Guide to Roman Shades for Windows Treatment

In the past month, we've gotten tons of great window treatment questions from our customers. Here's our favorite, and one we think is pretty widely applicable especially if your home lends itself to roman shades: Why choose a custom roman shade over another window treatment - and probably just as important - how do you choose?

So often, we come across homes where the design budget shot through the roof before window treatments we're even considered. We want to save you from this, or even worse, defaulting to the cheapest option that is probably not even appropriate for your situation.

Photo from Bria Hammel

While custom, full-length drapery has a well-deserved attention for its richness and drama, it oftentimes is not the best choice for your situation. Your home might not be architecturally set-up for those custom linen drapery panels because of your mid-century rectangular windows or lack of ceiling height. Because many homes are short on space, 65% of the rooms we see are prime candidates for the highly functional and visually appealing roman shades.

Window Roman Shades: 6 Questions To Start With

1. Do you prefer a window treatment that is a bit more streamlined, and less feminine?
2. Is your window located in a tight space, maybe surrounded by additional furniture?
3. Do you have a highly "busy" household (translated: active kids, dogs, and cats that own the space in question)?
4. Are your windows odd sizes, located in nooks, or hard-to-reach places?
5. Do you like simplicity and don't want to clutter your place with drapery?
6. Are you looking for window treatments for an office or other public space used by many people on a daily basis?

 If the answer was yes to three or more of these, then chances are custom roman shades are a solid option for the space in question. Such window treatments are highly functional and don't take up a lot of space, which is just what you need if you value simplicity. When incorporated into your design, you'll find these window coverings literally play with the way light is being filtered, giving different effects throughout the day. If your aesthetic is casual, very relaxed, and organic, then Belgian Linen Roman Shades are the epitome of that chill, a California-centric feel that you might be aiming for.

Pros And Cons Of Custom Roman Shades

We know that the choice of window treatments may be hard if you aren't a design guru. You probably don't know the benefits of roman shades compared to drapery or blinds and feel completely lost. Apart from the questions listed above, there are other things you have to consider. To help you out, Alva's roman shades experts have defined the advantages and disadvantages of custom roman shades. Spend a few minutes to learn the experience of the guys who know everything about window shades. This information will help you make up your mind and understand what you are looking for.

What are custom roman shades benefits:

Photo from Brooke Wagner

 To be sure that this shades are one of the best options for window treatments, check out their pros. Roman window shades aren't only about an appealing look but also about diverse functionality and durability. They will serve you for many years making your home more cozy and comfortable.

Here are some of roman shades advantages:

• Roman shades have a timeless design. The best thing about simple design solutions is that they always remain relevant while you change the interior details, repaint walls, or fully redecorate a house. You can choose basic flat or cordless cascade roman window shades manufactured from white linen and experiment with furniture and decor. They perfectly complement both bright colors and pastel palettes.
• Natural window treatments. Artificial fabrics will never substitute natural materials. 100% Belgian linen is great for your health and creates a peaceful relaxed atmosphere in a room. Moreover, it's easy to recycle and doesn't harm the environment. Alva recommends choosing 100% linen, but you can also opt for various fabric blends based on natural materials. They are slightly cheaper and allow designing window treatments to match any taste and budget.
• Improved light and heat control. Custom roman shades can rescue those who live in a hot climate, hate sun, or want to reduce the heat inside their house. Such window shades prevent UV rays from entering the premises. Thanks to this, your furniture, walls, and other elements of the interior design won't lose their color. Moreover, roman shades will lower the average room temperature, so you will feel more relaxed and enjoy the natural fresh air.
• Cost-efficiency. Since custom roman shades take much less fabric than drapery, they are cheaper. Besides, you can choose among flax linen, linen blend, or other materials that vary in their price. It's also worth noting than window roman shades reduce the use of air conditioning, which, in turn, allows you to cut electricity bills.
• Perfect for small windows. Drapery looks great in spacious rooms with high ceilings and large windows, but most people don't live like that. If it's your case, choose custom roman shades to decorate your window without taking extra space. Roman window shades are an excellent option for small windows located in hard-to-reach places.
• Easy to maintain and install. It's enough to clean them with an upholstery brush attachment once per week to get rid of dust. For maximum ease-of-use, you should opt for flat, cascade, or front slat window shades. Because of their curvy folds, relaxed or tulip roman shades are more likely to collect dust.
• Provide extra privacy. Custom roman shades allow you to achieve the necessary level of blackout with customizable lining. You can use only fabric to enjoy more light in your room or choose maximum blackout to block 99% of light. The latter option also provides moderate sound insulation. Such custom roman shades are very effective to get additional privacy.

What's bad about custom roman shades:

• Although window treatments are usually perceived as a small interior detail, they are essential for your comfort. Roman shades boast a range of advantages that can significantly improve your quality of life. For the sake of justice, we have to say that roman window shades also have some flaws. Make sure to consider them before deciding how to decorate your windows.
• Roman shades don't tilt. Roman window shades are nothing like vertical blinds that can tilt to any position. You can make them only up or down. As a result, open roman shades may not offer the necessary privacy, whereas in the closed position they will fully block the view from your window.
• Not the best option for high humidity. Natural materials don't like humid places, and linen isn't an exception. That's why we don't recommend mounting roman window shades in bathrooms, kitchen, or other places where moisture is likely to build up. Excessive humidity creates a friendly environment for mold, which is very difficult to eliminate, especially from white fabrics.
• Less sophisticated than classic drapery. If you like the luxurious look of drapery with numerous folds and expensive fabrics, custom roman shades aren't the best option. Although they look stylish, such window shades are rather minimalist and simple.

Now, when you got better acquainted with the pros and cons of roman shades, it's high time to continue with the style and other details. In Alva's online store, you can customize roman shades and enjoy maximum flexibility. Choose everything - from fabric type to control mechanism or blackout level. Thanks to such versatility, you will fully control the final look of the window roman shades.

Selecting Style Options

Photo by Alva

Selecting a style is your first cross-road! The best way we've found to think about style is thinking about how you prefer the shade to lie when in the "closed" position on the window. We've created a simple rotating image so that you can get the idea of how your shade will look when slightly raised.

Now let's talk in detail about each of the six types of custom roman shades Alva offers. Some of them look very minimalist, whereas others create a romantic and relaxed atmosphere in just a few moves.

• Flat roman shades model is great for fabric with complex patterns since it has no horizontal stitching. Not surprisingly, such roman shades are absolutely flat and fold into nice even pleats.
• Cascade window shades fold into a single stack and have back pockets. There is a counterweight at the bottom, which keeps the cascade shades in the even position when you lower them.
• Front slat roman shades are sewn with fabric pockets for horizontal dowels, which create elegant lines. The pockets are joined with flexible rods and rings attached to their inner side. Similarly to flat and cascade roman shades, the front flat style looks very neat and simple.
• Relaxed window roman shades have signature curves that form a graceful inverted arch. Alva's craftsmen manually sew all stitching for cord rings to ensure the highest quality. If you decide to choose this option, get ready to spend a bit more time on cleaning the folds.
• Pleated window shades feature delicate 6" folds with a hidden rod on the inner side. This style is great for plain fabrics since folding may interrupt patterns. The pleated roman shades are a popular choice for formal rooms or places that need extra privacy.
• Tulip shades are definitely the most sophisticated and exquisite roman shades. Thanks to their characteristic feature, two inverted pleats, they have numerous soft curves that look very similar to classic drapery.

Tips And Tricks On Choosing Roman Shades Style

Photo from Crystal Palecek

Although, we're fans of the Flat and Cascade styles due to their simple and modern aesthetic, don't be shy about giving the relaxed, pleated, or tulip roman shades a look. Here are two extra tips to consider:

Are you windows very wide? If so, then we suggest you rule out the Relaxed roman shade. Although, they're certainly on trend, and make for a laid-back vibe when paired with Belgian Linen. Since these shades are what we term "unconstructed", they'll gently bow when raised. Relaxed roman shades work best with windows less than 54".

Will you use your roman shades primarily for decoration, or will they go up-and-down daily? If daily use is what you're thinking, we suggest you rule out the Tulip shades, unless you don't mind spending 3-minutes daily to re-style the shade.

When you pick the style of window roman shades, you should also think about colors and patterns, cordless or motorized control types options. For example, you can use colorful geometric patterns to bring flamboyance to your interior. Bright designs look great in monochrome rooms with plain decor or furniture. Custom roman shades can become the final touch in your interior making it complete and well-balanced.

When it comes to the color of shades, there is one golden rule: Choose dark roman shades for light tones of interior decor and vice versa. Although this principle is sure to bring you success, we encourage experiments. Don't get too intimidated with design principles and choose what you like. To see an approximate result of your creativity, you can try different styles, materials, and colors on Alva's website. We provide an interactive design tool for every style of roman shades, so you immediately see how the chosen design looks on a window.

Style Finder. In addition to the Style customization functionality, Alva's website supports Landbot.io - a smart online design tool. It can facilitate your choice of window treatments and provide you some guidance on the available options. First, you should pick a room type you want to decorate, such as a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, nursery, and others. Then you need to choose the main reason why you want to cover that window (e.g., more privacy, peace of mind, prevent sun damage, for energy efficiency). After that, you have to select the amount of natural light, the direction of the primary light source, roman shades style, and other options. Once you have indicated all the settings, the bot will process the input to generate the best fit. Such a recommendation is based on your design preferences and functional needs. You should definitely try it - It's very exciting!

Evaluating Roman Shades Fabric

Photo by Alva

To kick things off, you're going to start the process with material. We're big believers in natural materials - like linen. Belgian Linen is an absolute ideal fabric for roman shades because of its durability and tendency to hold its shape. With its natural slub texture, linen does not shed fibers as many synthetic materials do. It also softens the more it is used and can last for decades when cared for correctly.

The fabric type to a great extent depends on the style of roman shades you prefer. Alva's professionals have tested different kinds of fabric and know which materials are the most suitable for which style. For instance, 100% Belgian linen has no limitations and can be used for any roman shades style offered on Alva's website. If you need something cheaper, you may choose linen blend for flat or front slat roman shades. Linen blend usually consists of linen and PES in different proportions, which allows to reduce the cost of fabrics. Apart from flax linen or blends, you may choose Cambria which has a broader selection of unique patterns and is manufactured from the combination of several fabrics.

Lining For Window Roman Shades

Photo from Bria Hammel

Once you've settled on your fabric and style, you'll need to consider how much light control you think you're going to need. Liners are the fabric that is sewn to the back of the shade, that will soften or completely block the light coming in, as well as give structure to the shade itself. Without the lining, your roman shades will provide weaker protection from heat and won't isolate you from street noise and sounds.

Want a happy medium? There is an option in between the white roman shades without lining and full blackout shades with 99% light filtering. If you want to enhance light control and get additional privacy, opt for roman shades with a partial blackout. You can customize the lining type regardless of the roman shades you order. A common scenario is to have blackout liners on the roman shades in your master bedroom or nursery, and privacy liners in a guest room. Should you be living in a colder climate, adding thermal backing is a solid consideration, especially if you find your windows let in a slight draft.

Mounting Choices

If you're still reading this, and you're feeling the roman shade will complement your space, then you're ready to decide on the appropriate mount. This is basically whether this will go inside your window sill or outside.

For Cascade, Front Slat, or Flat Roman Shades - we absolutely love installing these inside the window when possible. They'll fit flush, fell minimal, and allow any molding or border to accentuate the shade. Make sure you have at least 2" of depth

For Tulip or Relaxed Roman Shades - we generally like to suggest using an outside mount when possible. You can choose to mount this to a molding or at least 0.5" on both the left and right sides of the window. Although inside mounts are possible for these, due to the curved nature of these shades, the design and light control is generally better suited for Outside Mounts.

Controlling Your Window Roman Shade

Photo by Alva

Technology has advanced within the last few years in the window treatment industry. The introduction of Motorized Operation provides the ultimate in convenient, safe, and stylish way to dress your home. Although a decade ago motorized roman shades looked like something from a sci-tech movie, now they are widely used in many homes. Apart from the motorized control mechanism, you can consider other, more traditional options. Here are the most common control types for roman shades:

• Cord Lock. Window roman shades are controlled with a system of rings and a cord that create nice folds when the shades are raised. The cord hangs freely on the right or left side depending on your preferences.
• Continuous Loop. In this control type, the length of a continuous cord is used to operate a clutch mechanism. It's easy. You just pull the cord in one direction to raise them and in another - to open. It's a highly durable and, in a way, classic option.
• Cordless. It's the most suitable option for those who like a clean minimalist look without any cords. To operate such roman shades, you need to gently pull or push the bottom rail to the necessary position.
• Motorized. Operated by a remote, motorized custom shades are ideal for hard-to-reach places. A remote works on a battery pack or transformer and is supplied with the roman shades set.

If child safety is on the top of your mind, motorized or cordless controls are an excellent option for custom roman shades, and make for a safer environment for kids and pets. Outside of these, you may opt for hand-controlled options like Cord Lock or Continuous Loop. These mechanisms have withstood the test of time, and remain popular options.

How To Clean Window Roman Shades?

The best way to keep your roman shades in good condition is to regularly clean them. You can use a vacuum cleaner with a special brush for upholstery. Open the roman shades and carefully get rid of dust moving the brush from the top downward. Pay attention to the places where the shade folds since they are likely to collect dust.

In case you need to clean something more serious, like stains, wet a clean cloth in mild soapy water. Gently rub the stain until it completely disappears. If this doesn't help, you may try using a commercial stain remover for fabrics. Make sure the chosen detergent is appropriate for the corresponding textile and carefully follow the instructions of a manufacturer. This will help to quickly clean your roman shades preserving their color and functional characteristics.

Other than that, custom roman shades don't require any specific maintenance or cleaning. A few-minute regular routine is enough to make them look great.

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