Smart Blinds: The Upgrade Your New Build Deserves

Smart blinds are motorised window coverings you can control from your phone, with your voice, or on an automatic schedule. They connect to your home WiFi and work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, or their own app.

Imagine waking up to your bedroom blinds gently opening with the sunrise, or telling Alexa to close the living room blinds when a film starts. That's smart blinds. And they're not as expensive or complicated as you might think.

Your new home has no window coverings at all — which means you're starting from scratch. There's no old curtain pole to work around, no outdated fittings to remove. You get to choose exactly what you want from day one.

New builds also tend to have great WiFi coverage (newer wiring, fewer thick walls) and many come with smart thermostats already. Adding smart blinds fits naturally into a home that's already designed for modern living.

Plus, if you have large or hard-to-reach windows (stairwell windows, high skylights, patio doors), motorised blinds solve a genuine daily annoyance. No more standing on tiptoes or digging out a step ladder.

Amazon Alexa: "Alexa, close the bedroom blinds." Works with most SOMA, Eve, and IKEA FYRTUR blinds.

Google Home: "Hey Google, open the kitchen blind to 50%." Compatible with most Zigbee and WiFi-enabled blinds.

Apple HomeKit: For iPhone users — control blinds from the Home app and set automations based on time, sunrise, or when you leave the house.

Standalone apps: Every smart blind brand has its own app for precise control, scheduling, and grouping blinds by room. Even without a voice assistant, you can control everything from your phone.

Smart blinds have come down significantly in price. Here's what to expect per window in 2026:

• Budget (IKEA FYRTUR): £120 – £180 per window. Solid quality, works with all major smart home platforms.
• Mid-range (SOMA, Bloc): £150 – £280 per window. Better fabric choices, quieter motors, more integration options.
• Premium (Luxaflex PowerView, Silent Gliss): £300 – £600 per window. Whisper-quiet, beautiful fabrics, commercial-grade reliability.

For a typical 3-bed new build, budget around £1,000 – £3,000 to kit out the main rooms. Many people start with bedrooms and the living room, then add more later.

DIY-friendly options: IKEA FYRTUR blinds are genuinely easy to install yourself — they come with brackets and clear instructions. SOMA Smart Shades retrofit onto existing blinds, so there's even less work involved.

Professional recommended: Hardwired motorised blinds (no batteries, no recharging) need an electrician. Premium systems like Luxaflex PowerView benefit from professional calibration and setup. If you're doing 6+ windows, a professional installer will get everything working together seamlessly.

The sweet spot for most new build buyers is battery-powered smart blinds (rechargeable via USB-C). No electrician needed, easy to install, and the battery lasts 3–6 months between charges.