TOP Twinlight Samba Fabric
6 colourways, zebra: 6 cm sheer bands and 10 cm solid bands (2 1/4 in and 4 in), 280 cm roll. TOP Window Covering fabric, made into zebra shades in our Fort Lauderdale workroom and installed from Miami to Palm Beach.
A zebra whose solid band blacks out, in wide stripes for bedrooms and media rooms
Twinlight Samba is a 100% polyester zebra fabric from TOP Window Covering with wide stripes: a 6 cm sheer band and a 10 cm solid band, about 2.4 and 4 inches. At 272 g/m2 and 0.52 mm it is the heaviest Twinlight design in our library, and its solid band is opaque: TOP measures 0% visible light, 0% solar energy and 0% UV through it in Black, Gray and Ice White, the three colours with published figures. It is the zebra shade for a bedroom, a nursery or a media room where the owner wants stripes by day and a near-dark room with the bands offset.
Six colours run from Ice White and Ivory through Light Gray, Gray and Dark Gray to Black. In the three TOP measured, the light result is the same and the heat is not: the solid band reflects 73.1% of the sun's energy in Ice White, 51.8% in Gray and 3.8% in Black, which leaves Black absorbing almost all of it at the glass. Aligned, the sheer stripe passes 84.3% of visible light in Ice White, close to clear. The honest trade-off is the edges: offset, the fabric stops the light, but light still passes along the stripe edges and around the sides, so the room is near-dark, not blacked out.
What Twinlight Samba does on your glass, and what it does not
Best use
Bedrooms, nurseries, guest rooms and media rooms where a zebra is wanted for the look by day and the closed position has to go near-dark. On hot west and south-west glass choose Ice White or Light Gray; keep Black and Dark Gray for shaded windows and dark interiors. Decision: Samba when near-dark is enough, a blackout roller when dark has to mean dark.
Privacy
Offset, Samba gives privacy day and night: the solid band is opaque in every colour TOP measured, so a lit room shows as thin lines of light at the stripe edges and sides, not as figures. Aligned, it gives none after dark, because the sheer stripes are close to clear. The habit that matters is offsetting the bands at dusk, which a motor schedule does for you.
Glare control
Offset, Samba takes direct sun off a TV or monitor: the solid band passes no visible light, so a screen facing west stays readable, apart from bright lines at the stripe edges. Aligned, the sheer stripes pass most of the light and the sun lands on the screen in bars. No band position keeps the view and stops the glare at once; for that, a tight solar screen is the right shade.
Limitations
Do not buy Samba as a blackout for a bedroom that must be fully dark: light passes at every stripe edge and down both sides, and a blackout shade with side channels does that job. Black absorbs 96.2% of the sun's energy in the solid band and runs hot on west glass. It is also the heaviest Twinlight fabric, which we allow for when sizing the tube and motor on wide windows.
Twinlight Samba
6 colours. Zebra: 6 cm sheer bands and 10 cm solid bands (2 1/4 in and 4 in); 280 cm (110 in) roll.
Colourways
ECSM 280.005
ECSM 006
ECSM 004
ECSM 280.003
ECSM 280.002
ECSM 001
Swatch pictures and room photos: TOP Window Covering. Screens and monitors shift colour: judge on the sample.
Twinlight Samba in TOP's room photos
TOP's own photography of the fabric on a window, to show the colour and the weave. These are not Exotic Shades installations.
Every Twinlight Samba colourway, with TOP's published figures
Tv = visible light transmitted, Ts = solar energy transmitted, Rs = solar energy reflected, As = solar energy absorbed, Tuv = UV transmitted, in percent for the fabric alone, as published on TOP's datasheet; a dash means TOP publishes no figure for that colour. On the Twinlight sheets the main row is the solid band and the sheer-band columns are TOP's figures for the open stripe. We bring TOP samples of the colours you shortlist to the consultation.
Where Twinlight Samba works here
On the bedroom side of a South Florida condo, Samba gives you a zebra shade whose closed position goes near-dark. On west or south-west glass we would take Ice White or Light Gray, so the solid band sends the heat back out; Black and Dark Gray belong on shaded windows. Where the room should be as dark as a zebra can make it, we mount the shade outside the frame with an overlap on each side, so less light runs past the edges. Motorized, it runs on Lutron or Somfy.
Twinlight Twist is the other Twinlight design whose solid band measures at or near zero in every colour TOP published, with wider bands, a dimmer sheer stripe and Mocha, Sand and Khaki where Samba stays with whites, grays and black.
Twinlight Samba: frequently asked
Will the room be dark with the bands offset?
Near-dark, not fully dark. TOP measures 0% visible light through the solid band, so with the bands offset the fabric itself stops the light. What reaches the room is light along the stripe edges and around the sides of the shade, enough to notice at sunrise. For a bedroom that must be fully dark, choose a blackout roller with side channels or add a blackout layer behind the zebra.
Will the sheer bands let people see in at night?
Yes, when they are aligned. The sheer stripe passes 84.3% of visible light in Ice White, so after dark with the lamps on, the room shows through every open stripe. Offset the bands before the lights go on, or let the Lutron or Somfy motor do it on a schedule, and the opaque solid band covers the window.
Black or Ice White on a west window?
Ice White. Both stop the light in the solid band, but Ice White reflects 73.1% of the sun's energy back out through the glass while Black reflects 3.8% and absorbs the rest. A black shade on west glass gets hot and gives that heat to the room. Black is the better choice on a shaded window or in a media room.
How wide can a zebra shade in TOP Twinlight Samba be?
TOP makes Twinlight Samba in a 280 cm (110 in) roll. The roll width is the widest single piece we can cut, so one zebra shade can be made a little under 110 inches wide. Wider openings get two zebra shades side by side, set to move together, or a split placed where a mullion hides it. We confirm the exact limit for the operating system when we measure.
Which shades can be made in Twinlight Samba?
Twinlight Samba is a zebra shade fabric: one continuous loop of fabric with alternating sheer and solid bands. We buy it from TOP Window Covering and make the zebra shades in our Fort Lauderdale workroom, on a manual chain or motorized on Lutron or Somfy, and our own team installs them from Miami to Palm Beach.
Can I see Twinlight Samba samples before ordering?
Yes. Shortlist the colours here and we bring TOP samples of them to the in-home consultation, so you can hold them against your own glass in your own light. Our Fort Lauderdale workroom (4539 Powerline Rd, by appointment) and Miami Beach showroom (500 South Pointe Dr #150) have motorized shades running if you want to see one move.
Compare Twinlight Samba with
Twinlight Dixie
Fine stripes in nine plain neutrals, for the ordinary windows of a whole house
Twinlight Merengue
Wide bands in greys, Denim and Peach, for living rooms with large windows
Twinlight C-Screen
The fire-listed Twinlight: a PVC-coated zebra for hotels, offices and humid rooms
Twinlight Salsa
A light, wide-striped zebra for living rooms, chosen by colour rather than figures
Twinlight Twist
The thickest Twinlight: a near-dark zebra for bedrooms, with an 11 cm solid band
Twinlight Flamenco
A light-filtering zebra that softens the sun and keeps the room bright
TOP Twinlight Samba zebra shades in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton & Palm Beach
We buy Twinlight Samba from TOP Window Covering, make the zebra shades in our Fort Lauderdale workroom and install them with our own team from Miami to Palm Beach. Both showrooms, 4539 Powerline Rd in Fort Lauderdale (by appointment) and 500 South Pointe Dr #150 in Miami Beach, have motorized shades running so you can see how a shade moves.
See Twinlight Samba in your own light
Book a complimentary in-home consultation. Shortlist the colours you like and we bring the TOP samples, demo motors, and honest answers about light, privacy and what your windows need.