Parktown Blinds
Venetians: the only blind that steers light, not just blocks it.
Aluminium and timber slats tilt to any angle — full view, filtered light, or full privacy at any blind height. This page also covers concealed/recessed systems and external venetians for the facade.
Why adjustability matters here
A roller blind is open or closed by degrees; a venetian steers light direction. Under a jacaranda or oak canopy, that matters more than it does on an open stand — the light arrives at a different angle through the morning, softens under full leaf in summer, then swings low and direct once winter strips the branches. Tilt up for glare-free daylight, tilt down for privacy from a neighbour's upstairs window, close flat for full dark.
Aluminium venetians
25mm slats give the crisp, most-requested look; 50mm slats read bolder with fewer lines across a tall window. Aluminium is the moisture-safe choice for kitchens, bathrooms and laundries where fabric blinds struggle, and it comes in a wide colour range including wood-look finishes for anyone who wants the timber look at an aluminium budget.
Timber venetians
50mm basswood slats are the natural fit for a sash window, a study, or any room where "real material" reads correctly against original skirting and picture rails. They're heavier than aluminium, so very wide openings need splitting or ladder-tape support — your consultant will flag this at the measure rather than after the order is placed. Keep them out of steamy bathrooms; everywhere else, quality lacquer handles normal Highveld humidity without issue.
For the addition where no hardware should show.
Ceiling-slot systems and built-in blind boxes suit architect-led additions — garden rooms, kitchen extensions, skylight strips — where the brief is a clean ceiling line with the blind hidden until it's needed. Worth discussing at design stage if you're extending: the recess has to be built in, not retrofitted.
Stop the heat at the glass, not inside the room.
Robust aluminium slats mounted outside the window intercept heat before it reaches the glass at all — a genuinely different result to any interior blind, which only manages heat after it's already indoors. Worth a look on an unshaded west-facing facade or a top-floor room that runs hot through summer afternoons. Motorised control is standard on most external systems, with wind sensors as a sensible addition given how quickly a Highveld thunderstorm can build.
Rooms where a venetian earns its adjustability.
Original sash windows
Timber slats that respect the frame's proportions instead of fighting them.
Kitchens & bathrooms
Aluminium handles moisture where a fabric blind eventually won't.
Studies with hour-by-hour sun
Tilt through the day rather than committing to one fixed setting.
Unshaded west-facing rooms
External venetians take the heat off the glass before it's indoors.
Venetian, concealed and external blinds across the Parks belt.
Fitting venetians across Forest Town, Parkview, Parkwood and Saxonwold — timber slats for original sash windows on the older stock, concealed ceiling systems on Forest Town's architect-led rebuilds, and external venetians on Saxonwold's larger, unshaded west faces.
What it costs
Slat material moves this price most
Guide figures per square metre, installed. In 25mm or 50mm aluminium, reckon on R1,000 to R1,500 per square metre for a wand and cord, and R2,500 to R3,600 once motorised. Timber slats cost more to make and are heavier to hang, so allow R1,600 to R2,600 per square metre hand-operated and R3,000 to R4,500 motorised.
A narrow bathroom or scullery opening carries a minimum charge, since the headrail, the tapes and the fitting are much the same job at any width. Fifty-millimetre timber sits at roughly the rhythm of a sash window’s glazing bars, which is why it reads so well on these houses, but past about two metres wide we would split or motorise the opening rather than fight the weight.
See the tilt in your own light.
Free in-home measure, written per-window quote — no online self-measure, no obligation past the quote.