Motorized curtains in Dubai, on Somfy or Dooya motors
A motorized curtain is a made-to-measure curtain on a track with a motor at one end, so it opens from a remote, a switch, your phone or your voice.
Curtains Express makes the curtain, fits the motorized track and installs the motor, from one of two makers: Somfy, the French brand, or Dooya, which costs less. Both run pinch pleat and ripple fold curtains, wired or on a battery.
AED 1,460 a window
2 × 3 m in blackout pinch pleat on a Dooya motor, fitted. Remote extra.
Usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead. The curtain carries our two-year warranty on stitching and fitting, and the motor carries its maker's: five years from Somfy, two from Dooya.
Free measuring visit
There's no walk-in counter. Someone comes to the window with the fabric book and checks the three things a motorized job turns on: the curtain pocket, where the power can come from, and the run of the track.
Curtain, track and motor in one job
We make the curtain, fit the track, and install and set up the motor: where it stops, the remote and the app. Usually within about a week of your go-ahead.
Warranty claims go through us
Two years from us on stitching and fitting, and the maker's warranty on the motor. If a motor fails inside it, you call us, and we deal with the brand and swap the motor.
Motorized curtains, in short
- A motorized curtain is a made-to-measure curtain on a track with a motor at one end. Electric, smart, automatic and remote control curtains are the same thing under other names.
- Curtains Express installs two makes of curtain motor: Somfy, a French company, whose motors carry a five-year warranty, and Dooya, which costs less and carries two years.
- Pinch pleat and ripple fold curtains can be motorized. Eyelet curtains can't, because their rings slide along a pole and a motor drives gliders in a track.
- A motorized curtain runs on mains power from a point in the curtain pocket, or on a rechargeable battery that needs no wiring at all.
- Motorized curtains open from a remote, a wireless wall switch or a phone app, and by voice through Alexa or Google Assistant, or Siri with Somfy.
- A motorized curtain is priced in three parts: the curtain from AED 45 per m², the motorized track from AED 110 per metre, and the motor from AED 700 for Dooya or AED 1,050 for Somfy. A 2 × 3 m window comes to AED 1,460, fitted, before the remote.
- Motorized curtains are usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead, and every curtain carries a two-year warranty on stitching and fitting.
Want the same on a blind? Motorized blinds run on the same two makes of motor, and if the curtains and the blinds in a room are the same brand, one remote or one app runs both.
Motors we install
What motorized curtains cost in Dubai
A motorized curtain is priced in three parts: the curtain, the track it runs on and the motor that pulls it. The curtain starts at AED 45 per m² in a blackout fabric with our four-pass lining, or AED 35 per m² for a sheer. The motorized track is charged per metre on top, from AED 110, and the motor is a flat price per track, from AED 700 for Dooya and AED 1,050 for Somfy, fitted and programmed. Remotes are extra.
Price the whole window
- Blackout
- 12 m² × AED 45 = AED 540
- 0 m² × AED 0 = AED 0
- Track
- 2 m × AED 110 = AED 220
- Motor
- Dooya wired = AED 700
AED 1,460
Fitted and programmed, with one motor to every 6 m of track and a track and motor for each curtain. Remotes are extra, and the final figure follows the free measuring visit.
What moves the figure:
- The motor
- Dooya: wired, up to 50 kg, AED 700; battery AED 1,200. Somfy: Movelite 35 AED 1,050, Glydea Ultra 35e AED 1,250, Glydea Ultra 60e AED 1,400, Irismo 45 WireFree AED 1,600. One motor per track, fitted and programmed. For a very heavy drapery on double-height glass, a 100 kg motor from Solis is the other option, priced at the visit.
- The track
- Somfy's motorized track costs AED 150 a metre in pinch pleat and AED 200 in ripple fold. Dooya's costs AED 110 and AED 150.
- The heading
- Ripple fold is gathered to 2.5× the width of its track against pinch pleat's 2×, so it takes more fabric, and it runs on the dearer track.
- Width
- Track is charged by the metre, so a wide window adds track as well as fabric. One motor pulls up to 6 m of track, so wider glass is split into two runs with a motor on each.
- Fabric
- A plain weave costs less than a linen, a velvet or a designer range. Any fabric we sell can be motorized.
- A second layer
- A sheer behind the blackout, from AED 35 per m², runs on its own track with its own motor, so the track and the motor are counted twice.
- Controls
- Remotes, a wireless wall switch and the hub for the app are priced on top.
Three windows worked out the way the calculator does it, fitted and programmed, before the remote:
- A bedroom window on Dooya: 200 × 300 cm in pinch pleat on a wired Dooya motor. Curtain AED 540, track AED 220, motor AED 700: AED 1,460.
- A rented flat, no wiring: 250 × 280 cm in pinch pleat on a Dooya battery motor. Curtain AED 630, track AED 275, motor AED 1,200: AED 2,105.
- A living room, sheer and blackout on Somfy: 400 × 300 cm in pinch pleat, each curtain on its own Movelite 35. Sheer AED 840, blackout AED 1,080, two tracks AED 1,200, two motors AED 2,100: AED 5,220.
Already have curtains you like? We can re-head them to pinch pleat or ripple fold and hang them on a motorized track, which costs less than a new pair. An existing manual track can't take a motor, so that part is replaced.
Measuring is free. Send the rough window sizes on WhatsApp for a first figure, and nothing is ordered before you have seen the full price, motor included.
Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or split the total into instalments with Tabby or Tamara.
The curtains themselves, and every blind we make, are priced on our curtain and blind prices page.
Somfy or Dooya, and which to choose
We install both, and customers here choose them about equally. Both run a curtain from a remote, a switch, an app or your voice. The differences are in the range of motors, the warranty and the price.
Somfy and Dooya, side by side
The same questions, answered for each. Customers here choose them about equally.
| Somfy | Dooya | |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty on the motor | 5 years | 2 years |
| Wired motors | Movelite, Glydea Ultra | Yes, up to 50 kg |
| Battery motor | Irismo WireFree | Yes |
| Curved tracks | Yes | No |
| Phone app | TaHoma | Smart Life |
| Voice | Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri | Alexa, Google Assistant |
| Drawn by hand in a power cut | Yes | Some models |
| Suits | Heavy, wide or curved runs; a whole home on one app | A room or two on a tighter budget |
The warranty is the maker's, on the motor. The curtain carries our two years on stitching and fitting either way.
Which curtain headings can be motorized
The heading is how the top of a curtain is made and hung, and it decides whether a motor can pull it. Two can, and one can't.
Wired or battery, and where the power comes from
This is the question that decides the whole job, and it is far easier to answer before a ceiling is closed than after.
Five ways to control a motorized curtain
A remote is where everyone starts. The rest are added as the house needs them, and each needs its own piece of kit.
A remote
A handset paired to the motor. For one curtain it can be a single-channel remote; for a room of them, a multi-channel one with a channel per curtain and one that moves them all together. Remotes are priced on top of the motor.
A wireless wall switch
A switch that fixes to the wall by the door, with no wiring behind it. Worth having in a living room even with an app, because a guest can use it without being shown. A smart Wi-Fi switch does the same job and joins the app as well.
Your phone
A Somfy curtain joins the TaHoma app through a TaHoma hub on your Wi-Fi. A Dooya curtain joins the Smart Life app. We set up the hub and the app when we fit the curtains.
Your voice
Once the curtains are in the app, you link it to Alexa or Google Assistant, and a Somfy setup to Siri through Apple Home. That is done from your own phone, because it signs in to your own account.
A timer
In the app, a curtain can open and close on a schedule or follow the sunrise and sunset. A bedroom that opens at seven; a west-facing living room that closes before the afternoon sun reaches the glass, which keeps the heat out of the room.
If the blinds in the room are motorized too, one remote or one app can run the curtains and the blinds together, provided they are the same brand. For a whole home on one app, Somfy is the one to choose.
Works by voice with
Google Assistant
Siri
Book a free measuring visit
Tell us whether the ceiling is still open or already finished, and roughly how wide the glass is. Someone comes to you, anywhere in Dubai, and checks the pocket and the power before anything is quoted.
Motorized or manual curtains?
A motor doesn't change what a curtain does to the light. It changes how the curtain moves, what it costs and how it wears.
| Motorized | Manual | |
|---|---|---|
| How it opens | Remote, switch, app, voice or a timer | By hand |
| What it costs | Motorized track and motor on top of the curtain | The curtain and a standard track |
| Wide or heavy pairs | Moved at a touch | Hard work across wide glass |
| Wear on the fabric | Nobody handles the leading edge | Hands mark the edge you pull |
| In a power cut | Battery motors carry on; wired ones vary | No difference |
| Upkeep | A battery to charge every few months, if fitted | None |
A motor earns its place on tall, wide or hard-to-reach glass, on a heavy lined pair, or where you want a timer. On a small window you open twice a day, a manual curtain does the job for less.
Where a motor earns its place
Double-height villa glass
Glass running up two floors in a villa living room is the classic case. The top of the curtain is out of reach, the pair is long and heavy, and pulling it by hand means dragging it. A heavy lined pair here gets the stronger motor, and glass wider than 6 m gets a motor for each run. For a very heavy drapery, a 100 kg motor from Solis is the other option.
Balcony glass in a tower
Apartment living rooms here often face a wall of sliding glass with a sheer and a curtain on two tracks. With a motor on each, the sheer stays drawn through the day and the heavier curtain closes before the afternoon sun reaches the floor. There is more on the room in living room curtains.
Bedrooms
In June the sun is up in Dubai before half past five. A blackout curtain on a timer keeps the room dark until your alarm, then opens and lets the daylight do the waking.
Offices and meeting rooms
A long run of office glazing is tedious to set by hand, so in practice it doesn't get set. A wireless switch by the door closes every curtain in a meeting room at once. There is more on the rest of the job in office curtains.
From measuring visit to first run
The visit
Someone measures the window, looks at the curtain pocket and the ceiling, finds where the power can come from, and shows you the fabrics. Pinch pleat or ripple fold, wired or battery, Somfy or Dooya: all of it is settled at the window.
The quote
One figure for the curtain, the track, the motor and the controls. Nothing is ordered before you have agreed it.
Making
We cut and sew the curtain to the track it will run on, so it stacks where the motor stops it. Usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead.
Fitting
We fix the track, install the motor, hang the curtain, set where it stops open and closed, and pair the remotes and switches.
The app
We set up the hub and the app on your phone and show you the timers. Linking Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri is done from your own account.
Noise, power cuts and a flat battery
Noise
Motors differ, and a quiet one matters most in a bedroom. Somfy's Glydea Ultra is its quieter wired range, and Somfy rates Irismo at 39 dB. It is worth hearing one run before choosing.
A power cut
A battery motor carries on as normal. A wired Somfy curtain can be drawn by hand until the power comes back; with Dooya that depends on the model, so ask which yours is.
Charging a battery motor
Every few months the battery needs charging from the charger we leave you. Somfy rates Irismo at up to about nine months between charges, and a curtain that runs on a timer twice a day uses it faster than one opened now and then.
Changing where it stops
The motor learns where the curtain opens and closes to. Those points can be reset later, when a new sofa means the curtain should stop short of it.
Repairs, including other fitters' work
We repair and replace Somfy and Dooya motors, including on curtains another company fitted. A motor that fails inside its warranty is claimed and swapped through us.
Motorized curtains around the house
Questions about motorized curtains
How much do motorized curtains cost in Dubai?
A 2 × 3 m window comes to AED 1,460, fitted, in a blackout pinch pleat curtain on a wired Dooya motor, before the remote. It is priced in three parts. The curtain starts at AED 45 per m² in blackout with our four-pass lining, or AED 35 per m² for a sheer. The motorized track is charged per metre: AED 110 for Dooya in pinch pleat, 150 for Dooya in ripple fold or Somfy in pinch pleat, and 200 for Somfy in ripple fold. The motor is a flat price per track: Dooya AED 700 wired or AED 1,200 on a battery, Somfy AED 1,050 to AED 1,600.
Measuring is free. Send the rough window sizes on WhatsApp for a first figure.
Are electric curtains the same as motorized curtains?
Yes. Electric, smart, automatic and remote control curtains are all names for a motorized curtain: a curtain on a track with a motor at one end. “Smart” usually means the motor is also in an app, so the curtain can run on a timer or answer to your voice.
Are motorized curtains worth it?
Where the glass is tall, wide or out of reach, yes. A heavy lined pair on a wide window is hard work by hand, a double-height curtain can't be reached, and a timer does something a cord can't. On a small window you open twice a day, a manual curtain does the job for less.
Somfy or Dooya: which is better?
Somfy, if the curtain is heavy, wide or curved, or the whole home is going on one app: it has the larger range, a five-year warranty on the motor, and Siri as well as Alexa and Google Assistant. Dooya does the same job for less on a room or two, from AED 700 a motor against Somfy's AED 1,050, with a two-year warranty. Customers here choose them about equally.
How much does a Somfy curtain motor cost?
From AED 1,050, fitted and programmed. Curtains Express installs four: Movelite 35 at AED 1,050, Glydea Ultra 35e at AED 1,250, Glydea Ultra 60e at AED 1,400 and the battery Irismo 45 WireFree at AED 1,600. The curtain and the motorized track are priced on top, and the remote is extra.
What warranty do motorized curtains come with?
Two warranties, on different parts. The curtain carries our two-year warranty on stitching and fitting. The motor carries its maker's: five years from Somfy, covering the motor and its controls but not the rechargeable battery, and two years from Dooya.
If a motor fails inside its warranty, you call us, and we deal with the brand and swap it.
Can eyelet curtains be motorized?
No. Eyelet rings slide along a pole, and a motor drives gliders inside a track, so there is nothing for it to pull. Pinch pleat and ripple fold can both be motorized, and ripple fold is the nearest look to an eyelet's rounded folds.
Existing eyelet curtains can't be converted: we don't re-head eyelets into another heading, so a motorized window takes a new pair.
Can you motorize my existing curtains?
Usually, yes, unless they are eyelet curtains. We re-head them to pinch pleat or ripple fold if they aren't already, and hang them on a new motorized track, which costs less than a new pair. The existing track can't take a motor, so it is replaced.
Do motorized curtains need wiring?
Not necessarily. A wired motor needs a power point inside the curtain pocket at the motor end. A battery motor, Somfy's Irismo WireFree or one of Dooya's, needs no wiring and is charged every few months; Somfy rates Irismo at up to about nine months between charges.
If the ceiling is still open, put the power point in now. It is the thing we most often find missing at the window.
What happens to motorized curtains in a power cut?
A battery motor carries on as normal. A wired Somfy curtain can be drawn by hand until the power returns. With Dooya it depends on the model, so ask which you have.
Can I control motorized curtains with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri?
Yes. Somfy curtains work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri through the TaHoma app and its hub. Dooya curtains work with Alexa and Google Assistant through the Smart Life app. We set up the hub and the app when we fit the curtains, and you link the voice assistant from your own account.
Which country is Somfy from?
France. Somfy is a French company, founded in 1969, that makes motors for curtains, blinds and shutters. Curtains Express installs its Movelite, Glydea Ultra and Irismo curtain motors in Dubai.
Can the sheer and the blackout both be motorized?
Yes. Each runs on its own track with its own motor, so the sheer can stay drawn while the blackout opens. A sheer is AED 35 per m² against the blackout's AED 45. The two layers don't have to match: a ripple fold sheer behind a pinch pleat curtain works. Allow 10 to 15 cm of curtain pocket for two pinch pleat tracks, or 20 to 25 cm for ripple fold.
Do you repair motorized curtains another company fitted?
Yes, if the motor is Somfy or Dooya. We repair and replace motors on curtains we didn't fit, as well as our own.
Tell us about the window
Call or WhatsApp with the room, the rough width of the glass, and whether the ceiling is still open. We will tell you what it takes to motorize it.