Roller blinds built for the glare bouncing off the harbour

Sunscreen does the daily work

On a lounge that faces the harbour square-on, a fine sunscreen mesh — usually 3–5% openness — is the roller most Gordon's Bay homes end up drawing every afternoon. It keeps the line to the harbour mouth and the fishing fleet while cutting the glare bounced straight back up off the water. Lower percentages block more heat and glare at the cost of a softer view; most harbour-facing lounges land at 3–5%, though canal-front homes on Harbour Island sometimes want it lower again, because still water reflects harder than open bay.

Blockout, and the double-roller answer for bedrooms

Bedrooms want the opposite problem solved — full dark, regardless of what the harbour lights are doing after sunset. A single blockout roller does that on its own. A double roller (day/night) pairs a blockout fabric with a sunscreen on the same bracket, so the room gets a filtered harbour view by day and total privacy at night without swapping blinds. Blockout fabric also works as a genuine thermal layer, taking the edge off a west-facing room in summer and a cold winter night once the wind gets up.

Fitted for salt air, wind and older window frames

Chain and cord tensioners are fitted as standard on anything corded. Near a sliding door onto a deck we lean towards battery motorisation and a sealed cassette rather than an open bracket, because that's what actually survives the air off the bay. Older harbourside cottages sometimes have timber frames or non-standard reveal depths that need measuring properly rather than assuming a standard fixing — we template on site rather than guess from a photo.