Hunter Douglas, Luxaflex, and MasterBlinds: who does what—and how we choose the best for you

If you’ve ever wondered who actually makes your blinds and what the different brand names mean, here’s a clear guide. We’ll start with Hunter Douglas, then Luxaflex, then MasterBlinds—before finishing with warranty and what to do if anything goes wrong.

Hunter Douglas: the industry’s “inside”

Hunter Douglas (HD) is the engine room of modern window shading. They design and manufacture the components and fabrics—including Duette® cellular fabrics and hardware systems—that fabricators use to build finished blinds. HD doesn’t sell to homeowners; the finished product is built by a fabricator using HD parts.

Luxaflex: a wholly owned HD fabricator

Luxaflex is a wholly owned fabricator of Hunter Douglas. Luxaflex fabricates blinds using HD components at its main facility in Germany, which services the whole of Europe (including the UK). For commercial and operational reasons, Luxaflex chooses a defined subset of HD components and fabrics to standardise production at scale.
Because of that large-scale, standardised production, some models carry prudent maximum size limits. That’s a factory policy for consistent quality and logistics—not a product weakness.

MasterBlinds: independent UK fabrication (with HD components)

MasterBlinds is an independent fabricator based in London. They manufacture in the UK using the same Hunter Douglas components and fabrics (including Duette®). As an independent, MasterBlinds can draw on the entire HD range of components and fabrics where appropriate and is not bound by the same big-plant size caps.
We often specify MasterBlinds for unusually large windows, complex shapes such as motorised gables, and other projects that need extra configuration flexibility.

Motorisation: PowerView vs Somfy

Luxaflex: historically used Somfy widely; in recent years Hunter Douglas developed PowerView®—its own platform of motors, controls, batteries, and transformers—for most interior products. For certain large exterior systems (e.g. awnings/external screens), Luxaflex still uses Somfy.
MasterBlinds: uses Somfy across motors, controls, and power. This suits oversized, multi-blind, or integration-heavy projects and offers broad smart-home and building-control options.
The upshot: both platforms are excellent. We’ll match the motorisation to your window sizes, shapes, integration needs, and how you want to live with the blinds day-to-day.

We’re like an independent mortgage broker—just for shading

Think of us as independent shading specialists. Like a mortgage broker who scans the whole market to find the right deal, we’re not tied to a single manufacturer. We work with a number of high-quality specialist facilities—Luxaflex and MasterBlinds are just two of many—so we can recommend the best product for the requirement: reducing heat gain, cutting heat loss, controlling glare, improving privacy, or limiting ultraviolet bleaching.

Real-world examples

Example 1 (straightforward): a standard lounge window needing daytime glare control and evening privacy. We may recommend a popular Luxaflex configuration from the German plant because it hits the brief, looks superb, and fits neatly within their prudent size limits.
Example 2 (specialist): a large, shaped gable with strong solar gain and full motorisation. Here we’ll often specify MasterBlinds in the UK, drawing on the wider Hunter Douglas component set and Somfy motorisation to achieve the span, shape, and control the project requires.

Smart-home integration

If you want app control, scenes, or voice integration, both routes work well. PowerView offers a polished, brand-native experience for many interiors, while Somfy’s ecosystem shines on complex, multi-motor setups and plays nicely with a wide range of third-party systems. We’ll design around how you want to use the space.

Warranty (simple and consistent)

Whether your blind is fabricated by Luxaflex or by MasterBlinds, your cover is the same:

• 5-year warranty on products
• Labour and travel covered in the first year
• One point of contact: us—we manage everything

Because both are built on Hunter Douglas components and fabrics, you benefit from a consistent, robust technical standard—paired with our expert installation and aftercare.

If something goes wrong

1. Call us first. We’ll triage quickly and agree next steps.
2. Diagnosis & parts. We liaise with the fabricator (Luxaflex or MasterBlinds), order components, and schedule works.
3. On-site fix. Our installers sort it—swiftly and neatly.

Next steps

You don’t need to pick a brand. Tell us what you need your shading to do, and we’ll engineer the right solution—drawing on Luxaflex, MasterBlinds, and other specialist partners, all underpinned by Hunter Douglas components and fabrics.
Our Dundee and Edinburgh showrooms are open by appointment only so you get the undivided attention of a shading expert. We also offer home and virtual consultations. Call 0800 086 2989 to book.