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Dual Zebra Shades
The everyday blind: light when you want it, and a way to cut the neighbours' view when you want, with no cord.
Texts every day, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. · Free consultation and quote · Text us
What it changes
The benefits
The dual zebra shade, also called a banded or day-night shade, uses two layers of fabric with alternating sheer and opaque bands. When the sheer bands line up, light and the view come through. Shift the fabric slightly and the opaque bands cover the sheer areas, reducing the view and softening the light.
Two blinds in one
A sheer by day, a closed blind at night, without changing products and without doubling the price.
Fine adjustment
Three inches more or less, and the room changes. In front of the TV, at the table, at the desk: you always find the right spot.
The look
The bands give rhythm to a window. White, grey, beige, charcoal, linen: it suits a modern decor as well as a more classic one.
Privacy day and night
Closed, the opaque bands block the view, even at night with the lights on — something a solar shade alone doesn't do.
Safe for children
Child-safe covered chain, cordless or motor: no loop within little ones' reach.
Very good, not expensive
A staple of our BlankBlinds line: a lot of blind for the price.
Some collections made in Quebec
Part of our collections is made right here in Quebec — ask us which ones during the consultation, if buying local matters to you.
How it works
How it works
- Two alternating bandsThe fabric is made of horizontal bands: one sheer (a voile), one opaque (a fabric), and so on. It passes over the tube, comes back down behind itself, and it's the offset between the two layers that opens or closes it.
- Open, closed, or in betweenSheer bands aligned: open, you see out. Opaque bands overlapped: closed, you can't see out anymore. And anywhere in between: a softly lit living room, without ever closing completely. That's what people love.
- A cassette at the topThe dual zebra shade always comes with a cassette — square, rounded, or fabric-insert, where the fabric covers the front. White, black or silver.
- Operation with no accessible loopAt home: the child-safe covered chain — the chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover, and a two-button handle slides along it: top button, the blind goes up; bottom button, it goes down. Or the cordless (spring-loaded) shade: you place the fabric at the height you want with your fingers, and it stays there. Or a Somfy motor. The regular chain, with a free loop, is now for commercial use only.
Gallery
Recent installations
Specifications
The numbers
- Fabric types
- Light-filtering or more opaquecollections and colours shown at your home
- Colours
- White, grey, beige, charcoal, linen and moredepending on the collection
- Residential operation
- Child-safe covered chain, cordless, or Somfy motorno accessible loop; no classic spring roller for dual zebra shades
- Commercial operation
- Regular chain (free loop)commercial projects only
All specifications
- Top finish
- Square cassette, rounded cassette or fabric-insert cassettealways with a 3 in cassette; white, black or silver
- Bottom bar
- Exposed aluminum, teardropwhite, black or silver
- Tube
- Aluminum, 1½ inenough for all dual zebra shade sizes
- Minimum motorized width
- 16 ⅜ inwith the most compact Somfy motor
- Maximum width
- 110 in (9 ft 2 in)beyond that, we install two blinds side by side
- Maximum height
- 144 in (12 ft)
- Mounting
- Inside or outside the frame, on the wall or the ceiling
What a dual zebra shade doesn't do
It doesn't give total darkness. Closed, the opaque bands block the view and strongly soften the light, but a little brightness still gets through at the edges of the bands. For a bedroom where someone sleeps during the day, or for a child who wakes up at the first ray of sun, you need a blackout shade — often installed behind a dual zebra shade, to have both. And on a large full-sun window, a closed dual zebra shade gets a bit warmer than a solar shade: the opaque fabric absorbs heat. We'll tell you at your home, in front of the window. For everything else — living room, kitchen, dining room, office, bathroom — it's the choice we recommend most often.
Where it goes
Applications
Living rooms
Softened for the TV, open to the garden, closed at night. The blind that covers the whole day.
Kitchens and dining rooms
Washable, durable, and never in the way: no chain hanging over the counter.
Home offices
Fine adjustment against reflections on the screen, without closing off the room.
Bathrooms
Closed for privacy, opened in one motion to air out. Fabrics that tolerate humidity.
Bedrooms, with a blackout behind
The dual zebra shade by day, the blackout at night: the combination we install most in bedrooms.
Condos and commercial
Uniform from one window to the next, can be motorized, and available with a chain for offices.
Certified Somfy Expert
Child-safe covered chain, cordless or Somfy motor
Three operating systems, all with no accessible loop: the child-safe covered chain for frequent adjustments, typical of a dual zebra shade; the cordless shade, for a look with nothing hanging; the motor for large windows, high ones, patio doors or remote control. The classic spring roller, which raises the fabric on its own, is reserved for solar and blackout shades: it doesn't exist for dual zebra shades.
Warranty. The fabric of our BlankBlinds dual zebra shades is covered by a 5-year warranty from Le Gars des Stores; the Somfy motor, for 5 years. The mechanisms are covered against manufacturing defects. An accident (a shade torn by a cat, a bar bent during a move) isn't a defect: we replace it, but it's billed.
Our warranties are in addition to the warranties provided by law.
- Child-safe covered chain: the chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover; a two-button handle slides along it — top button to raise, bottom button to lower
- Safe for children: no accessible loop, nothing hanging
- Cordless: you place the fabric at the height you want with your fingers, and it stays there. There's a spring inside, but it doesn't raise anything on its own: it balances the weight of the fabric
- Frankly: the cordless shade means bending down to the bottom bar. On a patio door, or when you no longer feel like bending down, we recommend the child-safe covered chain or the motor
- Somfy motor with rechargeable battery (Sonesse 28, 30 or 40) or plugged in; RTS remote or TaHoma for the app, schedules, Alexa, Google, Apple
- Certified Somfy Expert, motors covered for 5 years
Frequently asked questions
We answer
Is it a good choice for a window close to the neighbours?
Yes, that's exactly where the dual zebra shade stands out: closed, it blocks the view even at night, unlike a solar shade alone. It's the choice we recommend most often for the side windows of a townhouse.
Dual zebra, banded, day-night: is it the same thing?
Yes. Different names for the same blind with sheer and opaque bands. In Quebec, people mostly say “alterné” or “zébré”; elsewhere, “day-night” or “dual”. On our site, we say dual zebra shades.
Does it make the room dark?
No, not completely. Closed, it blocks the view and strongly softens the light, but a little brightness gets through. For a dark bedroom, we install a blackout shade — often behind the dual zebra shade, to have both.
Can people see me at night?
Closed, no: the opaque bands block the view even with the lights on. Open, yes, as with any sheer. That's the advantage over a solar shade, which lets people see in at night.
Dual zebra shade or solar shade?
Solar shade if the view is the top criterion and the window gets hot (lake, full south). Dual zebra shade if you want to adjust the light through the day and close it at night. Many homes have both: solar in the living room with a view, dual zebra everywhere else.
What is a cordless shade?
No chain, nothing hanging: you place the fabric at the height you want and it stays there. A spring inside balances its weight without raising it. You do have to bend down to the bar every time, though; for a patio door or an older person, we recommend the child-safe covered chain or the motor.
How does the child-safe covered chain work?
The chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover. Hold the top button and pull the handle down: the blind goes up; with the bottom button, it goes down. The chain stays out of reach while you use it, which makes it a safe operating system for the whole house.
Can it be cleaned?
A duster or a vacuum on low power, regularly. A stain: a damp cloth, without rubbing. The fabric is treated to resist dust.
How do I close the strip of light at the sides?
We add side tracks: rails on each side of the shade, like on a roller shutter, that trap the edges. It's an extra option, mostly requested for a home theatre or a night-shift worker's bedroom.
Do you have decorative or patterned fabrics?
Yes, in addition to plain fabrics, we offer decorative or patterned sheer and opaque bands — a more textured look, for a slightly higher price than the standard plain fabric.
How much does it cost?
One of our most affordable blinds, and we don't do low-end. The price depends on the size, the cassette and the operation: text us a photo and approximate measurements (width × height, in inches) at (514) 967-3629 for a quick estimate, confirmed at the measuring.
Where do you install?
The West Island and Montreal, Vaudreuil-Dorion, the South Shore, the North Shore, western Laval, and the Eastern Townships with our local team. Elsewhere, depending on the project.
Free consultation and quote
A living room to soften, a kitchen to dress?
Free in-home consultation and quote, installation included.
Text us a photo of your windows · Texts every day, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. · Free consultation and quote
Somfy®, TaHoma® and RTS® are registered trademarks of Somfy SAS. Reg. TM of Somfy SAS. Le Gars des Stores is an authorized dealer and a certified Somfy Expert.
