Types of Motorised Blinds Explained

Almost any blind can be motorised, from a simple roller to full-width curtains, and the right choice comes down to the look you want, how much light control you need, and the window itself. This guide runs through the main types of motorised blind, where each works best, and which suits an integrated, app-controlled home.

Start with the system: Lutron motorised blinds

Before the styles, a word on what controls them. As a Lutron specialist, we usually start clients with Lutron's motorised shading, because it brings every blind in the house onto one quiet, reliable system, controlled from elegant keypads, an app, or alongside your lighting in a single scene. The Sivoia QS range covers most of the styles below, while the Palladiom range adds a wire-free, battery-powered option for retrofits. If you want blinds that feel like part of the home rather than a gadget, this is where to begin. See the range in our Lutron shading collection.

The main types of motorised blind

Roller blinds

A single flat panel of fabric on a discreet tube, giving a clean, minimal look. Rollers are the most popular and versatile motorised blind, with the motor hidden inside the tube. Fabric runs from sheer right through to full blackout, so they suit almost any room. Browse our motorised roller blinds.

Roman blinds

A single sheet of fabric that gathers into soft horizontal folds as it rises. Roman blinds bring warmth and a more tailored, traditional feel, with the motor concealed in the headrail. A good choice for living rooms and bedrooms where you want softness rather than a hard edge. See the wider motorised shading range.

Sheer and horizontal sheer blinds

Sheer blinds float fabric vanes between two layers of voile, so you can tilt them for soft, diffused light and a view out, or close them for privacy. They give the elegance of a curtain with the precision of a blind. Explore our horizontal sheer blinds.

Cellular and honeycomb blinds

A pleated, honeycomb-shaped cell traps a layer of air, making these the most energy-efficient option, which is useful in Irish homes for keeping heat in over winter. They fold away neatly and come in light-filtering or blackout fabrics. Lutron's Sivoia QS honeycomb shades sit in our Lutron shading collection.

Venetian and wood blinds

Horizontal slats that tilt as well as raise, giving the finest control over light and privacy of any blind. Timber and faux-wood finishes suit period and country homes. Motorised versions add a tilt motor so the slats angle at the touch of a button. Lutron offers motorised wood blinds within the Lutron range.

Motorised curtains

For full-width windows and a soft, luxurious finish, a motorised curtain track glides your curtains open and closed silently, and can follow schedules or scenes. Ideal for bedrooms, living rooms and large expanses of glazing. See our motorised curtain tracks.

Skylight and specialty shades

Roof windows, angled glazing and hard-to-reach openings are where motorisation earns its place, since reaching them by hand is impractical. Tensioned shades hold the fabric flat against sloped or overhead glass. Explore our skylight and tensioned shades.

Retrofitting blinds you already have

You do not always need to start from scratch. Wire-free, battery-powered motors can bring many existing blinds up to smart-home standard without rewiring or replacing the fabric, which makes them ideal for homes already lived in. See our retrofit motorised shades.

How to choose

Start with the room and the job: blackout for bedrooms, sheer or honeycomb for living spaces, slats where you want fine light control, curtains for softness and scale. Then decide whether you want one or two windows automated or a whole home on a single system, because that choice sets the control platform as much as the fabric does.

If you would like help matching the right blinds to your rooms, browse the full motorised shading range or book a consultation and we will design it around your home.