Wooden blinds in Dubai, in faux wood that wipes clean
A wooden blind is a venetian blind with wide, wood-look slats. Cords raise it and tilt the slats, so one blind sets both the light and the view.
Ours are faux wood, with 50 mm slats, man-made and finished with a wood grain. Unlike timber, faux wood doesn't take up water, so the same blind works in a bathroom or a kitchen as well as a bedroom, and Dubai's fine dust comes off it with a damp cloth.
AED 210 per m²
with the headrail, cords and fitting included.
Curtains Express measures and fits every wooden blind, usually within about a week of your go-ahead, and every one carries a two-year warranty.
Free measuring visit
There's no walk-in counter. Someone brings the slat samples to your home or office, measures each window and checks how deep the recess is, and every blind is made to those measurements.
Fitted in about a week
Measured, then usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead, inside the recess or on the wall above it, whichever the window needs.
Two-year warranty
Every wooden blind carries a two-year warranty. If something needs looking at, you call the people who measured and fitted it.
Wooden blinds, in short
- A wooden blind is a venetian blind with wide, wood-look slats that tilt to set the light and lift clear of the glass on cords.
- Curtains Express supplies wooden blinds in faux wood only, with 50 mm slats, made to measure for each window.
- Faux wood takes up no water, unlike real timber, so a faux wood blind suits bathrooms and kitchens as well as dry rooms and wipes clean with a damp cloth.
- A faux wood blind is heavier than a real timber one, so very wide glass is better covered by separate blinds side by side, each easier to raise.
- A tilted wooden blind keeps the daylight and stops people seeing in, but it doesn't black a room out, because light shows at the edges and through the holes the cords run through.
- A wooden blind from Curtains Express can have cloth ladder tapes down its face, and it can be motorized.
- Wooden blinds from Curtains Express cost from AED 210 per m², with the headrail, cords and fitting included and a 2 m² minimum, are usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead, and carry a two-year warranty.
Want the look of wood with a woven, more open texture? That is a bamboo blind. The same tilting slats in thin aluminium are what most people picture as a venetian blind. All nine kinds we fit are side by side on our blinds page.
What wooden blinds cost in Dubai
Wooden blinds start at AED 210 per m², and that price includes the headrail, the cords and the fitting. Some finishes cost more, and the samples at the measuring visit show which.
A wooden blind hangs flat, so it is priced on its own area, the width times the drop, with a minimum of 2 m². A 100 × 120 cm kitchen window is 1.2 m², so it is charged at the minimum, AED 420. A 150 × 180 cm bedroom window is 2.7 m², AED 567, and a 240 × 250 cm living room window is 6 m², AED 1,260.
Price your wooden blind
- Area
- 150 cm × 180 cm = 2.7 m²
- Rate
- AED 210 per m²
AED 567
Faux wood in a standard finish, with the headrail, cords and fitting included; 2 m² minimum. Some finishes, ladder tapes and a motor cost more, and the final figure follows the free measuring visit.
What moves the figure:
- The size
- Priced on the blind's own area, with a 2 m² minimum. Very wide glass split into separate blinds is priced blind by blind.
- The finish
- AED 210 per m² is the starting price. Some finishes cost more, and the samples show which before you choose.
- Ladder tapes
- Cloth tapes in place of the ladder cords cost extra, priced at the visit.
- A motor
- Priced at the visit, together with how it is powered.
Measuring is free. Send rough sizes on WhatsApp for a first figure, and nothing is ordered before you have seen the final one. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or in instalments with Tabby or Tamara.
Faux wood sits among all our rates, side by side, on our prices for every curtain and blind.
Faux wood or real timber?
Wooden blinds in Dubai are sold in two materials under the one name, and the two behave differently at the window. Ours are faux wood, and the table sets it beside real timber.
| Faux wood | Real timber | |
|---|---|---|
| What the slat is | Man-made, with a wood-grain finish | Sawn wood, sealed or painted |
| Bathrooms and kitchens | Yes, it takes up no water | No, damp can bow it |
| Cleaning | Wipe with a damp cloth | Dust only; keep it dry |
| Weight | Heavier, felt on wide glass | Lighter to raise |
| Up close | An even colour and grain | Real grain, no two slats alike |
| From Curtains Express | Yes, in 50 mm slats | Not supplied |
If the room is dry and the grain of real wood is the point, a real timber blind is the better buy. We don't supply one.
How a wooden blind works
A headrail runs across the top. From it hang ladders, thin cords or cloth tapes with a rung for every slat, and the slats rest on the rungs. Lift cords run down through a small hole in each slat to the bottom rail. Pull them and the blind rises, each slat stacking on the one below.
A second cord turns the ladders, and every slat tilts at once, from edge-on for the view to shut for privacy. A tilted slat throws the daylight up at the ceiling or down at the floor, so the room stays bright while nobody sees in.
Ours have 50 mm slats, the usual width for a wooden blind and wider than an aluminium blind's, which is why it reads as wood from across the room. Faux wood also has weight, so the blind hangs still in an air-conditioning draught that would set lighter louvres moving.
Light and privacy, by day and after dark
A wooden blind sets light and privacy separately, by how far the slats tilt and how far the blind is raised. What it does depends on the time of day.
Inside the recess, on the wall, or across wide glass
Where the headrail goes decides how much light gets round the blind, whether the slats can tilt freely, and where the stack sits when the blind is raised.
Inside the recess
The headrail fits inside the window's reveal, and the blind is made a little narrower than the opening so the slats clear the sides. The recess has to be deeper than a slat is wide, 50 mm, with room left for the window handle, because a slat that tilts into a handle stops there. It looks built in, and a thin line of light shows down each side.
On the wall above
The headrail fixes above the window and the blind is made wider than the opening, so it overlaps the frame on each side. Less light gets round the edges, a handle no longer gets in the way, and the raised stack can sit above the glass instead of across it.
In a bulkhead or curtain pocket
Where a gypsum bulkhead or a curtain pocket runs above the window, the headrail can fix up inside it. In gypsum, each bracket has to find the framing behind the board. A faux wood blind is heavy, and a plug in bare gypsum works loose.
Across wide glass
A long faux wood slat can sag in the middle, and a wide blind is heavy to raise. Very wide glass is better split into separate blinds, each lighter to lift, with the slats lined up so the row reads as one.
Ladder tapes, a motor and the finish
Three choices change how a wooden blind looks and how it is worked. All three are decided at the measuring visit, with the samples at your own window.
Book a free measuring visit
Tell us which rooms, roughly how wide each window is, and whether any of them is a bathroom or a kitchen. Someone brings the slat samples to you, anywhere in Dubai.
Which rooms suit a faux wood blind
Room by room, where a faux wood blind works well in a Dubai home or office, and where something else does the job better.
Bathrooms
This is where faux wood makes the most difference. Shower steam won't swell or bow it as it would timber, and a damp cloth wipes it down. Keep the slats out of the direct spray all the same.
Kitchens
Cooking grease and dust wipe off a faux wood slat. Keep the blind away from directly behind or above the hob, where the heat can bend the slats.
Bedrooms
With the slats tilted, the morning light comes in at an angle and the street can't see in. In June the sun is up in Dubai before half past five, so to sleep through it, add blackout curtains on a track in front. The blind does the day, the curtains the night.
Living rooms and majlis
A dark finish across a row of tall windows gives a majlis or a formal sitting room the weight of furniture, and closed in the evening it gives the room privacy without a wall of fabric.
Home offices and studies
The slat angle takes the glare off a screen while the room stays bright. A curtain can't, because it is either open or closed.
Offices and meeting rooms
A row of matching blinds along office glazing keeps the glare off a meeting table and the room private from the tower opposite. There is more on dressing a workspace in office curtains.
Sliding doors
Not the best fit. A door you walk through all day means raising the whole blind each time, and the stack covers the top of the glass. A vertical blind draws aside instead.
Children's rooms
The pull cords hang at the side of the blind. Keep them out of reach and the bed or cot away from that side, or choose a motor, which does away with the pull cords.
Sun, heat and dust in a Dubai year
Five things a Dubai window deals with every year, and what a wooden blind does about each.
Heat
Angled against the sun, the slats stop it landing on the floor and the furniture, which takes the edge off a summer afternoon on west-facing glass. It is shade rather than insulation, though, because the blind hangs inside glass that is already hot. If keeping heat out is the main aim, honeycomb blinds trap still air against the glass and do more.
Glare
From mid-afternoon the sun comes in low on west-facing glass. Angle the slats down against it and they keep the light in the room and off a screen or a table. No curtain can do that without closing.
Dust
Fine dust settles on every level surface in Dubai, and a wooden blind has a lot of them. Close the slats one way and wipe them with a damp cloth, then close them the other way and wipe the other side. A duster between wipes keeps it down.
Humidity
Dubai's humid summer air mostly stays outside an air-conditioned home. Inside, the damp comes from showers and cooking, and that is where faux wood matters, in the bathroom where a real timber blind could bow.
Fading
Lower the blind while the sun is on the window and it keeps the light off rugs, cushions and wooden floors, which fade in this light sooner than most people expect.
What a faux wood blind won't do
The limits of a faux wood blind, so you can weigh them before it goes up:
Dust on every slat
Every slat is a ledge for Dubai's dust. Faux wood wipes clean with a damp cloth, but it needs wiping more often than a flat blind or a curtain.
Weight
Faux wood is heavier than real timber, and a wide blind is a real weight to raise by hand. Split wide glass into separate blinds, or choose a motor.
The stack
When the blind is up, the stacked slats cover the top of the glass, unless the headrail is fixed high enough on the wall above.
Light at the edges
Even closed, a wooden blind lets light in at the sides and through the cord holes. Ladder tapes cover the holes, and a blackout curtain in front covers the rest.
Doors
On a door used all day, the whole blind has to go up each time. A vertical blind or a panel blind slides to one side and leaves the door clear.
Faux, up close
From across a room it reads as wood. Up close, and to the touch, it is a finish rather than grain. If real grain matters to you, a faux wood blind isn't the right buy.
In bedrooms, living rooms, a majlis and a boardroom
Questions to settle before you order
How much do wooden blinds cost in Dubai?
At Curtains Express they start at AED 210 per m², with the headrail, the cords and the fitting included. A wooden blind is priced on its own area with a 2 m² minimum, so the smallest costs AED 420; a 150 × 180 cm blind is AED 567.
Some finishes cost more, and ladder tapes and a motor are priced at the visit. Measuring is free.
Are your wooden blinds real wood?
No. Ours are faux wood, a man-made slat with a wood-grain finish, 50 mm wide. Many Dubai shops sell both under the name wooden blinds, so it is worth asking. Faux wood takes a bathroom or a kitchen that real timber shouldn't, wipes clean with a damp cloth, and weighs more on wide glass.
Are faux wood blinds good for bathrooms?
Yes. Faux wood takes up no water, so shower steam won't swell or bow it, and it wipes down with a damp cloth. Keep it out of the direct spray of the shower, as you would anything at a window.
Is faux wood or real wood better for blinds?
For a bathroom, a kitchen or a room you want to wipe clean, faux wood. For a dry room where the grain of real wood is the point, or very wide glass where weight matters, real timber. We supply faux wood only, and we would rather tell you that than sell you the wrong blind.
Do wooden blinds block out light completely?
No. The closed slats overlap, but light still shows at the edges and through the holes the lift cords run through. Cloth ladder tapes cover the holes. For a bedroom that has to go dark, add blackout curtains on a track in front.
Do wooden blinds keep a room cool?
They help while the sun is on the window. Angled against it, the slats keep the sun off the floor and the furniture. They don't insulate the glass, though, and if heat is the main problem, a honeycomb blind does more.
What size are the slats?
50 mm, the usual width for a wooden blind and the only width we supply. To tilt inside a recess, a 50 mm slat needs a recess at least that deep, plus room for the window handle; where there isn't, the blind fixes on the wall above.
Can wooden blinds be motorized?
Yes. A motor moves the blind at a button instead of a pull cord, which helps on a wide blind that is heavy to raise or one out of easy reach. We fit a Somfy or a Dooya motor, chosen and priced at the measuring visit.
Can you put wooden blinds on sliding doors?
You can, but it is rarely the best answer. The whole blind has to be raised each time you walk through, and the stack covers the top of the glass. A vertical blind, which draws to one side, suits a door better.
Do you make wooden vertical blinds?
No, ours are horizontal slats only. For wide glass, our vertical blinds come with fabric or PVC louvres.
What are ladder tapes on blinds?
Cloth tapes that run down the face of the blind in place of thin ladder cords, holding the slats and covering the holes the lift cords pass through. They cut the pinpoints of light at those holes and add a band of colour. They are an option on ours.
How do you clean wooden blinds?
Dust them weekly with a soft duster. Every few weeks, wipe both faces of the slats with a damp cloth, closing the blind one way and then the other. Don't soak faux wood, and keep anything abrasive off the finish.
How long does it take, and is there a warranty?
Usually about a week from your go-ahead to a fitted blind, after a free measuring visit. Every wooden blind carries a two-year warranty.
Get a price for your windows
Send the room, the rough width and height of each window, and whether it's a bathroom or a kitchen, and we will tell you what wooden blinds there will cost.