixed over the frame for full coverage. Edges sit even and hems hang straight.
Made to measure
Chain-operated blinds come with a child-safe tensioner that anchors the loop to the wall, so no cord hangs free within a small child's reach. Motorised blinds do away with the chain entirely.
Child-safe controls
Rechargeable battery motors fit with no wiring at all; wired motors suit new builds and renovations. Both give you remote and app control, and one press can move a whole bank of blinds together.
Motorised option
How they're specified
The standard every roller blind is made and fitted to, whatever the fabric.
- Fabrics
- Four families: blockout, light-filtering, screen and zebra. You choose colour and weave from physical samples at the measure, held against your own window light.
- Measure & fit
- Measured by us and cut to the millimetre. Blinds mount inside the reveal for a flush finish or face-fix over the frame where coverage matters more than depth.
- Operation
- Stainless control chain with a wall-anchored child-safe tensioner, fitted left or right to suit the window, or fully motorised.
- Motorisation
- Rechargeable battery motors that need no wiring, or wired motors for new builds. Remote control as standard, app control available, blinds groupable so one press runs several.
- Care
- Wipe-down fabrics. Dust with a soft brush or vacuum on low and lift marks with a damp cloth and mild soap. Never machine-wash or soak a blind.
- Guarantee
- A written guarantee on every installation, documented and registered to your address.
- Quoting
- Free measure anywhere in greater Cape Town, then a fixed written quote within 48 hours.
Roller blind questions
Straight answers on fabrics, fitting, cleaning and lead times.
Which roller blind fabric is best for a bedroom?
Blockout is the right fabric for most bedrooms because it stops light completely, including the summer sunrise that arrives before six. If you also want daytime privacy with some light, a zebra blind covers both settings in one, and screen fabric works behind curtains. We bring samples to the measure so you can hold them against your own window.
Do screen blinds give privacy at night?
Not once your lights are on. Screen fabric gives one-way privacy by day because it is brighter outside than inside; after dark the balance flips and someone outside can see in. For street-facing bedrooms and bathrooms we recommend blockout or zebra fabric instead, or a screen blind paired with curtains you close in the evening.
What is a zebra blind?
A zebra blind, also called a day-night blind, is a roller blind with alternating bands of sheer and solid fabric on a continuous loop. Line the bands up and light passes through the sheer stripes; shift the blind a few centimetres and the solid bands overlap for privacy. It gives venetian-style light control with the clean face of a roller.
Can roller blinds be motorised without wiring?
Yes. Rechargeable battery motors sit inside the blind's tube, so there is no chasing of walls and no electrician needed. A charge lasts months in normal use and topping it up is a matter of plugging in a cable. You still get remote and app control, and wired motors remain the better option if you are renovating anyway.
Do you measure the windows, or do I?
We measure, and the visit is free. Roller blinds are cut to the millimetre and an opening that looks square rarely is, so our own fitter measures every window and takes responsibility for the numbers. If a blind made to our measurement doesn't fit, that is our problem to put right, not yours.
How do I clean roller blinds?
Dust them with a soft brush or a vacuum on low suction, and lift marks with a damp cloth and a little mild soap. The fabrics are made to be wiped down in place. Never put a roller blind through a washing machine and never soak it, because the coating that keeps the fabric flat will not survive.
How much do roller blinds cost in Cape Town?
What a roller blind costs depends on the fabric family you choose and how many windows you are covering; each family sits in its own price range, and a multi-room order brings the per-blind cost down because one visit covers the lot. The measure is free anywhere in greater Cape Town, and your fixed written quote follows within 48 hours.
How long until my blinds are installed?
Your fixed written quote arrives within 48 hours of the measure, and it states the lead time for the fabric you have chosen. Once the blinds are made, our crew fits most homes in a single visit; hanging an individual blind takes minutes rather than hours, with no mess beyond a few drill holes' worth of dust.
