There’s no place like home. That’s why it’s essential to feel good at your place so that anyone who visits you will instantly feel the same way and think, “Now, this is a lovely home!”
If you find yourself at a loss for inspiration or you don’t know how to make more space for better living at home, consider an easy and smart way of giving your home style a more fashionable and functional touch – Roman shades that fit your taste and personality. After all, they’re versatile, chic, useful and come in many forms.
This step-by-step guide will show you what Roman shades are, what types and styles you can choose, and how the right model can help you feel much more comfortable in your lovely home. Plus, you’ll get the right insights for home improvement and redecoration, if needed, and plenty of visual inspiration to decide on what are the best types of Roman shades to enhance your home style!
What are Roman shades?
Roman shades define any window covering or fabric shade that folds and is used to block the sun. They’re different from the standard window shades or blinds because they stack up evenly when you raise them and they look perfectly smooth when lowered. The “Roman” part of their name comes from the seat awnings used at the Coliseum, so Roman shades have been covering and beautifying our windows for centuries – no matter their size, shape or purpose.
These Roman shades blend both fashion and function in their craft:
- You get the privacy you need, at the pull of a cord.
- You have light control any time of the day – high-quality Roman shades are made from multiple layers of light-blocking lining.
- You also have temperature control – top Roman shades keep away unwanted cold and heat, so they keep a constant home temperature.
- Money saving and energy efficiency because you balance sunlight, temperatures, and privacy in any room.
- They help insulate against noise.
- They’re children-friendly (and even cat-friendly!) because they’re resistant and perfectly fit any window.
- You feel more space and depth when entering a room.
- You get a stylish window treatment for any room
- You can use your ideas and have superior handcrafted Roman shades made with your favorite fabrics, designs or features
- You get a fluid, neutral style that is not too masculine or too feminine.
From floral sheer Roman shades for a more bohemian style to country chic shades for a traditional style to bold colors and geometric patterns, there are plenty of themes to choose from.
Let’s find the right ones just for you:
The Best Roman Shades By Fabric:
Roman shades are made from a single piece of fabric that folds into a flat or hobbled style. There is a wide range of fabrics, but for this type of window covering, the most suitable are faux or natural linen, silk, and cotton.
Linen Roman Shades
This is the best fabric for Roman shades because it’s simple, fluid, and lighter than the other ones. Being lightweight means it won’t put much stress on the Roman shade mechanisms so it will last longer.
You can choose between sheer linen or blackout shades, depending on the amount of light allowed in the room. They are also a perfect fit for your living room and bathrooms because they bring more freshness and vitality into the room while providing a simple yet beautiful finish to any window.
Choose your favorite linen Roman shades for your cozy living room here
Silk Roman Shades
As you may know, silk is the fabric of sophistication and elegance and may be perfect for a rich and luxurious finish for window treatments, especially in rooms with a dramatic or aristocratic feel. Silk is sometimes associated with summer style and works excellently for a vibrant summery feel as well, if it comes in neutral tones meant to complement a minimalist and open space.
Being a smooth material, silk works perfectly for elegant Roman shades. If you want to make a powerful statement and add a touch of opulence to a living room or your home office, a silk Roman shade in color or in neutral tones will inspire you and those around you to anticipate greater things ahead.
Cotton Roman Shades
Cotton is the most versatile fabric because it can be both casual and elegant, and comes up in many colors, styles, and patterns. So cotton Roman shades will always be part of the home and decorating trends.
When experienced artisans handcraft them, cotton Roman shades can become amazingly good looking in any room of the house. It’s highly recommended to use cotton in such home products thanks to its easy folding and resistance to creasing.
Cotton fabric is thick and luxurious at the same time, so it’s perfect for bold, playful, or casual looks (for living rooms, nurseries, bedrooms) while having great light quality and privacy protection.
Faux linen, Polyester Roman Shades
Another highly recommended fabric for window coverings is polyester (or faux linen as it’s also known). It is reliable, more durable, and usually inexpensive. It has its charm and is loved by design-savvy people.
Being a synthetic material, it doesn’t let through moisture – making it suitable for a bathroom or kitchen. The biggest plus is that it’s the best fabric when it comes to choosing blackout Roman shades. The same goes for those with a combination of polyester and cotton linen.
The Best Types of Roman Shades for Light Filtering and Privacy:
Blackout Roman Shades
Speaking of blackout Roman shades, they’re the most popular among window treatments because of their high functionality. For room darkening, choose any fabric you want – except the sheer type – and enjoy a private space that’s better protected from noise and temperature changes. It’s ideal for children's rooms or nurseries because these blackout Roman shades can offer your children a good time for a nap or rest.
Blackout Roman shades are both stylish and practical in this sense and you can customize them if you want to make your creative ideas a reality.
Wondering about the best choice? Check these custom blackout Roman shades for your privacy
Sheer Roman Shades
If you’re looking for a soft, translucent effect, you should choose sheer shades. They offer minimal privacy without blocking the light and are considered contemporary Roman shades.
They are perfect for beautifully illuminated rooms that allow natural light to come in, which is ideal for personal study rooms, relaxing home offices, or your lovely reading corner.
Discover more beautiful sheer Roman shades in any color or pattern you want, here
Semi-sheer Roman Shades
You should opt for a semi-sheer window covering if you’re all about pure relaxation and comfort, but also keen on intimacy. These contemporary Roman shades enhance a modern, bohemian home style and add clean finishes to windows. They are preferred by people who love natural light in their creative home and their privacy.
Insulated Roman Shades
This type of window covering is best suited to rooms where you need all the natural light or no light at all. An insulated Roman shade improves your energy efficiency no matter the season, saving costs in your monthly bills. Also, they’re great when it comes to darkening the room at any time of the day for a quick nap or 100% privacy. Being highly functional due to their heat blocking properties, insulated coverings are a popular Roman shades choice.
The Best Types of Roman Shades by Fold:
All people, whether design-savvy or artists by nature, will surely agree that design comes first when it comes to choosing beautiful Roman shades for your house. And the design is mainly influenced by the folding mechanism, as you will read next.
Flat Roman Shades
This flat fold style is probably the most familiar type. It means that the solid piece of fabric used in a classic Roman shade has no visible seams and lays flat and neat when the shade is fully lowered (it has even sections). When raised, the folds are neatly-stacked. That’s why they have a seamless, minimalistic look.
Any design looks excellent when the flat fold Roman shade is closed or opened, so the possibilities are endless: it’s a perfect fit for large patterns, geometric patterns, floral drawings, Greek-style or any artistic pattern you love.
Overall, flat Roman shades offer a super clean and minimalistic look, yet elegant and stylish especially on French doors, narrow window and usually for bedroom windows – or in any space where you open and close them regularly.
See more beautiful colors and patterns for flat Roman shades
Cascade Roman Shades
Or “hobbled fold” or “soft fold” as they’re often called, due to their fold’s waterfall effect, are more of a traditional Roman shade type. They require more fabric which comes in loops all the way down the covering, so they make the room darker, but also more attention-grabbing.
Cascade Roman shades offer complete privacy and light blocking in any room, but they are more voluminous than flat shades. That’s why they require a certain window depth to keep an airy feel. This type of cascade shade is the best fit for large or formal rooms where you want to enhance a distinguished look.
Relaxed Roman Shades
As their name implies, this type refers to a certain laid-back flair that transforms any space into a cozy place or a pretty fashionable one. A relaxed Roman shade is carefully crafted to look like a gentle work of art: the sides come up while the folds bow down in the middle, in a curved design.
The homey yet delicate feeling is meant to enhance your home’s style, prove good taste, and make an impression on your guests. Because this type of casual chic Roman shade is less formal, it is used for bedroom or kitchen windows, and also in nurseries.
Enhance your home’s style with these contemporary, relaxed Roman shades from our collection
London, Tulip & European Roman Shades
These types are actually variations of the relaxed Roman shades, and the differences lay in the folding style.
A London type is more of a fancy Roman shade with eye-catching pleats that come in different styles, and sometimes in an unstructured line that sparks wonder in a country chic home decor. A London Roman shade is the right choice for the sophisticated ones, but also for those looking to take advantage of as much natural light as possible.
A Tulip Roman shade is the finest and most elegant statement on a classic window. Its lightweight fabric, as well as its signature inverted pleats, make this type a special one, resembling a tulip when half-raised.
European Roman shades are actually relaxed Roman shades with more curves, but softer and usually crafted with luxurious fabrics. Their decorative role beats the functional, so they’re not recommended for regular use. Instead, they will always add delicacy and a modern touch to a dining room or living room.
Find your style in this London & European Roman shades collection
Pleated Roman Shades
If you’re looking to add a subtle traditional look and feel, you can opt for pleated Roman shades. They have no slats but are versatile in colors and textures, and the soft natural light allowed into the room gives a certain charm to it.
The best decorative styles of Roman shades:
Modern Striped Roman Shades
The stripe pattern is so much fun and so adaptable in home decor that anyone can integrate a truly contemporary striped Roman shade in a room while also giving the illusion of a bigger and longer space (a higher height for the room).
Stripes usually come in many colors, but also in various types of widths. They can be combined with a monochromatic decor or other playful patterns like polka dots or floral print, but not excessively.
Get your modern stripe roman shade here and customize it for your home
Country Chic, Rustic Roman Shades
When it comes to a traditional or rustic style, you have plenty of home and decorating ideas to choose from. If you want to invest in something functional and always beautiful, go for the rustic style of Roman shades.
Pastel colors and Romantic, floral, natural motifs are what make them so popular among people looking for that “feels like home” feeling and softness in a cozy bedroom. You can choose a more neutral style by using farmhouse Roman shades in the traditional checkered pattern.
Classic White Roman Shade
Simplicity means abundance, as well. If you are a focused person who doesn’t believe in barriers, and who prefers a clean, minimalistic and efficient approach to anything, white Roman shades are the right choice. Moreover, white works great with any color and is the best choice for a small room or one that needs a lot of natural light, and also privacy.
Neutral Grey Roman Shades
Grey hues complement any style of interior design because they’re incredibly versatile. If you want to give an exciting minimalistic look to any room, choose grey hues combined with bold colors like cherry red, dark green or electric blue. Having neutral grey Roman shades in a place will add a sophisticated, cohesive look, without looking pretentious.
If you want to have an effortlessly stylish lounge room or a more conservative, but creative home office or maybe to have a chic living room that will impress even yourself, go for gray combined with intense colors.
Browse our made to order grey Roman shades collection here
Red Roman Shades
If you’re wondering how you could decorate a room to liven it up, go with red. Depending on its hue, red can be elegant and daring, but also cheerful and fun. If you want to feel more creative, focused, and energetic, choose red Roman shades if a room looks too dull or messy.
You can choose white and red fabric Roman shades for windows or French doors that fit your taste - from subtle, minimalistic designs to bold, cherry red patterns.
Check out a beautiful selection of white and red Roman shades for your kitchen or dining room!
Green Roman Shades
If you’re a nature lover and want to bring more vitality and harmony into your house, even when the window blinds are drawn, go for a vibrant green Roman shade or a green pattern that stimulate your positive mood. This color is associated with growth and energy, so it’s perfect for those rooms where you can restart yourself after an exhausting day - but also for an airy, fresh kitchen!
Browse more green Roman shades handcrafted to fit windows and French doors of any shape and size
Blue Roman Shades
Any hue of blue color in home decoration brings more focus to your thinking. As people say, you can get a sense of peace and balance while spending time in a room that has nautical Roman shades included in the decor. And it also helps you make decisions, so why not go for it?
Any hue of blue works ideally in combination with white or orange, especially for relaxing home retreats or open living rooms, but also for nurseries or children bedrooms. Also, if you want to remember what it’s like to be on vacation, choose navy blue Roman shades for your favorite room and start dreaming!
The best types of Roman shades by mechanism:
Chain Roman Shades
You can have the control option for your custom-made Roman shade either on the left or to the right, depending on your choice. This is the traditional mechanism and it’s easy to use or replace if needed, and can be hidden to keep the design of the Roman shades clean and simple.
Motorized Roman Shades
If you are tech-savvy and want to improve home efficiency with the help of automation, you can opt for a motorized mechanism for your Roman shades. As suggested by their name, this type refers to an automated, motorized lift system that helps you raise the shade accordingly. You can choose your preferred control option for any custom made window covering.
Top Down Bottom Up Roman Shades
If you want to have cordless Roman shades for your windows, you can choose a top down bottom up Roman shade. It gives you full control over your privacy and the sunlight entering your room. That’s why cordless blackout Roman shades are the most popular choice among homeowners. Plus, this type of top down bottom up covering allows you to lower or raise both ends of the shade.
All in all, don’t settle for pretty good when you can have the perfect Roman shade for any window or French door in your house. Why not feel great with a more stylish place to live in?
Get more style with your own customized, ready-made Roman shades for your dream house!