Step into the Brightshine showroom at Residium in Parnell, Auckland and you’ll find ten displays – each one labelled so you know exactly what it is.

Brightshine started out over 60 years ago cleaning and repairing Venetian blinds – and spent a decade learning what makes a good one before making any. That is why nothing in Showroom 160 | Section B, is left for you to guess at. Four of the ten displays deliberately pair two treatments on one window, which helps guide your choice of what to put on a particular window – rather than just what product to buy.

Four plantation shutter systems, with different mounting options:

• Z Frame – a custom light-blocking frame in 100% basswood with a soft satin finish, on the top-selling 88.9mm louvre. The Z frame absorbs window imbalances, which matters more than it sounds if your house is old enough that nothing in it is quite square.
• Hangstrips – an inside fit with narrow 35mm side stiles and a 76.2mm louvre, in a single panel configuration. Narrow stiles give away less of your window.
• Bi-Fold – free-floating bi-folding panels on a track system, with a top pelmet concealing the hardware and a bottom M track.
• Bi-Pass – panels that slide past each other on a track and pelmet system, shown with a fully lined textured curtain.

Two timber venetians, hand cut and hand sprayed in Brightshine’s own Auckland factory, custom made from 100% timber and finished in Resene colours:

• A 50mm slat in Resene Alabaster.
• A 63mm slat in Resene Nero, where the wider slats imitate shutters and give better light and privacy control. Wooden venetians create the shutter look for less, and this is the display that makes the case.

Two roller blind systems, a single and a dual, sometimes called a double roller:

• A single roller in a light filtering textured fabric, opaque enough for full privacy day and night – running on a quiet wireless battery motor. Battery power means no wiring to plan for, which is usually the barrier to motorisation.
• A dual roller on one slimline double bracket. It pairs a UV-rated sunfilter at 10% openness, sometimes called a sunscreen, which cuts glare and heat while keeping the view, with a blockout or blackout roller for full privacy and darkening. It is the day and night combination most people want long before they learn what it is called.

The combinations are one of the most valued features of the showroom – and the reason to give yourself twenty minutes rather than five. A blockout roller hung with a sheer curtain, where the roller darkens and the sheer softens, provide a cost-effective combination. A fully lined curtain over a 100% timber shutter, noted for its superior thermal qualities, because two layers over your window hold heat in a way one layer can’t. A bi-passing shutter with a lined curtain over it. Layering is how most good rooms are actually done, and it is close to impossible to picture until you are standing in front of it.

The drapery side is a working fabric library rather than a wall of pictures. Sample books from James Dunlop, Charles Parsons, Warwick, Zepel and Mokum are available so you can pull one out, feel the weight of it and compare two options against each other. A hardware board carries rods, finials and brackets – and shutter colour paddles sit on the console beside the Brightshine blinds sample book. Pick up a brochure the brochure while you’re here. It carries the full range, and a table matching each product to villas, bungalows, renovations and new builds – so you can work out what suits your place.

Blinds are made to measure in Brightshine’s own Auckland factory, usually inside ten working days. Shutters are the exception. In 2012 Brightshine went looking for a supplier rather than tooling up – and has stayed with the same one since. Its published guarantee runs three years from purchase, with free repair inside that time.

The space is self-guided. Open 7 Days, no appointment necessary, simply drop in and explore at your convenience. When you are ready to talk to someone, we’ll put you in touch with the Brightshine team, who’ll come to you for a free in-home consultation – or meet you back here at Residium if that suits you better.

Find Brightshine Blinds, Shutters & Drapery in Showroom 160 | Section B, easiest reached through the ABI Interiors showroom, 7 days a week at Residium.