{"id":1900,"date":"2025-09-26T12:14:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T12:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solihull-blinds.co.uk\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:23:48","slug":"concealed-blinds-how-umbra-and-blindspace-work-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solihull-blinds.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/concealed-blinds-how-umbra-and-blindspace-work-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Concealed Blinds: How Umbra and Blindspace Work Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most smart home blinds compromise on looks: visible motors, thick tracks, obvious wiring\u2026
Blindspace boxes solve this by hiding everything in your walls or ceiling, while Umbra Shading provides reliable blinds and tracks that move silently. With concealed blind systems<\/a>, you can get the full smart home experience without sacrificing your carefully created home aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why bother with smart blinds?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Look, you don\u2019t need smart blinds. But once you have them, you\u2019ll wonder how you lived without them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about the obvious things first: you can close your bedroom blinds without getting out of bed or open the living room blinds while you\u2019re still upstairs getting dressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other benefits show up over time. Your house uses less energy because the blinds automatically block afternoon sun in summer and let in warming light in winter. Your furniture doesn\u2019t fade because UV protection happens whether you remember it or not. And when you\u2019re on holiday, your house looks lived-in because the blinds still open and close on schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with many smart blind systems is that they can be clunky, visible, and don\u2019t always integrate well with modern home design<\/a>. Blindspace and Umbra Shading do things differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blindspace difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blindspace has solved one of the biggest challenges in smart home design: keeping the technology hidden. These Swedish-engineered concealment systems<\/a> work with most major home automation platforms, including Alexa, Somfy, Google Home, and Control 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These boxes for concealing blinds are flexible, so you can choose your favourite smart blinds manufacturer. They can house ultra-quiet motors from leading manufacturers like Somfy and Lutron, ensuring your blinds operate almost silently. Their soft start and stop features means your blinds move smoothly and quietly within their concealed housing. When integrated properly, you\u2019ll barely notice your blinds are moving; you\u2019ll just see the changing light levels in your room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umbra Shading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We love the blinds and tracks<\/a> created by Umbra<\/a>. They\u2019re a perfect match for Blindspace boxes, and Umbra has thought through the details that other manufacturers miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, their Flow curtain tracks can be powered from mains electricity or batteries. The battery option is great if you\u2019re retrofitting, because you don\u2019t need to tear up your walls to run new cables. Both work with phone apps and voice control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s the best part: if you start pulling the curtains by hand, the motor kicks in and finishes the job. So when your phone\u2019s dead or a friend is visiting and doesn\u2019t know the voice command, just give them a tug and let the system take over. Most motorised systems are at risk of breaking if you try this, but Flow tracks are built for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umbra Shading\u2019s Evolve roller blind system works the same way; originally designed for electric operation but perfectly happy being operated manually when needed. Overall, we find Umbra\u2019s products are smart enough to be helpful, but not so smart they become annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating the perfect smart bedroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at a practical example. You want your bedroom completely dark for proper sleep, but you don\u2019t want all the visible hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Begin with Umbra\u2019s KuroLok system. Their zipped-edge blackout blinds prevent any light from sneaking through the sides. The whole thing (headbox, channels, bottom hembar) gets concealed in Blindspace boxes that are painted to match the colour of your walls or ceiling. Now add smart controls and program your blackout blinds to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n