Timber, for the houses that still have their original joinery
Wide 50mm basswood slats are the natural match for a Rondebosch sash or bay window with its original architrave and deep reveal still intact — the warm timber sits alongside old yellowwood or meranti frames far better than a boxy aluminium cassette would. Quality lacquer handles normal humidity; keep it out of a steamy en-suite and it will outlast most of the joinery around it. On wide bays, ladder-tape support or a split blind keeps the weight manageable without sagging the headrail.
Aluminium, for the kitchen and bathroom the timber can't go in
Slim 25mm aluminium slats do the wet-room work timber can't — steam-safe, easy to wipe down, and available in a colour range wide enough to match a renovated kitchen rather than fight it. It's also the more budget-friendly of the two, which is why it's a common pick for a converted garage office or a rear extension where period matching matters less.
Why tilt beats open-or-closed
A roller is open or shut by degrees; a venetian steers light by direction. Tilt up for glare-free daylight through an oak canopy that's already doing some of the filtering for you, tilt down for privacy from a neighbour's new double-storey addition, close flat for full dark. On a street with more second-storey extensions going up every year, that direction control is doing real, daily work.
It's the same principle Kenilworth's kitchens and bathrooms run on — aluminium slats standing in for timber wherever steam is a factor — and it scales up on the larger, forest-set properties in Bishopscourt, where tilt control does the work of managing dappled canopy light room by room instead of blocking it outright.
A tilted slat does what an oak leaf already does to the light outside — it just lets you decide the angle yourself.
On-site measure, Rondebosch- 50mm timber slats for original sash and bay windows
- 25mm aluminium slats for kitchens, bathrooms and laundries
- Tilt for glare control, close flat for privacy or full dark
- Wand or cord tilt, motorised on premium lines
- Ladder-tape support or a split blind on wide spans
What a venetian costs, by material
Material decides the band, and both are per square metre installed. Aluminium slats, 25 mm or 50 mm, come to R1,000 to R1,500 with a wand or cord and R2,500 to R3,600 motorised. Timber is dearer at R1,600 to R2,600 manual and R3,000 to R4,500 motorised, the wider slats and stained finishes that suit an older room sitting near the top of both.
A small window carries a minimum charge, because a bathroom pane still needs its own headrail, brackets and visit. And an out-of-square reveal changes how a venetian is mounted rather than what it costs per square metre — which is one more reason the price per window is settled at the free measure and put in writing.
Got a sash or bay window to spec?
Measured on site for free, quoted per window in writing, and no obligation once you have read it.
