The Marlow is a made-to-measure cotton roller blind sold by Blinds By Post, available in 5 variants starting from £31.00. Five neutral colourways cover everything from warm white to deep graphite, and each is offered both as a standard chain-operated blind and as a motorised version - making this one of the more accessible entry points to motorised roller blinds in this price bracket.

Who it suits

The cotton palette here is firmly in neutral territory, which suits most rooms where the blind is meant to recede rather than become a focal point. Living rooms, home offices, and bedrooms with a clean or Scandinavian aesthetic will get the most from these colourways. The lighter shades - Cotton and Ivory - work particularly well where you want to maximise the sense of light with the blind partially down during the day.

The range is described as cotton, which suggests a natural-fibre roller fabric. Natural-fibre rollers typically offer a softer, more textured face than polyester equivalents, and they tend to sit well with linen sofas, wooden floors, and similar materials. Worth noting: cotton-based roller fabrics are generally not moisture-resistant, so bathrooms and kitchens with steam exposure are not ideal settings. Confirm the fabric specification with Blinds By Post if you're fitting near a hob or shower.

The opacity class is not stated in the published range information, so if blackout performance matters - in a bedroom used by a light sleeper or a shift worker, for instance - confirm with the retailer before ordering. If the room needs genuine darkness, you may want to look at a fabric with a specific blackout coating rather than assume cotton will deliver it.

The colours

5 colours available

Five distinct colourways cover a useful span of the neutral spectrum. Cotton and Ivory sit at the warm white end - close in tone but with Cotton leaning slightly more textural and Ivory a shade warmer. Steel and Graphite give you two grey options: Steel is the lighter mid-grey and Graphite the deeper charcoal. Stone bridges the two groups, a warm mid-tone that works with both warm wood and cooler grey interiors.

All five colourways are available as motorised variants, listed as premium options. The standard chain-operated versions carry the range's base from-price; the motorised versions cost more. If you're fitting multiple windows and want consistent operation - or simply prefer not to run a chain down to a child-accessible height - the motorised option is worth the added outlay. The pricing section below shows how the two tiers compare at your specific dimensions.

Price by your dimensions

Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.

The from-price of £31.00 reflects the standard, non-motorised variants at the smallest available size. Made-to-measure pricing scales with width and drop, so larger windows will cost proportionally more. The motorised variants are priced above the standard chain versions, which is standard practice for motorised roller blinds across the market. The grid above shows the price at the dimensions you enter, rounding to the nearest standard production size as most UK made-to-measure retailers do.

How it compares

Against a standard polyester roller, the cotton fabric here offers a slightly richer texture and a more natural appearance. That can matter in a well-furnished room where a flat-laminate polyester would look too functional. The trade-off is that cotton fabrics are generally less hardwearing in high-traffic or high-humidity settings than coated polyester, and they may show marks more readily.

If light control is the primary concern rather than material aesthetics, a polyester dimout or blackout roller would likely serve better. The Marlow's strength is in its combination of natural fabric feel, a considered neutral palette, and the option to upgrade to motorised operation without switching to a different range entirely - useful if you're fitting several rooms and want a consistent look but different window sizes.

For those who need thermal performance as the main criterion, a cellular or honeycomb blind would outperform any roller fabric. The Marlow is not positioned as a thermal product; its appeal is aesthetic and operational.

Fitting and operation

Standard chain-operated rollers fit with top-fix or face-fix brackets into the recess or onto the wall above the window; the product page at Blinds By Post will confirm the bracket type included. Motorised variants will require a power source - check whether the motor uses a battery pack or mains wiring before committing to a motorised order, as mains-wired motors need an accessible socket or concealed wiring in the wall.

Made-to-measure roller blinds are quoted as width by drop in millimetres. Measure the recess width if fitting inside, or the desired covered width if fitting outside, and add the fitting allowance specified by the retailer.

Likely the same fabric, at other retailers

Marlow roller blinds are sold under the same name by more than one UK retailer, and the price scales identically across window sizes - a strong sign it is the same fabric from the same supplier:

  • Swift Direct Blinds from £10.75
  • Blinds By Post this page from £31.00
  • So Easy Blinds from £68.15

We match these on the shared name and an identical price curve, not an independent inspection, so treat it as likely the same fabric rather than confirmed - and check the specification and colour at each retailer before buying.

Compare these retailers side by side →