With their clean, tailored look, roman shades are one of the most versatile window treatment options. Roman shades are available in a wide range of fabrics, colors, and operating systems to complement any decor.
With so many choices, it can be tricky to select the perfect roman shades for your home. Keep these tips in mind to help you pick shades that will match your style and function beautifully.
1. Consider the Room’s Decor Style
One of the first steps in choosing roman shades is determining the decor style of the room. Do a quick audit of the room’s features and furnishings to define its overall aesthetic.
Formal living rooms and studies often have a more elegant traditional vibe. Casual family spaces tend to be relaxed and laidback.
Once you have a sense of the room’s style, you can select roman shade fabrics and prints that will complement that look and feel.
Luxe fabrics like silk and velvet make sense in formal rooms, while casual spaces can rock corduroys, linens, and breezy natural fibers.
2. Assess the Room’s Lighting Needs
The amount and direction of natural light a room gets should play a key role in choosing roman shade fabrics. Light and airy rooms with ample windows require lighter, sem-opaque shades.
North facing rooms with low light would do best with light-filtering shades in pale hues.
South facing spaces prone to glare and heat gain benefit from darker, opaque roman shades to block light when needed. Blackout lining added to shades can make rooms pitch black for daytime sleepers.
Analyze the room and select shade fabrics that control light optimally.
3. Think About Privacy Needs
Privacy is another factor that will help steer you towards certain roman shade materials and options.
Rooms where you’ll want to block views in occasionally like bedrooms and home offices do well with opaque and blackout roman shades.
More public living spaces may only need light-filtering shades. If you’ll want to lower shades often for privacy, choose cordless roman shades for smooth, easy operation.
Automated shades can provide privacy at the touch of a button. Consider both your privacy and convenience needs.
4. Consider Ease of Maintenance
Some roman shade fabrics like cottons and linens are machine washable for easy maintenance. More delicate materials like silk and velvet should be dry cleaned only.
If your shades will get a lot of use, machine washable cottons or poly blends may be your most practical choice.
For rooms where you want easy day-to-day upkeep, roman shades with wipeable materials and protective coatings make sense.
Faux leathers and poly blends simply need an occasional swipe with a damp cloth to refresh. Analyze your lifestyle and opt for low maintenance fabrics when needed.
5. Complement Existing Features and Finishes
Take a look at your room’s existing molding, window frames, and hard surfaces when selecting roman shades. Choose fabrics and colors that will integrate nicely with these features.
For example, rooms with white trim and neutral walls often look best with simple white or beige roman shades.
Rooms with warm wood tones throughout may call for roman shades in cream, taupe or woodsy colors like olive and brown.
Printed roman shades should subtly pick up colors from the room’s furnishings and palette. Well-chosen shades blend in beautifully rather than compete.
6. Natural Fibers for a Relaxed Vibe
Window treatments roman shades made from natural fibers like linen, jute, and cotton exude an easygoing, laidback vibe perfect for casual settings.
Breathable open-weave linens allow sunlight to filter through softly for a bright coastal cottage or farmhouse feel.
Textured jute and seagrass shades add organic warmth. Soft, lightweight cottons make for refined yet relaxed roman shades.
Informal family spaces, kitchens, and sunrooms shine with shades made from natural plant-based fibers.
7. Rich Velvets and Silks for Formal Rooms
On the opposite end of the spectrum, velvet and silk roman shades convey elegance and luxury. The rich depth and luster of velvet makes it perfect for formal living spaces.
Cut velvet shades with a faint pattern add dimensional texture.
Silks infuse windows with a refined sensibility, draping beautifully when raised. They come in a stunning array of solids and subtle prints to elevate any room.
Paired with details like trim and tassels, velvet and silk roman shades create a glamorous picture window.
8. Choose Blackout Options for Bedrooms
For maximum darkness and privacy, bedrooms often benefit from roman shades with blackout options. Several features can make shades nearly or totally blackout when lowered:
- Opaque fabrics in darker colors
- Backing made from blackout lining
- Side channels that minimize light gaps
- Weighted hem bars that seal light out
Kids’ rooms, nurseries, and home theaters also do well with fully blackout roman shades for uninterrupted sleep, play, or viewing. Light-blocking roman shades provide peace and tranquility.
9. Go Cordless for Safety and Convenience
Roman shades with cordless lifting systems provide easy, safe operation for most rooms. Cordless shades lift and lower smoothly with a gentle push or pull on the bottom hem or handle.
Many offer rechargeable batteries to power their lift systems.
Cordless roman shades are ideal for children’s rooms, nurseries, and other spaces where corded shades could pose safety risks.
Even for adults, cordless shades offer convenient one-handed operation that corded shades can’t match.
With all the available styles, prints, and fabrics, roman shades can complement any aesthetic beautifully. Assess the room’s needs and overall look to guide you to the perfect custom roman shades.
Tailored shades in fabrics and colors that fit your decor add beauty, functionality, and an extra touch of luxury.