Concealed blind boxes

The detail behind the detail

A concealed blind box is a recess built into the ceiling, bulkhead or curtain drop, sized so the tube, brackets and rolled fabric sit entirely inside it. From the room you see a shadow line and a fabric edge. From outside you see clean glass.

It is the specification architects put on the modern rebuilds around here, and it is genuinely worth doing — but it has to be planned. The recess needs a minimum internal depth and height for the roll, a service opening for the motor, and power at the right end. Get us the window schedule early and we will give the builder the exact dimensions before the ceiling closes.

If the ceiling is already closed

Most Waterkloof houses we are called to are finished, not under construction. In a finished room a colour-matched cassette pelmet does most of the same work: a slim aluminium headbox with end caps and a fabric closure, painted or wrapped to disappear against the ceiling. You keep the clean line without opening the plaster.

Practical notes

• Recess depth and height are set by the fabric roll — blockout fabrics roll thicker than sunscreen mesh.
• Motorised as standard; a concealed blind with a chain hanging out of the ceiling defeats the point.
• Side channels can be built into the reveal at the same time for true blackout in a bedroom.
• Plan power and an access panel — motors are reliable, but they must be reachable.

What a concealed blind box costs

A concealed blind is as much a building detail as a window covering, and the price carries the ceiling pocket, the sealed head box and much tighter tolerances. Per square metre installed: R1,600 to R3,000 manual and R3,200 to R5,000 motorised — and motorised is what nearly every box becomes, since a hidden head box leaves nowhere sensible for a chain.

Even a short recess carries a minimum charge, because the pocket, the box and the setting out are the same work at any width. Until someone has looked at the ceiling detail or read the drawings nothing is firm, which is why the written figure only follows the measure.