Featuring panels of fabric attached from top of the window frame, Roman shades are controlled by a pulley cord system that allows you to raise and lower them to easily adjust the look and how much natural light enters the room.

When raised, the fabric gathers into a waterfall of soft folds or flat layers depending upon the style of Roman shade you select. And when lowered, your Roman shades lay flat and smooth, adding wonderful colour and pattern to your room décor.

Roman Shade Styles and Features

There are two main types of Roman shades, with many variations of each; a ‘flat’ Roman shade lays smooth when lowered whereas the ‘relaxed’ styles remain lightly gathered when lowered.

Roman shades are made in a wide variety of materials, from bamboo to suede and hundreds of textile materials. This makes them suitable to almost any style of interior design and more practical and easier to operate than many styles of curtain panels or draperies.

Roman shades make a perfect compromise between window blinds or shades, which may not always match a room’s design aesthetics and curtains or draperies, which tend to be less functional and flexible.

Making Your Own Roman Shades

Roman shade pull-cord kits are readily available for those who have sewing skills and wish to make their own window coverings or you can select from a myriad of pre-made Roman shades in any style, colour scheme, pattern and fabric weight desired. Look online or in your local craft or home improvement store for Roman shade patterns and templates if you choose to make your own.

Fabric weight should generally be on the lighter side so that it will gather correctly into soft folds that are so characteristic of a Roman shade. Additional features such as blackout linings or a reverse top down/bottom up pulley system add further flexibility to your Roman shade selection options.

Be sure to read our tutorial on how to make your own Roman Shades for complete how-to instructions!

Roman Shade Styles Galore

With clean, classic lines, Roman shades are made in such an amazing variety of styles that choosing the right ones for your home décor can be challenging and confusing. Here is a break down on what to look for in Roman Shade styles:

Classic Roman Fabric Shades

Classic Roman fabric shades are always popular, with inverted, seamed folds that are well-defined when raised and clean horizontal lines when lowered. Classic fabric Roman shades offer good insulating value and flexible light control.

Soft Roman Fabric Shades

With elegantly draped, overlapping folds that fall at neatly spaced intervals, soft Roman shades can be topped with a fabric valance for a true designer look. The softer look of these Roman shades is accentuated by even folds when raised and a full look when lowered.

Flat Roman Fabric Shades

Flat Roman fabric shades are perfect for the casual, modern décor, offering a clean, uncluttered look. The flat Roman shade will hang flat when lowered and fold up neatly at the top when raised.

Solar Roman Shades

If you want a Roman shade that protects your interior, furnishings and upholstery from the harsh UV rays of direct sun, a Roman shade made with solar material fits the bill. The semi-sheer look of solar material gives your room a soft glow, keeping the room light and airy while still offering solar protection.

Blackout Roman Shades

If you need to darken a room completely, look for Roman style shades with a lining made with special blackout material.

Relaxed Roman Fabric Shades

With a relaxed swag on the bottom hem, a relaxed Roman fabric shade will give your room a comfortable, casual look. When lowered, the fabric falls smoothly and evenly, while the swag at the bottom adds a stylish decorator touch.

Natural Woven Flat Fold Shades

Nothing offers the natural warmth and texture of a woven shade. Choose from bamboo or woven blends to give your window treatment a warm and inviting look. When raised, the woven shade stacks neatly into flat folds and when lowered it lies flat and smooth. Woven flat Roman shades make a great alternative to regular bamboo or woven wood blinds.

Additional Roman Shade Variations

The variation of styles and materials is what makes Roman shades so attractive to homeowners and consumers looking for a unique, affordable window covering alternative. In addition to the styles mentioned above, look for these additional styles and variations:

• The Fresno style Roman shade incorporates a fabric end that is flared and fan-shaped at the bottom.
• The Belaire style Roman shade is finished with a curved arch shape. Typically the Belaire shade features a vertical pleat that runs up the middle of the shade.
• A Roman shade can also be fastened with decorative ribbon or cloth ties when rolled to the top of the window, enhancing its look and making it easy to fasten in place when raised.

Minimalist, contemporary and cost-effective roman blinds remain one of the most popular home window fashions because they are simple, easy to clean and stylish.

Available in a wide range of fabrics, colours, patterns and styles, roman blinds provide versatile light filtering and control and can be made to match any room décor in your home or apartment.

A roman shade folds up accordion-style, either from the bottom up or top down, and operated either by lift cord or cordless lift system and attaches either inside the window opening or outside the window alcove.

Roman blinds and shades add a unique designer look to your room decor while also being versatile and easy to operate as window dressings!

Why Choose Roman Shades?

A roman shade makes a versatile, attractive window dressing with many advantages over other window coverings. When you raise your roman shade, it gathers at the top of the window opening, providing a decorative window top treatment and allowing as much natural light as possible into the room. Lowering the shade will filter or block out light, depending on the type and weight of fabric you select. Putting the roman blind down gives you privacy when needed.

Elegant and simple, the roman blind can be made in nearly any fabric you like; some provide light filtering while others are more suited to darkening the room. You can install a roman shade by itself or in tandem with other window treatment elements such as a valance, side curtains and decorative hardware for a unique designer look.

Types of Roman Blinds and Shades

With so many options from which to choose, selecting the right roman blinds can be a fun and challenging part of your interior design project. Follow these tips to select the style of roman shade that best suits your room décor:

Bamboo Roman Shades – give your room a natural texture and warmth with a roman shade made of thin bamboo canes, jute, grasses or other similar woven wood fabrics. Opaque, the bamboo roman shade will create a dappled effect of light on your walls and floors as the sunlight shines between the weave; choose a denser bamboo fabric to block out light and darken the room or a lighter weave if you prefer to let in more filtered light.

Roman blinds make an elegant window treatment in this traditional style home office decor.

Fabric Roman Blinds – fabrics can be selected to go with almost any home or room décor. From elegant silk or damask to floral prints, vibrant stripes or bold geometric shapes to solid colours, you have an infinite array of fabric choices when selecting panels for your roman shades. Some roman shades will have flat panels, while others may be hobbled or gathered to add depth and flowing curves.

Insulated Roman Shades – if you live in a very cold climate or have “drafty” windows, you may want to consider insulated roman shades to help keep your room cosy and warm on those cold days.

Relaxed Roman Shades – with a less formal shape and swag look, a relaxed roman shade is great if you have a country style room décor. Usually the relaxed roman shade will be chosen in a plain, light-coloured fabric since the style can be overdone if loud plaids or stripes are chosen.

Choosing Roman Shade Colours and Patterns

Most roman shades are available in either light filtering or room darkening fabrics. Coordinating colour and pattern with the weight of the panels selected will ensure you get the look you want and also enough light and privacy control to suit any room. Follow these tips when selecting your colours and patterns:

Stripes and Patterns – stripes and patterns fit in well with many décor styles, including transitional, contemporary or traditional. Pair them with solid-coloured draperies for a nice designer look.

Solids – choose solid colours to solidify or accent your room’s colour palette; if you have used a rich red or earthy brown in your furniture upholstery, you can pick up this colour and use it as a solid fabric colour for your Roman blind. Or, you might choose something bright that accents the room; be careful not to overpower the room though.

Textures – whether you use the look of woven wood fabric as mentioned above or you prefer the texture of brushed suede, a knitted pattern, smooth and shimmering silk or a translucent sheer fabric, texture play an important part in how well your roman shade matches the rest of the room décor.

Pair your Roman shades with decorative curtains to add style and light control to your window dressings.

Roman Shade Lift Controls

While traditional roman blinds are operated using a simple cordless lift, today manufacturers offer several lift options:

Cordless Roman Blind Lift System

• Creates a clean, finished profile and no dangling lift cords to distract the eye
• Just pull up on the handle to open and push down to close your roman shade
• Absence of lift cords provides enhanced safety in a home with children and/or pets

Top Down/Bottom Up Roman Blind Cordless Lift System

• Provides more versatile light and privacy control
• Lower the shade from the top down, bottom up or both to give your window a different look as desired

Top Down/Bottom Up Lift Cord

• Use a cord lift to lower the shade from the bottom up, top down or both
• Available in longer and wider variety of sizes for custom-sized or larger windows

Continuous Cord Loop

• No cords dangling; cord is the same length no matter the position of the shade
• Continuous loop operation makes it easy to open wider, heavier shades, making it a good choice for covering a large window opening

Roman Shade with 2-on-1 Headrail

• Made to accommodate very wide windows or multiple window openings along a single wall
• Has two roman shades hung on a single headrail unit, each operated separately.

Bamboo roman shades are easy to maintain and keep clean, whereas any fabric shades collect dust, cobwebs and grime. This is one great reason to choose bamboo roman shades.

Anther great quality of bamboo is that is comes in many color tones; reds, browns, yellows, or nearly white. So, you have a great variety of colors from which to select or even combine.

Bamboo roman blinds can also be made in many styles. You can have shades made from very small pieces, like matchstick-sized, or choose flatter, rounded shades that look more like traditional blinds.

Coordinate your room’s decor with bamboo mats or area rugs for an exotic feel. This will tie your decor together, and your can add some color with accent pieces and accessories.

For an exotic designer touch, you will want the stylish bamboo roman shades for your window treatments.

You can complete your window treatment with a bamboo valance, banding the edges banded with a nice fabric to add color and depth.

Bamboo roman blinds are light weight, so shipping is affordable if you buy online at a discount and are very simple to install.

They let in light but are also provide superior privacy.  You can also get bamboo roman shades with fabric backing that can be detached to let more light into your room.  Since the fabric is light weight, it won’t hinder lowering or raising the blind.

You can open the Roman blinds from either the top down or the bottom up, giving you even more options to change the look of your window treatment.

If you really like the natural texture and beauty of bamboo, consider using bamboo wood flooring and your bamboo roman blinds will complete the natural and exotic feeling this exotic flooring material provides.

The evergreen and humble Roman blinds can be used in any room and on any window with the same exquisite effect.

No matter what’s the style of your home, Roman Blinds can just fit in every room with panache.

The Roman Blinds are known to lend the good old contemporary look to your modern home.

And if your home resonates traditional values, you can safely bet on the Roman shades to add the missing luster.

Versatile Roman shades can easily be combined with curtains or draperies to create a very unique and distinguished window treatment.

Believed to have made their appearance at the Coliseum in Rome during the Roman Empire, the Roman shades have evolved from just damp clothes hanging on the open-air windows to some nicely woven fabric that is sturdy enough to keep elements at bay and elegant enough to capture the imagination of every onlooker.

With easy-to-operate features, Roman Blinds can be easily raised or lowered as desired. This is made possible by cords on the backside of the blinds, which are threaded through a series of rings that are evenly spaced at regular intervals along with horizontal battens.

Lowered or raised, the elegance of Roman Blinds is never lost. They can be easily made to measure and even custom made to suit specific requirements on typical windows.

Easy to make, easy to install, and easy to maintain features of Roman Blinds make them favorite among the connoisseurs of contemporary homes. If you are prepared to spend some time, the Roman Blinds can be easily prepared at home with the necessary tools and required instructions.

Roman Blinds come in different varieties. These are – flat, semi-folded, and fully folded. However, the best part of Roman Blinds is the choice of fabric. The wide variety in terms of fabric used to prepare Roman Blinds makes up for the absence of wooden or aluminum blinds.

A single panel of fabric is used to prepare Roman Blinds with the help of a string, which is made to run the entire length of the fabric so that when the cord is pulled, it raises the blind in a uniform manner.

If you are having second thoughts about the availability of Roman Blinds within your budget, put them at rest. Roman Blinds are available at very competitive prices that offer value for every cent you spend on decorating your windows.

Overall, Roman Blinds are not just another home decorating expenditure, but rather an investment which enhances the re-sale value of your home.

With clean, stylish lines, Roman blinds, or Roman shades as they are also known, are one of the most fashionable, and affordable, ways to dress up a window.

They can be used as a separate window treatment fitted outside the window or fitted inside the window alcove and combined with curtains coated look.

Made from your choice of pleasing fabric colours and patterns, Roman shades have become very popular these days.

Roman shades add elegance to any room without spending a fortune. You can also combine them with other window coverings such as pleated or Venetian blinds.

Many times the Roman shades will be made using a single colour for the shade itself, and a complementary colour and pattern creates the matching top. Roman shades allow you to flexibly control the amount of light coming into your room and how much privacy you want.

Depending on how your room is situated and whether you need more or less privacy and ability to block out sunlight, you can simply choose a heavier or lighter weight fabric for your Roman shades.

You can also combine Roman blinds with other window treatment options, such as draperies with tie backs, to further control light and privacy, as well as giving your window treatment a more unique design.

Roman shades are very well suited to tall windows. Here, they work well in a bay window space with window seat and side curtains, creating a wonderful place to curl up with your favorite book.

Roman blinds are typically made using a single panel of fabric, giving them a clean, minimal style; although you can also get fancier shades with piping, scallops and other decorative features. Basic, pre-packaged Roman shades are generally available from local suppliers.

You can also create or purchase custom made Roman blinds. Learn How to Make Your Own Roman Blinds in our exclusive step by step guide.

If budget is tight, you can find many inexpensive fabrics at your local fabric store or shop online and save even more. The quality of the material and pattern design typically determines the price of these fabrics.

You can also purchase pre-packaged quality Roman shades on the Internet, with hundreds of patterns and styles from which to choose at a substantial discount versus what local retailers often charge. Most online suppliers offer custom size and patterns to match any window or room decor.

A supple Roman shade is more often than not sold without horizontal rods. The horizontal rods can be purchased separately to give the blind a unique decorator look. Other options offered include coating, piping, blackout lining and scallops.