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A roller blind is a sheet of fabric on an aluminium tube, raised and lowered by a chain or a motor. It's the simplest window covering there is, which is exactly why it's in more Australian windows than anything else. The fabric does all the work, the fit decides how well it does it, and everything else is an option. This guide covers all of it in the order you'll meet it in the configurator. (Not sure a roller is the right product at all? Start with the types of blinds and curtains guide.)

A sunscreen roller in a kitchen in a HAAUS build. Half down, it takes the glare off the bench and you can still see out.

How a roller blind works

The tube sits in two brackets at the top of the window. On one end is the control — a chain drive on most of ours, or a motor inside the tube on a motorised blind. The fabric wraps around the tube and hangs down to a weighted base rail that keeps it flat. Pull the chain one way and the tube turns and lets fabric down; pull the other way and it winds back up. That's the whole machine.

Ours are built on Rollease Acmeda hardware with a 45mm heavy-duty aluminium tube and an aluminium base rail, which is why we're comfortable putting a five-year warranty on them. A good tube matters more than it sounds: a thin one bows on a wide blind and the fabric tracks sideways as it rolls.

One more thing to know about how it hangs. The configurator asks for a roll direction. Back roll (the default) has the fabric coming off the back of the tube, closest to the glass, which gives you the tightest fit and the least light around the edges. Front roll brings the fabric off the front, so it hides the tube and clears window handles that would otherwise catch the fabric. If you have a winder or a handle in the way, pick front roll.

Back roll on the left, front roll on the right. Same blind, same bracket; the fabric just leaves the tube on the other side.

Blockout, light-filtering or sunscreen?

This is the only decision that really matters, so don't rush it. Every roller fabric falls into one of three families:

Sunscreens come in different openness — the share of the weave that's actually open. A tighter weave blocks more glare and gives a little more privacy; a more open one gives a clearer view. Darker sunscreens are easier to see through than pale ones, which surprises people — the colour guide and the privacy guide go into why. Our blockout ranges include fabrics like Focus and One Block; the screens include One Screen and Kleenscreen. The swatch card tells you which family each one belongs to.

Can't decide between two? Put both on the window with a double roller: sunscreen at the front for the day, blockout behind for the night. It's the answer for a street-facing living room or a bedroom you also work in.

A black blockout roller in a bedroom. Darker blockouts read darker at the edges than pale ones — same opaque cloth, less glow.

For more real installs, see blockout blinds in real Australian homes.

Recess fit or face fit?

This is the second decision, and it changes how you measure, so settle it before you get the tape out.

Our measuring guides walk through both with a video, and if you're nervous, the Perfect Fit Guarantee remakes the blind free if the measurement is wrong — up to five blinds a household, as long as you tell us within 14 days of unpacking.

The options, and which ones are worth it

Control side: left-hand or right-hand, as you look at the blind from inside the room

A white metal pelmet over the tube — hides the hardware and closes the light gap at the top

Standard bracket (40mm) and extension bracket (55mm) — the extension clears handles and architraves on a face fit

What you don't need to pay extra for: the chain tensioner (the P-clip that holds the chain against the wall) comes with every chain blind and the law says you fit it wherever the chain hangs within 1.6 metres of the floor. Fit it. It's not optional and it takes one screw.

Which roller for which room

A blockout roller down in the kids' room at Harries and Emily's place in Bondi. The slim lines of light at the sides are what a recess fit leaves; a face fit would close them.

Sizes, and where rollers stop making sense

A single roller handles most domestic windows comfortably. As a blind gets very wide the fabric roll gets heavy and fat, the chain gets harder to pull, and a motor starts to make sense. Very wide openings — a three-metre slider, say — are often better as two blinds side by side, a panel glide or a vertical blind. Very narrow windows have a floor too: motors in particular need a minimum width to fit inside the tube, and the configurator will tell you if you're under it.

The configurator prices the blind live as you change size and fabric, so you'll see exactly what a bigger window or a different fabric family costs before you commit. A small blockout roller is the least expensive thing we make; a wide motorised sunscreen with a pelmet is the top of the roller range. Everything in between is a slider.

Ordering, delivery and installing it yourself

The short version is below; the full walkthrough of ordering online covers each step and what happens if something goes wrong.

Emily ordering samples from the kitchen table. This is genuinely step one.

Looking after a roller blind

Dust it with a soft brush or the upholstery tool on the vacuum every few weeks. Spot-clean marks with a damp cloth and a little mild soap — don't soak the fabric, and don't use anything abrasive on a coated blockout. If a blind starts rolling unevenly, it's nearly always a bracket that's not level; loosen, re-level, tighten. Screen and coated fabrics wipe clean, which is why they go in kitchens and bathrooms. The care guide covers every fabric and product.

Common questions