Roller Blinds in South Africa: The Practical Guide to Getting Them Right
Morning sun floods the bedroom. You reach for the chain, pull down, and the room softens. The glare disappears. The heat drops. The space feels like yours again. That is what the right roller blind does. Quietly. Every single day.
What are the best roller blinds for South African homes?
- Roller blinds are the most popular indoor window covering in South Africa, suited to bedrooms, living areas, kitchens and offices.
- Two main fabric types exist: blockout (full darkness) and sheer (filtered light with views and UV reduction).
- Blockout roller blinds reduce heat gain through windows by up to 33 percent, making them practical for energy savings in hot climates.
- For coastal areas like the Garden Route, UV-stabilised fabrics and aluminium headrails resist salt air, humidity and sun damage.
- Custom Blinds is the Garden Route’s leading supplier of world-class roller blind brands, with national delivery and professional installation.
- Chain-drive, no-drill tension mount and motorised operation options are available, with motorised systems recommended for child safety and hard-to-reach windows.
- Roller blinds typically cost less than shutters or Venetians and suit both rental properties and permanent homes. No-drill roller blinds are ideal for renters.
TLDR
Roller blinds are the most versatile, affordable indoor window covering for South African conditions. Choose blockout for bedrooms and sheer for living areas where you want soft, filtered light with UV protection. For coastal homes, insist on UV-stabilised fabric and aluminium headrails. Custom Blinds supplies and installs world-class roller blind brands from our Garden Route base, with national delivery available.
Designed Comfort
A bedroom that stays dark until you decide it is morning. A living room where afternoon glare no longer reaches the sofa. A bathroom where the neighbour’s view stops at the glass. Roller blinds give you control over how every room feels, without changing a thing about how it looks.
Cool Rooms. Block up to 33% of heat gain through glass. The room stays comfortable without cranking the air-con.
Quiet Sleep. Blockout fabric creates genuine darkness. Shift workers, light-sensitive sleepers and children sleep deeper, longer.
Soft Light. Sheer fabrics filter harsh glare into gentle, even light. The view stays. The discomfort goes.
Clean Lines. No draping, no bunching, no dust traps. Roller blinds sit flush to the window. The room looks considered.
“People always ask which blind is best. I ask them what annoys them most about their window right now. That tells me everything I need to know.”
Duncan, Custom Blinds — 15 years installing across the Garden Route
Why Custom Blinds
Built Here. Fitted Right. Backed Properly.
Every roller blind we supply is specified to your exact window measurements using world-class brands including Somfy, Hunter Douglas and Coulisse. We are the only company in South Africa that handles online ordering, on-site consultation, expert specification and professional installation under one roof. No middlemen. No guesswork. No surprises on installation day.
Installations Since 2010
Homes, offices, restaurants and holiday lets across the Garden Route and nationally.
Years of Expertise
Duncan has personally installed blinds in every type of building, from Knysna lagoon homes to Highveld apartments.
Company, Full Service
Online shop, consultation, supply and installation. No subcontractors. No handovers.
The Two Types of Roller Blind Fabric — and When to Use Each
Choosing the right roller blind starts with understanding what each fabric does. The mechanism is the same: a tube at the top, fabric that rolls around it, and a control to raise or lower. The difference is in the fabric itself.
Blockout Roller Blinds
Blockout fabric is opaque. When lowered, it stops all visible light. This makes it the right choice for bedrooms, nurseries, home cinemas, and any room where you need genuine darkness. Blockout rollers also provide the highest level of heat reduction and privacy. If you are looking for blockout roller blinds on the Garden Route, we supply and install them to fit any window size.
Sheer Roller Blinds
Sheer fabric filters light without blocking it. The room stays bright but the harsh edge of direct sun is removed. You can see shapes and movement outside, but detail is softened. Sheer rollers reduce UV by up to 95 percent depending on the weave, which also protects furniture and floors from sun damage. They suit living rooms, kitchens, dining areas, offices and any room where you want light, partial views and reduced glare without sacrificing privacy during the day.
Roller Blind Fabric Comparison
This table covers the key differences between roller blind fabrics so you can match the right type to each room in your home.
| Feature | Blockout | Sheer |
|---|---|---|
| Light Blocking | ✓ 100% | 30–70% (varies by weave) |
| Daytime Privacy | ✓ Full | ✓ Good |
| Night-time Privacy | ✓ Full | ✗ Low |
| UV Reduction | ✓ 100% | ✓ Up to 95% |
| Heat Reduction | ✓ High | Low–Medium |
| View Through | ✗ None | ✓ Soft shapes to clear (varies by weave) |
| Best Rooms | Bedrooms, nurseries, media rooms | Living rooms, kitchens, offices, dining |
| Coastal Suitable | ✓ With UV-stabilised fabric | ✓ Ideal |
Room-by-Room Roller Blind Recommendations
Every room has different demands. Here is what we recommend based on 8,000+ installations across South Africa.
Bedrooms
Blockout roller blinds are the standard for bedrooms. They create genuine darkness for sleeping, reduce heat build-up from morning sun, and provide full privacy at any hour. If the room also serves as a home office during the day, consider pairing a blockout roller with a separate sheer on an adjacent window for natural light when you need it. Read our bedroom-to-bathroom blinds guide for more detail.
Living Areas and Open-Plan Spaces
Sheer fabric works best here. You want light and connection to the garden or the street, but without the glare that makes a sofa uncomfortable at 3pm. Sheer rollers reduce screen glare from televisions and laptops while keeping the space bright and open.
Kitchens
Roller blinds are more practical than curtains in a kitchen. They do not blow over the hob. They do not absorb cooking moisture. Sheer fabric keeps the kitchen bright while reducing heat from afternoon sun. Wipe-clean PVC-coated fabrics are available for high-humidity areas. For kitchens with specific challenges, see our guide to blinds for South African kitchens.
Bathrooms
Moisture resistance matters here. Blockout roller blinds with PVC-coated fabric handle steam and splashes without warping or growing mould. For bathrooms with a view — and on the Garden Route, many have extraordinary ones — a sheer roller gives you privacy from outside while keeping the landscape visible from the bath.
Home Offices and Studies
Sheer rollers reduce screen glare without darkening the room. This is critical for productivity. If you work from home, a sheer roller on your window-facing wall can reduce eye strain significantly. See our home office blinds guide for setup advice.
Nurseries and Children’s Rooms
Blockout fabric and motorised operation with a secure mounting. Those are the three requirements. Chains pose a strangulation risk for children under four. Motorised roller blinds eliminate that risk entirely and can be programmed to lower at nap time. We cover this in detail in our nursery blockout blinds guide.
“The biggest mistake I see is blockout fabric in a living room. The room goes dark at two in the afternoon and they wonder why it feels gloomy. Sheer gives you the UV control without losing the light.”
Duncan, Custom Blinds — 8,000+ installations across South Africa
Roller Blinds for Coastal and Garden Route Homes
If you live anywhere along the South African coast — from the Garden Route to KZN to the Western Cape — your windows face conditions that inland homes do not. Salt air corrodes metal. Humidity encourages mould. UV intensity bleaches fabric years before its time.
Standard roller blinds from chain retailers are often built for inland conditions. The headrails are mild steel. The fabric is not UV-stabilised. The brackets corrode within two years.
For coastal homes on the Garden Route, we specify aluminium headrails (not steel), UV-stabilised fabric across every roller blind we supply, and stainless-steel or engineered-polymer brackets. These are not optional upgrades. They are standard because we live here and we know what the coast does to window coverings.
Every roller blind from Custom Blinds includes UV-stabilised fabric and aluminium headrails as standard — not as an upgrade.
How Roller Blinds Operate: Chain and Motorised
The operating mechanism affects daily convenience, child safety and long-term durability. Here are the two options available.
Chain Drive
The most common mechanism. A beaded chain loop on one side raises and lowers the blind. Simple, reliable, low-cost. A chain tensioner should always be fitted in homes with children or pets to prevent the loop hanging loose.
No-Drill Tension Mount
One of our most popular options. No-drill roller blinds use a spring-tension system that grips inside the window frame without any screws, adhesive or wall damage. Perfect for renters, tiled bathrooms, heritage buildings and anyone who wants a fast, tool-free installation. Available with all indoor roller blind fabrics.
Motorised
A battery-powered or hard-wired motor inside the tube. Operated by remote, wall switch or smart home app. Motorised rollers are the safest option for homes with young children because there are no cords at all. They also suit hard-to-reach windows, skylights and large expanses of glass. For a full overview, see our guide to motorised blind advantages. Smart home integration is available through Motion Blinds and Somfy automation.
Roller Blinds vs Other Window Coverings
Roller blinds are not the answer for every window. Here is an honest comparison with other common options so you can decide what suits your situation. For a broader comparison, our shutters vs blinds guide covers this in depth.
| Criteria | Roller Blinds | Venetians | Shutters | Curtains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | ✓ Low–Medium | Medium | High | Low–High |
| Light Control | On/Off (blockout) or filtered (sheer) | ✓ Precise (tilt slats) | ✓ Precise (tilt louvres) | Open/Closed |
| Cleaning | ✓ Wipe down | Dust each slat | Wipe down | Wash/dry clean |
| Durability (Coast) | ✓ Good (UV-stabilised) | Good (aluminium) | ✓ Excellent (PVC) | ✗ Fades quickly |
| Space Used | ✓ Minimal (flush mount) | Moderate (slat depth) | Moderate (frame depth) | ✗ Significant (stack-back) |
| Motorised Option | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Limited | Rare |
| Best For | Modern homes, rentals, bedrooms | Traditional homes, offices | Permanent homes, heritage properties | Period homes, formal rooms |
Value
What Makes Roller Blinds a Sound Investment
Energy Savings
Blockout rollers reduce heat transfer through windows by up to 33%, lowering cooling costs in summer.
Long Lifespan
UV-stabilised fabric and aluminium headrails are built to handle South African conditions for years.
Low Maintenance
No washing, no dry cleaning. A damp cloth and occasional dusting keeps roller blinds in condition.
Custom Fit Guarantee
Too big? Free trim. Too small? 5% off a replacement. Shop orders backed by our fit guarantee.
How to Order Roller Blinds Online
Whether you are in Knysna, Johannesburg or Cape Town, the process is straightforward.
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Garden Route customers: Duncan visits your home for a free consultation and precise measurement. He recommends the right fabric and operation for each window based on the room, the light and the conditions.
National customers: Use our measuring guide to get accurate dimensions, then order online with free delivery. Our Custom Fit Guarantee covers you: too big and we trim for free; too small and you get 5% off a replacement.
For complex installations, multiple rooms or commercial projects, call Duncan directly on 079 523 5407 or request a consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between blockout and sheer roller blinds?
Blockout fabric is fully opaque and stops all visible light, making it ideal for bedrooms and nurseries. Sheer fabric filters light and reduces UV by up to 95% while keeping your view, making it better for living areas, kitchens and offices. Custom Blinds supplies both types from world-class brands, specified to your exact window measurements.
Are roller blinds suitable for coastal homes in South Africa?
Yes, provided they are built with the right materials. Salt air, humidity and intense UV damage standard components within two years. Custom Blinds specifies UV-stabilised fabric and aluminium headrails as standard for all Garden Route coastal homes, and recommends the same for any South African coastal property.
How do I choose between sheer and blockout roller blinds for my bedroom?
If you need full darkness for sleeping, choose blockout. If the bedroom doubles as a daytime living space and you want natural light during the day, a sheer roller on a separate window gives you that flexibility. Blockout remains the most popular choice for main bedrooms on the Garden Route.
Can roller blinds be motorised?
Yes. Battery-powered or hard-wired motors fit inside the roller tube and are operated by remote, wall switch or smart home app. Motorised roller blinds are the safest option for homes with young children because they eliminate chains and cords entirely. Custom Blinds installs Motion Blinds and Somfy motorised systems.
How much do custom roller blinds cost in South Africa?
Pricing depends on window size, fabric type and operating mechanism. Roller blinds are typically the most affordable custom window covering, costing less than shutters or Venetians of equivalent quality. For an accurate quote, use our online configurator or call Duncan on 079 523 5407 for Garden Route installations.
What roller blinds are best for a Knysna or Plettenberg Bay home?
For Knysna and Plettenberg Bay homes, we recommend UV-stabilised sheer or blockout fabric with aluminium headrails. The combination of salt air, coastal humidity and high UV levels along the Garden Route means standard materials degrade quickly. Custom Blinds is based in Knysna and builds every blind for these exact conditions.
How do I clean roller blinds?
Wipe with a damp cloth or use a soft brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner. For stubborn marks, a mild soap solution works on most fabrics. Roller blinds do not need washing or dry cleaning, which makes them far easier to maintain than curtains. See our cleaning guide for detailed instructions.
Can I order roller blinds online and have them delivered nationally?
Yes. Custom Blinds delivers nationwide from the Garden Route. Measure your windows using our step-by-step guide, choose your fabric and size on the online shop, and your blinds are built to order and shipped with tracking. Our Custom Fit Guarantee covers you if measurements are slightly off.
Ready to Get the Right Roller Blinds?
Whether you need one blind or a full house, we will help you get it right.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an independent, Garden Route-based supplier and installer of premium window coverings. Product availability and specifications may vary. All advice is general and based on typical South African conditions. For site-specific recommendations, contact us directly.
