Shade the sun, keep the view.
Curtains, blinds, louvres, meshes and panels — ten decisions in the order a designer makes them, starting with the real problem (glare, heat, privacy), not the fabric swatch. Each option shows its impact on use, look and cost.
It's a shading brief, not a quote — screens are ELS-specified and supplied by your blinds/curtain or façade specialist (ALUMAX supplies any aluminium screen it makes). Costs read as direction only.
What problem must this screen actually solve?
Naming the real problem first is what keeps every later choice honest — a privacy screen won't stop afternoon heat, and a solar screen can still let people see straight through it.
Designer's rule — In Sarawak most rooms are fighting glare and heat at the same time, so plan a dual-layer system — a light-filtering layer for the day plus a blackout or privacy layer for night — and on a west-facing wall add an external aluminium screen or correctly angled louvres, because shading works best when it stops the sun before it reaches the glass.
Pick at least one to continue, or take the ELS default.
Why shading is a design decision here
🌇 The west façade is the fight
Low afternoon sun on a west wall is Sarawak's hardest heat-and-glare load, and an internal blind only catches heat that is already inside. An external louvre or screen — or angled vertical fins — stops the sun before it reaches the glass, which is the only shading that meaningfully cuts the aircon load.
🌙 A sheer is not night privacy
A light-filtering fabric reads as private by day — but after dark, when the lit room is brighter than the street, people can see straight in. The honest fix is the dual-layer default: a sheer for daytime glare and softening, plus a blackout or privacy layer drawn at night.
💧 Humidity eats the wrong material
Real linen and untreated timber mildew and warp in a room that is not air-conditioned, and exterior metal corrodes without a marine-grade or powder-coated finish. Here the material is a durability decision, not only a look — a linen-look synthetic and UV-stable aluminium outlast the natural versions.
We grade every strong technical claim by its evidence and review them on a schedule. A manufacturer test is not a design lean — we label which is which rather than dress one up as the other.
Claims last reviewed 2026-07-23. Figures are planning guidance, not warranties — real performance depends on the specific product, its installation and the site's exposure, and is confirmed on the product datasheet and after site measurement.
Pair it with the light
Daylight and artificial light are one design. Run the Lighting Designer next, or start the free Renovation Pre-Check for the whole picture — risk, trades, budget and your decision list.