One app, every blind — including the ones you can't reach

Power options

Rechargeable battery motors need no wiring and suit retrofits — charge every few months via a USB-style charger. Wired 220V motors suit new builds and renovations: permanent, no charging, and the right choice for big or heavy systems and exterior products, with an electrician and some planning at design stage.

Control that matches how you actually live

• Handset remote — one remote for a single blind or, linked, for every blind in a room.
• App control — blinds from the couch, or checking from the office whether the west-facing blinds are still up.
• Schedules — bedroom blinds open with sunrise, west-facing blinds drop automatically as the afternoon sun swings round.
• Sensors — a sun sensor drops shading on a hot elevation automatically; a wind sensor retracts awnings and external screens before a highveld storm rolls in, which matters on any exposed Mooikloof terrace.
• Voice and smart-home integration for the automation-minded household.

Where it stops being optional

Spans too wide or heavy for a chain, blinds over a stairwell void or double-volume landing, concealed ceiling-recess systems, external venetians, awnings and zip screens are all effectively motorised-only products. On a Mooikloof home with several linked blinds across one glass wall, one button or one app tap operating all of them is the difference between a system you actually use and one you leave alone.

Safety and honesty

No dangling chains makes motorised the most child-safe operation available. Motors are quiet but not silent, and quality motors carry multi-year guarantees. Battery motors do need that periodic charge — we set that expectation clearly at quote stage, not after installation.

Where motorisation earns its keep

Wide glass, double-volume stairwells and linked systems, fitted across the belt:

What motorisation costs, product by product

Motorised shading is priced by what the motor drives, so the honest answer is a band: R2,500 to R7,500 per square metre installed across the range, as a guide. A motorised sunscreen or blockout roller sits at R2,500 to R3,800. A motorised aluminium venetian is R2,500 to R3,600 and a timber one R3,000 to R4,500. A motorised external venetian, out on the weather side, runs R4,500 to R6,500.

Those bands cover the motor, the remote or wall control and the commissioning on the day. They do not cover electrical work: a wired 220V motor wants a power point at the head of the opening, priced by the electrician. A rechargeable battery motor skips the cabling and asks for a charging routine instead. Small blinds attract a minimum. Nothing is committed until the free measure is done and the itemised quote is with you.