Every once in a while we’re brought in on a project that’s a bit different. More ambitious. More technical. With a bigger scope than your average four-bedroom home. Collis was that kind of project: a light-filled family house, designed by Webster Architecture & Interiors.

“The brief was to create a relaxed environment,” says Webster’s Director, Daniel Webster. “You can almost see yourself in a white linen shirt, shorts and bare feet, walking around in summer.”

With ‘white linen shirt’ as our guiding aesthetic, SHADES was hired to handle the commercial plantation shutters and commercial blinds. But these weren’t your typical windows, and they required more than your typical engineering.

“This particular project was quite interesting because they had some very complex requirements for the front façade,” says SHADES Director, Patrick Cummings. “We fitted a large aluminium shadow screening system across the front that was eight metres wide and three and a half metres high, which required significant consideration from a structural perspective.”

The other big factor was the home’s orientation. Many of the windows were facing north, which is great for light but sometimes not great for heat. North-facing rooms can become ovens in summer, especially when their windows are eight metres high. The white interiors would bounce light around, too, so we needed to find a solution that filtered the light, blocked out the heat, and still complemented the overall design.

“We worked with Dan and his team to select an appropriate 100% linen curtain that would be drawn across the window, minimising the light and making the space more comfortable,” says Cummings.

Collis ended up being everything we hoped it would be: a bold, light-filled family home that wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries.

If you’d like to explore commercial blinds or plantation shutters for your own ‘linen shirt’ project, get in touch for a quote.