For the room that's always cold on a valley-floor morning
Pleated fabric forming hexagonal air cells — trapped air is insulation, and that makes this the best thermal buffer of any interior blind, in both directions.
The honeycomb structure holds a layer of still air against the glass, softening both a June morning's chill and a January afternoon's heat gain. It's a comfort product first, and — because those trapped cells absorb sound too — a quieter-room product second.
Why this valley suits it
Jonkershoek runs a genuine Mediterranean, winter-rainfall climate — wettest in June and July, driest in January and February — and the reserve backs directly onto plenty of properties here, keeping south-facing rooms noticeably cooler than the rest of Stellenbosch. That combination shows up as a specific, recurring complaint: a converted cottage room, or a nursery on the shaded side of a homestead, that never quite warms up on a valley-floor morning. A honeycomb blind is the direct answer to that, not a general "energy efficiency" upsell.
Options worth knowing
- Top-down/bottom-up operation — privacy at the bottom, sky and light at the top, useful on a street- or courtyard-facing homestead window.
- Double-cell fabrics for the more serious thermal jobs — the room above an old stone kitchen, or a nursery with a single-glazed sash window.
- Skylight and shaped-window versions, since the cell structure holds its form on an angle — useful for barn-conversion gable glass.
Being honest about it
We keep the comfort claim qualitative — a genuinely warmer winter room and a cooler summer one, quieter too — rather than inventing a percentage figure nobody could verify on your specific window. It sits mid-to-premium in the range, with double-cell and top-down/bottom-up options at the upper end.
What a cellular blind costs
Cellular blinds cost more than a plain fabric on a tube because the honeycomb is insulating as well as shading, which is exactly what a valley June morning asks of it. Per square metre installed: R1,500 to R2,800 with a corded or cordless lift, and R3,000 to R4,800 motorised. Double cells, blockout linings and top-down-bottom-up head rails sit at the upper end of each.
Anything narrow is charged at a minimum, because the head rail and the fitting visit cost the same whatever the width. The bands are for planning; the number per window comes out of the free measure and is put in writing before manufacture.