Blackout and sheer curtains in six rooms of a DAMAC Lagoons villa
AED 14,000 for eight rooms
Roller blinds in Dubai, also called roller curtains
A roller blind is one flat piece of fabric on a tube: rolled up, it is a slim bar at the head of the window, and rolled down, a clean plane across the glass.
Curtains Express measures, makes and fits roller blinds in three fabrics, sunscreen, translucent and blackout, all at the same rate, hung within the recess, over it on the wall, or from the ceiling. Roller curtains, roller blind curtains and roller shades are other names for the same blind.
From
AED 90 per m²
in any of the three fabrics, with the headrail, chain and fitting included.
The smallest blind is AED 180 fitted, its 2 m² minimum, and a 150 × 180 cm window, 2.7 m², is AED 243. The photograph is one of ours: sunscreen rollers we fitted in a Jebel Ali Village villa, with cassettes, which cost extra. Each blind goes up about a week after your go-ahead, with a two-year warranty.
The fabrics come to you
We don't keep a showroom. The fabric book is brought to you on a free measuring visit, so you can hold a sunscreen against your own glare before choosing.
Cut to the opening
A recess is measured at the top, the middle and the bottom, because it is rarely the same all the way down, and the blind is made to fit the narrowest of the three.
Two-year warranty
Every blind has two years' warranty, and if something works loose, the people who fitted it come back to it.
Roller blinds, in short
- A roller blind is a single flat sheet of fabric that winds onto a tube at the top of the window.
- Search for a roller curtain or a roller shade and you are looking at the same thing: a roller blind.
- Curtains Express makes roller blinds in sunscreen, translucent and blackout fabric, which all start at AED 90 per m²; the headrail, chain and fitting come with it, and nothing is charged below 2 m².
- Sunscreen roller fabric is woven at 1%, 3% or 5% openness, and a smaller number means less glare and less of the view.
- A roller blind can sit inside the window recess, on the wall over it or on the ceiling, and a cassette, which costs extra, hides the roll at the top.
- A roller blind takes a Somfy or a Dooya motor in place of the chain, priced at the measuring visit.
- A roller blind from Curtains Express is usually up about a week after the go-ahead and has a two-year warranty.
What roller blinds cost in Dubai
Because a roller hangs flat, you pay for its area, width by drop, and nothing for fullness. Sunscreen, translucent and blackout all start at the same AED 90 per m², so choose the fabric for the room, not for the price. Every other rate we charge is on our curtain and blind prices page.
Worked out: a 100 × 150 cm window is charged as the 2 m² minimum, AED 180; 150 × 180 cm is AED 243; 200 × 250 cm is AED 450; and 240 × 250 cm is AED 540.
Price your window
- Area
- 150 cm × 180 cm = 2.7 m²
- Rate
- AED 90 per m²
Estimate
AED 243
Base estimate on an open roll with a chain. Extras on top, a cassette, side channels, a motor or a hard-to-reach window, are each priced when we visit.
From
AED 90 per m²
in any of the three fabrics, with the headrail, chain and fitting included.
What moves the price from there:
- The minimum
- Every blind is charged at least 2 m², AED 180, so a row of small windows costs more per m² than one large one.
- A cassette
- The box that hides the roll at the top, added to the open-roll price and priced at the visit.
- Side channels
- Tracks down the sides of the recess for a blackout roller that has to go dark, priced at the visit.
- A motor
- Somfy or Dooya, in place of the chain, priced at the visit.
- Wide glass
- One roller spans up to 280 cm; wider glass is split between blinds, each priced on its own area.
Sunscreen, translucent or blackout fabric
Every roller blind runs on the same tube and chain. What changes is the cloth, and the right one depends on what the room does, not on its colour.
Inside the recess, over it, or on the ceiling
Within the recess, the blind leaves the sill clear and looks the tidiest, as long as the recess is deep enough for the roll. Its fabric is always a touch narrower than the brackets, so a thin strip of daylight runs down each side: unnoticed in a living room, obvious in a bedroom.
Over the recess on the wall, it is cut larger than the opening, so the cloth laps the frame and those strips disappear. From the ceiling, it can hang behind a curtain, or tucked into a curtain pocket.
Left plain, the roll shows at the head of the window, and that open roll is what the base price covers. A cassette boxes it in, keeps dust off it and stops light spilling over the top, at an extra cost we price at the visit. The blinds in this photograph are ours, fitted over each frame with a cassette.
Motorized roller blinds, or a chain
The standard control is a bead chain at one side. It costs nothing extra, and the side it hangs on is settled at the measuring visit so it never ends up behind a door or a sofa. A looped chain is worth a thought in a child's room: a cleat that holds it taut against the wall is fitted on request.
Motors make sense where the glass is out of reach, where a row of blinds should move together, and where a dangling chain worries you. We fit Somfy and Dooya motors, priced at the measuring visit. A remote moves one blind or a whole row, and a wired motor needs power at the headrail, so plan it before the ceiling closes. More on our motorized blinds page.
Book a free measuring visit
Send the rooms and roughly how wide each window is. Someone brings the fabric book to you, anywhere in Dubai, and settles the fit and the fabric at the window.
Where a roller blind is the right answer
Rolled up, a roller is a slim bar, so it goes where a bulkier blind or a curtain won't fit.
Kitchens
Over a sink, a roller stays clear of the tap, and its flat face wipes down where a gathered curtain holds the cooking film. More on our kitchen curtains page.
Bathrooms
Translucent keeps the room private and lit. Mount it so the cloth sits clear of the shower's spray.
West-facing glass
A sunscreen takes the afternoon glare off the room and the screen while the view stays.
Behind a curtain
Inside the recess, a roller does the daytime work and leaves the curtain in front to close the room at night.
A roller, a zebra or a vertical blind
A roller beside the two blinds it is most often weighed against.
| Roller | Zebra | Vertical | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it opens | Rolls up into a bar | Rolls up, or lines its stripes up | Louvres turn and draw aside |
| Privacy with daylight | Translucent: light, no view | Stripes half open: light and some view | Louvres angled: light and some view |
| Darkest | Blackout, over the recess or in side channels | Dims a room, never dark | Blackout louvres, light at the edges |
| Best on | Single windows, kitchens, bathrooms | Living rooms and bedrooms | Sliding doors and wide glass |
| Widest single blind | 280 cm | 280 cm | About 4 m |
| Smallest charge | 2 m² | 2 m² | 3 m² |
Zebra blinds start higher, with a cassette included; vertical blinds start lower in sunscreen. Each rate is on our curtain and blind prices page.
What a roller blind won't do
Where it falls short, and what to do about each.
A sunscreen is see-through at night
By day you see out and nobody sees in. With the lamps on after dark that reverses, and a sunscreen gives away nearly as much as clear glass. Pair it with a curtain, choose translucent or blackout, or look at a zebra blind, which closes its stripes in the evening.
Inside a recess, light at the edges
A thin line of daylight shows down each side of a blind inside the recess. Over the recess, or in side channels with a blackout, it goes.
One fabric at a time
A roller is sunscreen, translucent or blackout, not all three. For daylight and darkness on the same window, put a curtain in front, or choose a zebra blind for daylight and privacy in one.
Never fold the cloth
A roller is rolled, never folded. A crease in its cloth stays, so if a blind ever comes down, it is rolled up again rather than folded away.
A ready-made one may be enough
If the flat is rented and the window is a stock size, a ready-made roller from a homeware store costs less and goes up the same day. It comes in the store's sizes, and light shows wherever it falls short of the frame.
Roller blinds we have fitted
Sunscreen and blackout roller blinds for a Jebel Ali Village villa
AED 6,734 for nine blinds
Roller blinds around a Dubai home
Generated pictures of roller blinds in the rooms they suit; the job above is the one that's ours.
Roller blind questions, answered
How much do roller blinds cost in Dubai?
From AED 90 per m², in sunscreen, translucent or blackout, with the headrail, chain and fitting included. Every blind is charged at least 2 m², so the smallest is AED 180.
A 150 × 180 cm window is AED 243. Add-ons such as a cassette, side channels or a motor are quoted at the visit.
Which roller blinds are best?
The one whose fabric matches the room: sunscreen for glare with the view kept, translucent for daylight with privacy, blackout for a room that has to go dark.
The fit matters as much: inside the recess for neatness, over it for darkness, with a cassette where you want the roll hidden.
What are the disadvantages of roller blinds?
A sunscreen is see-through at night, a blind inside a recess lets light down its sides, and a roller is one fabric at a time.
Each has a fix: a curtain in front, a fit over the recess, or a zebra blind where you want both daylight and privacy in one.
Can you see through sunscreen roller blinds at night?
Yes. With the lamps on after dark, the room is the bright side, and people outside see in through the mesh.
For privacy at night, pair it with a curtain, or choose translucent or blackout fabric instead.
What is the difference between sunscreen, translucent and blackout?
Sunscreen is a mesh that keeps the view and cuts the glare; translucent lets soft light through with no view; blackout lets no light through the cloth at all.
All three are the same AED 90 per m², so the room decides, not the price.
Do I need a cassette?
Not usually. A cassette boxes in the roll, keeps the dust off it and stops light spilling over the top, so it is worth having on a blackout bedroom blind or one that is rarely raised.
Elsewhere it is a finish. The open roll is what the base price covers, and a cassette is priced at the measuring visit.
Can roller blinds be motorized?
Yes. A Somfy or Dooya motor replaces the chain, and we quote it at the measuring visit. A remote can move one blind or a whole row; a wired motor needs a power point at the head of the window.
What are Korean roller blinds?
Usually what we call zebra blinds: a roller made of alternating sheer and solid stripes in two layers, which line up to let light through or close to dim the room. Ours are on the zebra blinds page.
How wide can a roller blind be?
Up to 280 cm as one blind. Wider glass is split between two or more blinds, which also lets one go up while the others stay down.
Are roller blinds good for offices?
Yes, a sunscreen roller is the usual office blind, because it cuts screen glare while the view stays. A 180 × 250 cm office window is 4.5 m², AED 405; more on our office blinds page.
Is there a roller blind shop near me?
We come to you instead. There is no Curtains Express shop to visit: the fabric book travels, and someone brings it to your door anywhere in Dubai, measures the windows and prices them, free.
Are roller blinds good for kitchens and bathrooms?
Yes. A roller hangs flat, so a damp cloth takes cooking film and dust off its face, and inside the recess it stays clear of the worktop.
In a bathroom, a translucent roller keeps the room private and lit.
Send us your windows
Send the rooms, each window's rough width and drop, and which way it faces. We will say which fabric and fit suit each one, and what they come to.