Blinds & awnings for Forest Town

What homes in Forest Town are like

Forest Town sits on the same heritage ridge belt as Westcliff and Parktown, a small and quiet pocket of older, established homes with mature gardens and the kind of tree cover that defines this whole part of Johannesburg. Many houses here have kept more of their original character than the busier suburbs around them — deep verandas, tall sash windows, high ceilings.

It's not a high-turnover suburb, so the work tends to be considered renovations rather than full rebuilds: restoring a window's original function without losing its look, or adding shade to a veranda that's been there for decades.

Which products suit Forest Town

Timber venetians are the strongest fit for original sash and casement windows, keeping the reveal and proportions intact. Where a home has an enclosed veranda or a larger glazed addition at the back, external venetians or motorised roller blinds give more serious heat control without looking like a modern add-on stuck onto an old house. A folding-arm awning suits an open veranda that's still used for entertaining.

Everything we know about how the sun crosses this part of Johannesburg through the year — and what we’d fit on each elevation, with the honest catch on every answer — is written up free in The Parkview Canopy & Light Almanac. No sign-up, and every figure in it is sourced.