Cord-free, remote-controlled, smart-home ready
Motorised Blinds in Kent
Motorised blinds are cord-free, remote-controlled and smart-home ready. They’re the right answer for skylights, hard-to-reach windows, child-occupied rooms, and any home where you want to control multiple blinds at once. Our motorised range covers roller, roman, Venetian, vertical and pleated, and we’re an authorised dealer for Louvolite One Touch motors. We make and fit across Kent.
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Electric drive instead of chain or cord
What Are Motorised Blinds?
A motorised blind has a small electric motor inside the head tube or mechanism. Press a button on a remote, a wall switch, or your phone, and the blind opens, closes or stops at any point. There are no chains, no cords and no operating wand: the blind is inherently cord-free, which makes it one of the safest blinds for households with young children.
Motorised blinds make sense for three main reasons. First, reach: skylights, conservatory roofs, stairwells and tall windows are hard to operate manually. Second, scale: in open-plan rooms with multiple windows, a single remote can move all the blinds at once or in groups. Third, smart home integration: many of our motors work with smartphone apps, voice assistants (Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit) and timers, so blinds can be set to schedule with the rest of the home.
Skylights, stairwells, smart homes, child-occupied rooms
Where Motorised Earns Its Place
Motorised blinds are not right for every window. Below are the five contexts where motor genuinely beats manual.
Skylights and conservatory roofs. Out-of-reach windows where manual operation is impractical. The standard fix.
Stairwells and tall hall windows. Avoids cord-loop risks and removes the need to balance on stairs.
Open-plan rooms with multiple windows. Group control means all blinds in a zone move together, by one button.
Children’s bedrooms and nurseries. Cord-free is the safest option.
Smart homes. Works with Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit and most smart-home platforms.
The single biggest spec decision on a motorised install
Battery, Hard-Wired or Solar Power - Which to Choose
Motorised blinds need power. There are three options, and the right one depends on your window.
Battery-powered motors sit inside the blind head with a rechargeable lithium battery. No wiring needed, so installation is simple. Batteries last 6 to 12 months and recharge in 2 to 3 hours via USB. The only downside is remembering to recharge, which can mean getting a ladder out for hard-to-reach windows.
Hard-wired motors run from the mains via a cable hidden inside the wall. Once installed, there is nothing to recharge or maintain. The trade-off is that running cable through a finished room adds £100 to £200 to the install cost. This option works best in new builds or during renovation.
Solar-powered motors use a small panel fitted near the window to charge an internal battery from sunlight. No mains wiring, no recharging. They work well on skylights and conservatory roofs but may struggle in north-facing or shaded rooms. Expect to add around £80 to £150 to the install cost.
Our usual advice: battery for standard rooms, hard-wired where cable can be run easily, and solar for sunny skylights. Mixing all three across a house is perfectly normal.
More setup than a manual blind
Motorised Install Process
Motorised installs need more setup than manual – power source decisions, smart-home pairing, remote programming. Here is how it works.
Survey
Motorised surveys cover the same measurements as manual surveys plus power-source decisions, smart-home integration requirements, and remote/wall-switch placement. Typically 30 minutes per room.
Build
Lead times typically 4-6 weeks because the motor pairing and battery installation happens at the workshop.
Install
Brackets fitted, blind hung, motor paired with remote and any wall switches. Smart-home integration set up if specified – we configure Alexa, Google Home or HomeKit at install. We test the operation, the smart-home integration, and battery levels before we leave.
OUR PRODUCTS
Our Complete Window Covering Offering
If you are searching for the finest kent shutters, The VIP Shutter Co offers a complete range of made to measure plantation shutters that combine architectural elegance with proven, measurable performance. Independent testing has shown that a well fitted shutter can reduce heat loss through a window by up to 52 per cent, which is why so many homeowners now regard them as an energy efficient upgrade as well as a design choice.
Every shutter is cut to your precise sizes and finished to the colour, stain, or bespoke RAL shade of your choosing. We offer six classic styles, each available in sustainably sourced hardwood, engineered MDF, and waterproof ABS, with louvre sizes of 47 mm, 63 mm, 76 mm, and 89 mm, and either central or discreet hidden tilt.
Carpenter-led, Kent based
Why Choose The VIP Shutter Co
Choosing a made to measure window treatment is a long term investment, and the company you trust to deliver it matters just as much as the product itself. Here is why Kent homeowners, from period townhouses in Rochester to coastal properties in Folkestone, continue to choose The VIP Shutter Co year after year.
Expertise and experience
Barry, our founder, is a qualified carpenter with more than 25 years on the tools and over 20 years in the shutters and blinds industry.
Real benefits, not marketing claims
Every blind is made to measure, child-safe as standard, and fitted by us, not subcontracted out. Quality is checked at the workshop and again at the install.
Customisation
Choose from hundreds of fabrics, prints and finishes. Motorisation, blackout linings and child-safety features are options on most ranges.
Suitability across Kent homes
Bedroom blinds are one of the most-requested categories we fit in Kent, especially for young families upgrading from rental fittings. Over 100 Kent homeowners have rated us five stars.
Motorised blind questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Depends on the window. For skylights, stairwells and child-occupied rooms, yes. For standard living-room windows in easy reach, manual is usually fine. Our piece on whether motorised blinds are worth it goes deeper.
Three options: rechargeable battery (no wiring, recharge every 6-12 months), hard-wired (powered from the mains, never charge), or solar-charged (panel mounted on the window, used for skylights). We recommend the right option at survey.
Yes. Most of our motors integrate with Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit and other smart-home platforms. Schedule them to open at sunrise and close at sunset automatically.
Some ranges allow this. Most of the time, replacing the head mechanism is more cost-effective than retrofitting.
Quality motors are barely audible – typically less than 40 decibels at normal operation. Cheap motors are louder. We use quality motors as standard.
The VIP Shutter Co
