The most adjustable treatment we fit
A roller is open or shut by degrees; a venetian steers light direction — tilt up for glare-free daylight, tilt down for privacy from a neighbour higher up the slope, close flat for dark. On a street built into a hillside, where a stacked property can look straight into the room next door’s window, that adjustability earns its place more than almost anywhere else in the range.
Aluminium or timber — the honest split
- Aluminium venetians (25mm slats, most popular; 50mm for fewer lines) are the moisture and salt-air champions — bathrooms, kitchens, and any harbour-facing window taking the ordinary spray of a working naval base. Powder-coated finishes handle salt air far better than fabric or timber, though a rinse-wipe now and then still matters this close to the sea.
- Timber venetians (50mm basswood or bamboo) suit the dry, set-back rooms behind a Georgian or Edwardian facade — studies, formal lounges, anywhere a sash window and a real material belong together. Keep them out of steamy bathrooms; a quality lacquer handles normal Cape-winter humidity but not sustained steam.
Why we specify venetians this way here
Simon’s Bay’s calm water throws a flatter, harder glare in the morning than the open swell further north does — a venetian’s tilt answers that hour by hour without losing the harbour view the way a lowered blockout roller would. On the older stock along St George’s Street, most reveals are deep stone or plaster, out-of-square from age, so slat width and mounting depth get confirmed on site rather than assumed from a standard size.
Honest limitations
Timber is heavier than aluminium — a very wide window needs splitting or ladder-tape support rather than one long unsupported run. And in a genuinely steamy bathroom, aluminium is the only sensible choice; we won’t sell timber into a room that will warp it within a season.
Where else on the coast we fit this
Powder-coated aluminium venetians are the salt-air baseline in Kalk Bay’s harbour cottages too, while timber venetians suit the older Cape-vernacular farmhouse rooms we fit in Noordhoek, well back from the salt.
What a venetian runs to on this coast
Read the figures as installed, per square metre of blind. Aluminium slats in 25mm or 50mm come in around R1,000 to R1,500 per square metre, and near the sea the powder-coated finish matters more than the price difference between colours. Real timber is the step up at R1,600 to R2,600, both for the material and because the added weight wants a stronger headrail behind it.
Motorised tilt lifts aluminium to R2,500 to R3,600 per square metre and timber to R3,000 to R4,500, the gap being how much mass the motor turns. A narrow cottage window carries a minimum charge whichever material you choose. None of it is a quote — the exact figure per opening is written after the free measure, once the reveal has been checked and the slat held against your own frames.
Will aluminium venetians cope with the naval base’s salt air?
Yes — powder-coated aluminium is the coastal baseline over raw timber for that reason specifically. We spec it as standard for anything within a few hundred metres of the water, and recommend an occasional fresh-water rinse regardless of finish.
Can I get motorised tilt on a venetian?
Yes, on our premium aluminium lines — useful on tall sash windows or anywhere reaching a wand isn’t practical. See motorised blinds & automation on the main range for the control options.