insights
insights
“The windows have not changed. The sizes are still not standard. The only difference is they have now spent money twice. Custom made to measure is the first and last purchase.”The Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings team
Bulk manufacturing at fixed widths and drops of 1600 or 2100mm. The numbers cover common openings; they rarely match a specific window in a specific house.
South African windowsA 1970s face-brick house in Pretoria East, a 2015 cluster in Fourways and a Victorian semi in the Southern Suburbs all differ, and aluminium frames of the last fifteen years are made to the architect’s drawing, not to blind increments. Trimming a ready-made blind usually voids its warranty.
A ready-made roller costs R150 to R450 at a chain store. A custom roller from the live shop starts from R671. On one blind, ready made wins today. Over ten years it does not.
Ready
Standard sizes
Custom
Made to your window
Over a house of eight to twelve windows, custom pricing scales better and the annual cost is lower.
| Performance | Custom made | Ready made |
|---|---|---|
| Sizing | To the millimetre | Fixed increments |
| Fabric range | Blockout, sunscreen, sheer, light-filter | Limited |
| Blind types | Roller, honeycomb, venetian, vertical, no-drill | Mostly roller |
| Motorisation | Somfy available | Not available |
| Child safety | Cordless on most types | Chain or cord, some cordless |
| Delivery | About 5 to 7 working days plus courier | Same day in store |
Three dots excellent. No dots poor or not recommended.
04 When ready made makes sense
When you need a covering today and cannot wait; when the space is temporary, a short let, a display stand or a pop-up; when the window happens to be exactly a standard size. Staging a house for sale and temporary office partitions are legitimate ready-made jobs.
Renting?No-drill tension-mount blinds from the shop are made to measure, leave with you, and cost less than replacing ready made twice over a lease.
A steel tape, because fabric tapes stretch. Millimetres.
At the top, middle and bottom of the recess. Use the narrowest.
At the left, centre and right. Use the longest.
Those two numbers go into the shop. Unsure? WhatsApp a photo to 076 022 8410 and the team confirms. The Custom Fit Guarantee covers the sizes you send: too big, trimmed free; too small, remade at a reduced price.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings does not stock ready made. Every blind is made to order after you send your sizes, from the full Somfy, Hunter Douglas and Coulisse range, at any width to the millimetre, with mechanisms rated for a decade of daily use.
Buy online:
For any home you will live in longer than two years, yes. Custom lasts 10 to 15 years and costs less a year than replacing ready made every 2 to 4. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings makes every blind to order with free delivery nationwide.
Yes, at shop.customblinds.co.za: width and drop in millimetres, choose the fabric, and the price shows. Made in about 5 to 7 working days plus courier transit, delivered free.
The Custom Fit Guarantee covers it: too big from the sizes supplied, trimmed free and returned; too small, remade at a reduced price.
Upfront, yes: R150 to R450 against a custom roller from R671. Once the ready-made blind is replaced at year three, custom is the lower total.
Widths of 600, 900, 1200, 1500 and 1800mm, drops of 1600 or 2100mm. A window that does not match exactly gets a gap or a trim.
Yes. Wide sliders, narrow sidelights, extra-tall drops and, on specific products, arched tops are all standard work, because every blind is built individually.
Content reviewed by the Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings team. Visit the online shop for current pricing.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings | South Africa’s trusted blinds, shutters and awnings specialists since 2010.