The Toulouse Textured range from 247 Blinds is a made-to-measure roller blind offered in 6 shades, starting from £15.05. It is a textured blackout cloth presented in a tight run of practical neutrals, so the whole range sits in the everyday-room palette rather than reaching for bold colour.
Who it suits
A roller is the simplest blind style there is - a single flat panel of fabric on a tube that draws straight up and down, with no slats to tilt and no folds to gather. That makes the Toulouse Textured range a straightforward choice for almost any room, and because the cloth is a blackout weave it earns its place in bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms where you want to keep light out. The textured finish gives the flat panel a little more surface interest than a plain matt roller without changing how it works.
The neutral spread suits rooms where the blind should recede into the scheme rather than stand out. Greys and black work well in a modern setting, while the cream, brown and white shades sit more comfortably with warmer or traditional decor.
The colours
6 colours available
The range stays within a neutral band: two greys (including a darker grey), a black, a cream, a brown and a white. There are no brights here, which keeps the choice about tone and depth rather than colour - a question of how light or dark you want the window to read. The two greys give you a lighter and a deeper option within the same family, useful if you are matching an existing grey scheme. Because this is a textured cloth, the weave reads differently in daylight than it does on screen, so it is worth requesting a sample before committing to a full-sized blind, particularly for the mid-tones where the texture is most visible.
Price by your dimensions
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Price up 7% since 3 Aug. (our checks since 4 Jun)
The figure above reflects the size and fitting you choose. The range offers two fittings: a standard fitting from £15.05, and a no-drill option that starts higher - useful where you cannot or would rather not drill into the window frame, on uPVC for instance, though it is worth noting as a clear step up from the standard price before you choose it. Rollers in general are among the more affordable made-to-measure blind types, and a blackout cloth at this entry point is a practical way to darken a room without a large outlay. As with any roller, the wider the window the more cloth you are buying, so a large door or patio window will sit well above the from-price while a small window stays close to it.
How it compares
Against a venetian or a vertical blind, a roller gives you no tilt and no individual slats - it is the plainest option, which is its strength when you want an uncluttered window and genuine room darkening. Where a venetian leaks light through the gaps between slats and so cannot truly black out a room, the Toulouse Textured blackout cloth is built to do exactly that. Against a roman blind, the roller is simpler and easier to wipe down, trading the roman's soft folds for a flat, low-maintenance panel. Within roller blinds, choosing a textured blackout over a plain one is about the look and the light-blocking, not the mechanism.
A note on care
A roller blind is one of the easiest types to keep clean. Roll it down fully and wipe the fabric with a soft, dry or barely damp cloth; the textured surface holds a little more dust than a smooth weave, so an occasional light vacuum with a soft brush attachment helps. Avoid soaking a blackout cloth or scrubbing it hard, as that can mark the coating that gives the fabric its light-blocking property. Let the blind dry fully rolled down before raising it again.