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Motorised Window Coverings: Curtains & Blinds, Done Properly
SMC Custom Installs designs, installs and automates motorised curtains and blinds across Shropshire, Cheshire and the West Midlands. We work with Lutron and Silent Gliss, standalone or integrated with Control4, and you can see working systems in our Shrewsbury showroom before you decide.
Nobody Needs Motorised Blinds
Truly, nobody does. Yet they’re consistently the thing customers tell us they’d never give up: bedroom blinds that wake you gently with daylight, rooms kept cool before the afternoon sun arrives, privacy at dusk without walking the house, curtains that close themselves when the film starts. If the budget is under pressure, we’ll say where motorisation earns its place: often two or three key rooms rather than the whole house, and the system can always grow later.
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Get a QuotationTwo Brands, Chosen for a Reason
Motorised curtains and blinds are one of those things that sound like a gimmick until you live with them. Curtains that draw themselves at dusk, blinds that track the sun through the day, a cinema that goes properly dark at the press of a button. Done well, they quickly become the part of a smart home people use most.
We work with two manufacturers, each the best at what it does. Lutron gives you a complete lighting and shading ecosystem that works beautifully on its own or as part of a wider system. Silent Gliss makes the motorised curtain tracks and blinds that specifiers have relied on for decades, and they are at their best when we integrate them into a Control4 home. We design, supply and install both.
Lutron
The Complete Lighting & Shading EcosystemLutron blinds belong to the same family as Lutron lighting control, which is what makes them different: shading and lighting designed as one system, from one manufacturer, controlled from the same keypads and app. Palladiom blinds move almost silently, in perfect unison, and there are wire-free battery options for rooms where cabling isn't practical.
Crucially, Lutron works both ways. It's a complete standalone system (app, keypads, schedules, no other equipment needed), or it integrates natively with Control4 and Lutron lighting for whole-home scenes. We have Palladiom blinds and keypads on live demonstration in our Shrewsbury showroom.
- Palladiom blinds: architectural roller blinds, on working demo in Shrewsbury
- Wire-free battery options where mains wiring isn't practical
- Standalone control via the Lutron app, keypads and schedules
- Or fully integrated with Control4 and Lutron lighting scenes
- Palladiom keypads in metal and glass finishes to handle in person
- As an authorised Lutron dealer, we design, program and support it all in-house
Silent Gliss
Motorised Curtain Track SpecialistsSilent Gliss has been making motorised curtain tracks longer than almost anyone, and it shows: whisper-quiet motors, tracks that can be shaped around bay windows, and hardware that architects and curtain makers have specified for decades. Because it's a track system rather than a finished blind, you have complete fabric freedom: your curtain maker's fabric, your interior designer's choice, hung on a track that moves it properly.
Where Silent Gliss really earns its place is inside a Control4 home, and that's how we install it. A "Good Morning" scene that draws the curtains as the lights come up gently. A cinema blackout scene that closes everything before the film starts. Curtains that shut themselves at dusk, every day, whether you're home or not.
- Motorised curtain tracks including the SG 5100 Autoglide and SG 5600 systems
- Whisper-quiet operation (the name is well earned)
- Tracks bent to fit bay windows and curved openings
- Wave heading option for a clean, continuous curtain fold
- Complete fabric freedom that works with any curtain maker's fabric
- Integrated with Control4 for whole-home scenes and schedules
What We Automate
Curtain Tracks
Motorised Silent Gliss tracks for living rooms, bedrooms and full-height glazing. Near-silent, hand-drawable in a power cut, and made to measure for each window.
Roller Blinds
Motorised roller blinds from Lutron's Palladiom range and Silent Gliss, with fabrics from sheer to full blackout, all aligned, level and moving together.
Blackout Systems
Proper darkness for bedrooms and cinema rooms: blackout blinds and curtains that close as part of the scene when the film starts. See our home cinema solutions.
Bay Windows & Shaped Tracks
Silent Gliss tracks can be bent to follow bay windows and curved openings, so awkward shapes get the same smooth, motorised movement as a straight run.
Battery & Wire-Free Options
Lutron's wire-free blinds run on batteries measured in years, not months, making them ideal for finished rooms and renovations where running cables isn't practical.
Whole-Home Scenes
As a Control4 Certified Showroom, we program curtains and blinds into scenes with lighting, audio and security. One button or fully automatic, sunrise to dusk.
Planning building work? The best time to think about motorised blinds is before plastering, while power can still be hidden in the wall. Battery options exist for finished rooms, but telling us early always gives a cleaner result. Our wiring guide explains when to involve us.
Watch a Blind Move Before You Buy One
You can't judge motorised shading from a brochure. The whole point is how it moves and how quiet it is. In our Shrewsbury showroom, Lutron Palladiom blinds run live on a working system: press the keypad, watch them travel, and hear how little noise "motorised" actually makes when it's done properly.
It's also where the fabric and finish conversation happens: blackout versus sheer, keypad finishes, how the hardware will sit against your window. And through our partnership with Summer House Interiors, the Shrewsbury interior design studio, you can see keypads, blinds and curtains displayed in situ in a professionally designed room rather than on a showroom wall.
- Palladiom blinds and keypads working live in Shrewsbury
- Control4 integration demonstrated on the same system
- Fabrics, finishes and keypad options to compare in person
- Real-room displays at Summer House Interiors, Shrewsbury
Our Process: Survey to Handover
Consultation & Survey
We visit your property, measure every window and check power, recesses and any existing smart home equipment.
Design & Spec
We specify the right system for each window, whether Lutron, Silent Gliss or both, with fabrics, finishes and an itemised quotation.
Installation
Our in-house engineers fit tracks and blinds made to measure, wiring neatly and managing the whole project.
Programming & Support
We set travel limits, programme scenes and schedules, hand over a fully working system and remain on hand long-term.
Trusted Across Shropshire, Cheshire & the West Midlands
"I was really impressed with SMC Custom Installs — both Ian and Duncan were polite, helpful and more importantly extremely knowledgeable. They made sure everything was fitted, future-proofed and set up perfectly. Professional, trustworthy and pleasant, rare qualities these days."Chris Nickson · Smart Home Installation
"I have been a customer of SMC Custom Installs for over 15 years, and throughout that time their service and workmanship has been consistently outstanding — most recently the installation of fully automated blinds in my new media room. Every project has been completed to an exceptionally high standard, with great attention to detail."Mark Johnson · Automated Blinds · Customer for 15 Years
Motorised Curtains & Blinds, Answered Plainly
Can motorised curtains be fitted to my existing tracks?
Honestly, usually not. A motorised system needs a track designed for the motor, the gliders and the curtain weight, so in most cases we fit a new Silent Gliss track in place of the old one. Your existing curtains can often be re-hung on the new track. We assess all of this at the survey, so you'll know exactly what's involved before anything is ordered.
Do Lutron blinds need mains wiring?
Not necessarily. Lutron makes wire-free blinds that run on battery power with a battery life measured in years, which makes them well suited to finished rooms and retrofits. Where mains wiring is practical, in a new build or renovation, a wired blind removes battery changes altogether. We'll recommend the right approach window by window.
Will Silent Gliss curtains work with my Control4 system?
Yes, that's precisely how we install them. We integrate Silent Gliss tracks with the Control4 systems we design, so your curtains join your lighting, audio and security in whole-home scenes: a "Good Morning" that opens them, a cinema scene that closes them, and schedules that run whether you're home or not.
Can I use my own curtain fabric?
Yes. This is one of the big advantages of Silent Gliss: it's a track system, not a finished product, so it works with any curtain maker's fabric. Choose your fabric with your curtain maker or interior designer, and we'll fit the motorised track that carries it, including the Wave heading style if you want that clean, continuous fold.
Tell Us About Your Project
Based in Shrewsbury, working across Shropshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands and the Welsh borders. See the areas we cover.
Please use the below form to get in contact for a quotation. We’ll use this outline information to get in contact with you to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Keep exploring: Smart Blinds Buyer’s Guide · Lutron vs Silent Gliss · Lutron Lighting & Blinds · Smart Lighting Design · Aftercare Plans