Blinds and curtains for a Rayleigh bungalow's awkward windows
A Rayleigh bungalow or chalet rarely has a window that ready-made blinds fit. Dormers, slopes, gables and low wide bays each ask for something measured on site. The workshop sits near Maldon, about 27 minutes away.
What a Rayleigh bungalow asks of its windows
Low sills, wide glass
The front window runs wide and low, often in a shallow bay, with the sill near the radiator. A floor-length curtain crowds it, so a blind or a curtain that clears the sill usually sits better.
Rooms in the roof
A chalet bungalow carries bedrooms upstairs with dormer windows and a window set into the roof slope. Both need dressing cut to the angle, not a standard drop meant for a flat wall.
Smaller rooms than before
People often move here from a bigger house, bringing furniture that no longer fits. A sofa can be re-made in a different style on its own frame, or a new piece built to the room.
We make and fit blinds, curtains and shutters for homes across Rayleigh from a workshop in Heybridge, near Maldon, about 17 miles and about 27 minutes by road. Nothing of ours is in Rayleigh itself. Roman blinds and curtains are made on site by our own team; roller, venetian, vertical and electric blinds, and shutters, are measured and fitted by us. Customers have left 162 five-star reviews, a 5.0 on every platform.
A Rayleigh bungalow, window by window
Each of the six windows a bungalow or chalet tends to have sets its own problem, and none is answered off the shelf.
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1
The wide low front window or bay
wide glass, a low sill
The problemThe front window spreads wide and sits low, often in a shallow bay, with the sill near a radiator below. A curtain to the floor fights the heat and crowds the room, and a single flat blind cannot follow the angles of a bay.
What we makeWe make roman blinds on site to the width the window actually is, or fit a shaped track for curtains across each face of the bay, lined and interlined for drape.
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2
The dormer window
little wall, a deep reveal
The problemA dormer sits in its own box in the roof, with sloping ceilings close on either side and almost no wall to stack a curtain back onto. The reveal is often deeper than it looks, and square to nothing.
What we makeA roman blind made to the exact reveal takes up no wall, or a roller blind sits neatly inside the reveal. Our fitter measures the opening on its own first.
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3
The window in the roof slope
set into the ceiling angle
The problemA window set into the roof slope lets light pour straight down and heat build under it. A loose blind hangs away from the glass on the angle and swings, so an ordinary drop is no use here at all.
What we makeA perfect fit blind is fitted inside the frame of the window in the roof, with no bulk and no movement, worked by hand or electrically. It suits a skylight exactly.
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4
The gable window
the one that comes to a point
The problemA gable window climbs to a point at the apex, so the top corners are triangles that no standard blind covers. It often sits high as well, past the reach of a hand or a cord, and most firms will not quote for it.
What we makeAn electric blind can be made for a gable window, measured and fitted by us. Electric blinds can be made for all styles of window, so the shape is no barrier.
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5
The patio door
wide glass onto the garden
The problemPatio or sliding doors onto the garden give a wide run of glass with people and feet passing through all day. A blind with bulk or a dangling cord gets in the way of the door and the view beyond it.
What we makeA perfect fit blind is fitted inside each door frame with no bulk, operated by hand or electrically. Vertical blinds hung to the floor are a practical answer across a wide opening.
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6
The small high kitchen or bathroom window
high, small, often damp
The problemThe kitchen and bathroom often carry a small window set high in the wall, where fabric sits in the steam and the damp and would rather not be. The opening is narrow and the reach awkward.
What we makeA venetian blind is at home in a bathroom where fabric would struggle, measured and fitted to the small opening by our own fitter.
The gable window in a Rayleigh house
The gable end window, the one that rises to a point, has always set a puzzle for dressing. The top corners are triangles, and the glass often sits too high to reach by hand. Many firms simply will not quote for it, so it stays bare for years.
The answer is an electric blind, measured and fitted by us. Electric blinds can be made for all styles of window, so the point and the height are no barrier. There is more on the blinds we make and fit.
Good furniture in a smaller Rayleigh room
Moving from a bigger house into a bungalow usually means rooms smaller than the furniture that comes with you. A piece you love can still earn its place. We re-cover what you have in a fresh cloth, or take a tired sofa back to the bare frame and rebuild it by hand for another twenty years.
A sofa can also be re-made in a more contemporary style on its original frame, the way we have re-modelled deep buttoned sofas for customers who could not find a replacement they liked. Or a new piece can be built to match and to fit, through a bespoke commission sized to the room.
What we make for Rayleigh homes
Blinds
Roman blinds made on site in our curtain room, checked by two makers before a cut. Roller, venetian, vertical and electric blinds measured and fitted by us, to current child-safety standards.
Curtains
Wave, pinch pleat or eyelet, every pair lined and interlined, then hung and dressed by Simon. A track is shaped to the bay where there is one.
Shutters
Measured and fitted to any shape of window, a quiet alternative that gathers no dust. They hold privacy with a partial close and tame glare in a sunny room.
Reupholstery
A tired sofa, armchair or set of dining chairs taken back to the bare frame and rebuilt by hand, with hand-tied springs, fibre and horsehair, in cloth you choose.
How far the workshop is from Rayleigh
Measured by car from Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, on 12 October 2026, by the usual A130 route.
- Rawreth: 15 miles, about 23 minutes
- Rayleigh town centre: 17 miles, about 27 minutes
- Hullbridge: 17 miles, about 27 minutes
- Hockley: 19 miles, about 32 minutes
What it costs for a Rayleigh home
For blinds, curtains, shutters and upholstery there is no fixed price list, because a single roman blind and a run of dormers are quite different jobs. Send a photo of the window or the piece with a few words, and you get a personal reply quoting using an average price fabric.
For upholstery, reckon on roughly the price of a new piece of the same quality. Once you approve a quote, an appointment can be at the showroom in Heybridge or in your own home, where we go through the cloth with you.
Places near Rayleigh
Southend-on-Sea
24 miles, about 40 minutes from the workshop
Bay windows and seafront light, so fabric choice matters more than most places.
Basildon
23 miles, about 33 minutes from the workshop
Mid-century furniture that is often well built and worth the work.
Canvey Island
23 miles, about 38 minutes from the workshop
An island below the sea wall, where the salt air is hard on soft furnishings.
Send a photo of the window
A picture of the window or the room and a line about what you want is enough for a personal quote.
Questions, answered.
Simon Houlding Upholstery, established 1997, in Heybridge near Maldon, about 27 minutes from Rayleigh. Roman blinds are made on site in our own curtain room, and roller, venetian, vertical and electric blinds are measured and fitted by our own fitter. Send a photo of the window and a few words for a personal quote.
The workshop and showroom are at Unit F, Stock Chase, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4AA, about 17 miles and about 27 minutes from the town centre by car, usually along the A130. We are not based in Rayleigh and keep no showroom there, but we come to you to measure and to fit.
Yes. A dormer sits in its own box with sloping ceilings close on either side and little wall for a curtain to stack onto. A roman blind made to the exact reveal takes up no wall, or a roller blind sits neatly inside the reveal. Our fitter measures the opening on its own first.
A perfect fit blind is the answer for a window set into the roof slope. It is fitted inside the frame with no bulk and no movement, so it will not hang away from the glass or swing on the angle. It can be worked by hand or electrically, and suits a skylight.
Where the sill is low and a radiator sits below, a full floor-length curtain fights the heat and crowds the room. A roman blind made to the width often works better, or curtains that clear the sill, lined and interlined for drape. We can shape a track to a shallow bay too.
Yes. Every blind is made and fitted to current child-safety standards, with cord and chain length limits and anti-loop devices. For doors, bi-folds and the window in a roof slope, a perfect fit blind can be operated electrically, which removes cords altogether where you want that.
Yes. A sofa can be re-made in a different style on its original frame, the way we have re-modelled deep buttoned sofas for customers who could not find a replacement they liked. We can also re-cover what you have, or build a new piece to the dimensions the room actually is.
Yes. Shutters are measured and fitted to any shape of window, so they suit the mix a chalet carries, from the wide front window to the rooms in the roof. They hold privacy with a partial close, soften noise and gather none of the dust that curtains do.