Venetian Blinds

01

Aluminium or timber, two different jobs

Aluminium venetians, in 25mm or 50mm slats, are the moisture-proof option — cellar workspaces, wash-up rooms and any glazing near a working part of the farm where fabric would eventually fail. Powder-coated finishes hold up well against the region's sustained summer UV.

Timber slats (usually 50mm basswood) are the natural fit for a homestead's original sash and casement openings — warm, architectural, and true to a building the National Heritage Resources Act already protects on anything over 60 years old. Because the blind sits inside the room and changes nothing visible from outside, fitting one doesn't trigger a heritage application the way an exterior alteration would.

02

The adjustability argument

A roller is open or closed by degrees; a venetian steers light direction — tilt up for glare-free daylight over a desk, tilt down for privacy from a neighbouring cottage, close flat for dark. Simonsberg-Stellenbosch's farms, which read the mountain directly and lose the sun fast behind the peak by mid-afternoon, are exactly the kind of hour-by-hour light swing a venetian handles better than a fixed fabric ever could.

03

What to expect on a very wide opening

Timber slats are heavier than aluminium, so very wide homestead windows sometimes need splitting or additional ladder-tape support rather than one continuous run — we'll flag that plainly at the measure, not after the order.

• Suits shallow, deep-set homestead sash and casement reveals
• An internal fit that keeps the protected facade untouched
• Motorised tilt available on premium lines for hard-to-reach farm-office windows