Forest Town · Johannesburg

Blinds and awnings for Forest Town's heritage windows — the jacaranda-lined view, without the four-o'clock glare.

Made-to-measure blinds and awnings for Forest Town's heritage sash windows and shaded gardens — free in-home measure, a written quote per window, fitted by hand.

Book a free measure See the range
Or read the free handbook first — Under the Canopy, what the sun does to a Forest Town house
Free in-home measure & written quote
Made to fit original window openings
Child-safe operation as standard
Sunscreen roller blinds filtering jacaranda light through tall steel-framed windows in a Forest Town sitting room, oxblood leather armchair in the foreground
Forest Town, Johannesburg
The streetsJacaranda-lined streets
The homesHeritage sash-window character
On the doorstepBraamfontein Spruit greenbelt
The range

Shading built for windows like yours

Twelve ways to control light, privacy and heat — each one made to measure for Forest Town's window openings, old and new.

Sunscreen roller blind half-lowered over a tall sash window in a Forest Town living room, dappled jacaranda light on the floor

Roller Blinds

The everyday workhorse: blockout, sunscreen or double for any room that needs it simple and clean.

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Solid interlocking-slat roller shutter partly lowered over a study window in a Forest Town heritage home

Roller Shutters

Solid interlocking slats that roll down over the whole opening — the heavy-duty pick for heat and noise as much as light.

Shading, not security. Our roller shutters are made for sun, heat and glare control on the outside of the glass. They are not security-rated shutters — that is a different product, which we can quote on request.

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Timber venetian blinds tilted to filter dappled light in a Forest Town living room

Timber & Aluminium Venetians

Tilt, don't just open or close — steer the light hour by hour as it moves across the garden.

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Day and night dual-layer blind with sheer and solid stripes over a wide window in a Forest Town living area

Day/Night Blinds

Sheer and solid bands in one blind, for living rooms that want privacy without losing the light.

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Cellular honeycomb blind fitted inside a sash window reveal in a Forest Town heritage bedroom

Cellular Honeycomb Blinds

Trapped air keeps a single-glazed sash window's room warmer in winter, cooler in summer.

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Flat linen blind dropping from a recessed ceiling slot across sliding glass doors in a Forest Town renovation, tube and brackets hidden above the plaster line

Concealed & Recessed Blinds

The fabric drops from a slim ceiling slot — for renovations where the window should stay the hero.

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Shaped pleated blind fitted to a triangular gable window above a stairwell in a Forest Town heritage home

Skylight & Shaped Blinds

Gables, arches and roof glass — the window shapes most companies simply won't quote.

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Vertical panel blinds in front of wide sliding glass doors in a Forest Town living-room extension

Vertical & Panel Blinds

Wide sliding doors and modern extensions, dressed cleanly without a single fold out of place.

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Motorised roller blind with visible motor tube and wall remote on a double-height stairwell window in a Forest Town home

Motorised Blinds & Automation

One remote, every blind — especially the ones above the stairwell you can't reach.

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Heavy lined olive curtains hung from a slim track fixed high beneath the pressed cornice of a Forest Town formal lounge

Motorised Curtain Tracks

Heavy lined curtains gliding shut on a tug or a schedule, no fabric wear at the leading edge.

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Folding-arm awning extended over a paved side patio in a Forest Town garden

Folding-Arm Awnings

Turn a baking north-facing patio back into a room, then retract it again for the winter sun.

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Zip screen running in slim side channels enclosing a shaded stoep in Forest Town

Zip Screens & Outdoor Screens

Seal a patio or stoep against wind, sun and insects without walling in the garden view.

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Close detail of timber blind slats and a braided lift cord in a Forest Town window — repairs and restringing

Blind Repairs

Snapped cords, a broken tilter, a blind that came loose after painting or a move — restrung, refitted, or given the part it needs.

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In the home

What it actually looks like

Teenager's bedroom with a full blockout roller blind in a Forest Town heritage-style home, warm taupe interior tones
Bedroom

Full blockout, held to a heritage window's original proportions.

Folding-arm awning bracketed to the brickwork and extended over a sandstone patio in Forest Town, oxblood cushions and clivia pots beneath a flowering jacaranda
Outdoor

A folding-arm awning turns the patio into another room.

Close detail of pale timber venetian slats stepped against the glass of a Forest Town window, the edge of an oxblood curtain just in frame
Detail

Fabric and hardware, finished in warm taupe and oxblood tones.

A quiet tree-lined street in Forest Town's heritage pocket under a flowering jacaranda canopy, striped canvas box awnings shading the timber-framed windows of an early-twentieth-century house
Free, and un-gated

Under the Canopy

The Forest Town window handbook — what the highveld sun actually does to a house in a suburb this old, this small and this shaded.

  • The sun path over Forest Town, and why the west elevation is the one that costs you comfort
  • Elevation by elevation: which rooms suffer, and what we'd put on each
  • Eight products with the reasoning and the trade-off written down
  • The 60-year heritage rule, and which work it actually touches
Read the handbook Skip to the free measure

No email required to read it. Sources listed at the foot of the page.

Why Forest Town needs its own spec

Old trees, old windows, new light problems

Forest Town sits on the Parktown ridge's heritage belt — narrow, winding streets under a mature canopy of jacaranda and old oak, with homes whose sash and steel-framed windows are original to the house. It's the kind of streetscape that makes off-the-shelf window treatments look wrong the moment they go up.

That canopy is also the local light problem. Dappled shade through the trees means sun that shifts from soft to sharp within a few metres, hour by hour — a blanket blockout roller solves it in one room and over-darkens the next. Adjustable slat control earns its keep here in a way flat suburbs never need.

Many of these homes still carry their original single glazing. A cellular blind fitted behind an untouched street-facing sash adds a genuine thermal buffer for winter mornings and summer afternoons — without changing a single line of the facade. And because Forest Town backs onto the same heritage pocket as Saxonwold, Westcliff, Houghton Estate and Parktown North, the same thinking carries across the whole ridge.

Mature tree canopy

Jacarandas and old oaks mean dappled, ever-changing light rather than flat sun — venetians and adjustable slats earn their keep here.

Original window openings

Sash and steel-framed windows from the suburb's early architecture keep their proportions — timber venetians are made to fit them, not fight them.

Single glazing, real weather

Cellular blinds add a genuine thermal buffer behind an untouched street-facing sash — comfort without changing the facade.

Gardens that get used

Close to the Braamfontein Spruit greenbelt, Forest Town's gardens are lived in — awnings and zip screens keep the patio usable for more of the year.

How it works

From enquiry to fitted, in four steps

01

Enquire

Tell us the rooms, the windows and what's actually bothering you about the light — by chat, form or a quick call.

02

Free in-home measure

A consultant visits with fabric and slat samples, measures every window precisely, and talks through what suits a home like yours.

03

Written quote

A clear, itemised quote per window — no guesswork, no surprises before anything is made. Something to plan around in the meantime: across the range on this site, expect R1,000 to R7,500 per square metre installed, with a manual roller at the low end and a motorised awning over a terrace at the high one. Small windows are charged at a minimum, and only the measure produces a real number.

04

Made & fitted

Every blind is made to order and fitted cleanly, with the operation demonstrated before we leave.

About

The service behind the tape measure

Forest Town Blinds is a made-to-measure window shading service for Forest Town and the ridge suburbs around it — Saxonwold, Houghton Estate, Westcliff and Parktown North. Roller blinds, venetians and folding-arm awnings are each made for one opening in one house, which is the only sensible approach in a part of Johannesburg where original sash windows, 1930s steel frames and new glazed extensions often sit in the same building.

The order of a job is always the same. You get in touch, by form or by chat; one of our expert consultants will contact you shortly, and the free in-home measure follows from that call. That visit is where the work really happens: every window measured on site, fabric and slat samples held against the actual light, and an honest word about which product suits which room in a house of this age. A written quote comes back itemised per window. Once you approve it everything is made to those measurements and fitted by hand, with the operation shown to you before the team leaves.

Contact details go no further than the consultant who calls you back, and they are processed under POPIA.

Where we work

Forest Town and the ridge around it

The same heritage considerations run right across this pocket of Johannesburg — here's where else we fit.

Saxonwold Westcliff Houghton Estate Parktown North
Questions

Before you book the measure

Can blinds go into an original sash window without damaging the frame?

Yes, in almost every case. Inside-mount brackets fix into the existing timber reveal without altering the sash itself, and where a frame is too shallow or delicate we'll recommend an outside-mount instead. Your consultant checks each window on the free measure before anything is quoted.

Will the street-facing look of the house change?

Interior blinds sit inside the room and change nothing outside. Concealed and recessed systems go a step further, hiding the hardware in the ceiling so the window reads as untouched. Exterior products like awnings and zip screens do change what you see from the garden — we talk through that honestly before you commit to anything.

What does the free in-home measure actually involve?

A consultant visits with fabric and slat samples, measures every window you're interested in, and advises on what suits each room's light and privacy — no obligation, and no quote until you've seen the options in person.

Do you do awnings and screens for the garden, not just interior blinds?

Yes — folding-arm awnings for patios and decks, and zip screens for enclosing them against wind and glare. On exposed positions we recommend a wind sensor with the motor, so an unattended awning retracts itself before a highveld storm gets to it.

How do you handle child safety, especially with existing corded blinds?

Every corded or chained blind we fit comes with a wall tensioner as standard, and we'll always flag cordless or motorised options for nurseries and kids' rooms. Motorised operation is the safest option there is — no cords or chains at all.

How long does it take from quote to fitted?

Everything is made to order, so timing depends on the products and fabrics chosen. Rather than promise a number upfront, your written quote confirms the lead time for your specific order.

Let's get your windows measured properly.

Free in-home measure, a written quote per window, and one of our expert consultants on the phone before anything is fitted.

Book a free measure Chat with us
Get in touch

Tell us about your windows

Fill this in and one of our expert consultants will contact you shortly to arrange your free in-home measure. Not ready for a visit? Read the handbook instead — it's free and nothing is gated.

Free in-home measure & written quote
No call-centre — a real consultant visits
Nothing fitted until you've approved the quote
Want a ballpark figure first? Open this — about two minutes.

Forest Town Blinds — window list

Walk the house, fill this in by hand, then type it into the form on foresttownblinds.co.za when you get back. Measure width first, then drop, in millimetres.

Pop in rough sizes and we'll send a budget range by the next working day. Not sure how to measure? Leave it blank — our consultant measures for free and you'll get exact per-window pricing either way. This is entirely optional, and nothing here is binding.

Room Width (mm) Drop (mm) Inside or outside the reveal Product

Nothing on the list yet — and it stays entirely optional.

Anything you enter here travels with your enquiry as plain text. No uploads, no third-party services, nothing stored anywhere else. If photos would help, a consultant will simply ask for them in the reply.

Your details are used only to arrange your free in-home measure and consultation call-back, and are never shared with anyone else. If you tell us you're still researching, we won't call you. (POPIA)

Thank you.

Perfect, one of our expert consultants will contact you shortly to arrange your free in-home measure.