We Answer Wednesday - 3 Styles of Roman Shades

“I love the look of roman shades but am not sure which style to incorporate into my home. Any suggestions?”

We also love Roman Shades! They are a great option because you can see way more of the pattern this way. There are also a few different ‘shape’ options for these. Roman shades are a really great option if you are looking to add window treatments to a smaller room because they are most often mounted inside the trim. This way you are not losing any wall space.

 

One negative about having Roman shades is that they take a little more TLC to make them look right. When you put them up, you often have to re-fold and line them up to make sure the fabric isn’t wrinkled. Let’s call it “train your shade”. When using a lighter fabric, this is less of an issue because it will typically fold into the correct shape. This will mostly need to be done with a heavier fabric.

Roman shades are great in bedrooms because they can also be lined. This way you get the look and the darkness/privacy you would with drapery panels.

There are a few styles that you can have of roman shades..

Flat Roman Shade: a more modern look, it shows off the pattern so well and isn’t fussy. It can also work very well on French doors. See the image below, you can see the simplicity of this shade.  We like this style in a 'busier' pattern as the print becomes the focus.

 

Relaxed Shades: a more traditional option but can still work in any space. I would say that they are “prettier” and “softer” than a flat Roman Shade because of the curvature. Because they have less construction they will bow more in the middle which gives them that beautiful shape. The only downside to a relaxed shade is because there is less structure they shouldn’t be done on a window wider than 54”. It was sag more in the middle. If you window is larger than 54”, consider doing two smaller shades instead.

 

Butterfly Shades: These are very traditional. A butterfly shade has a swoop in the middle and ties on the end. Almost like a small bow on either sides. They are very feminine and soft and look great in a light colour. 

 

Roman shades can be mounted inside or outside the trim. If you have beautiful trim you want to show off or a smaller space you don’t want to cover the walls, we suggest an inside mount. The great trick with an outside mount is that you can give the illusion of a larger wall/window but mounting higher up than the window starts. This will elongate the window and also give you more space to show off that beautiful fabric!