Thursday, April 14, 2011

Roman Shades - Popular Window Covering Trend

Roman Shades Come in Many Styles:

As the popularity of using draperies and fabrics at the window has risen, the popularity of Roman Shades has also increased.  These shades operate as a complete window treatment and can be manufactured from many different materials, including many styles of fabrics and natural products like woven woods and woven reeds as shown in the picture from Hunter Douglas.

Roman Shades add style, softness and texture to the window.  This cannot be achieved by the use of blinds alone.  They can also be used in any room in the house.  Roman Shades use a minimum amount of fabric, can be designed to be used as a black-out shade or a light filtering shade; can be trimmed with contrasting hems, trim and other forms of design to make them truly unique.  Also, the use of natural hand woven materials provides texture while providing filtered sun control.  Flexibility of materials that can be used and style elements are the keys to their resurgence and popularity.

Roman Shades also offer softness at the window.  When pulled to the up- position they can look very much like a valance, yet when lowered give privacy and light control.  This way you get the contemporary, sophisticated look of Roman Shades but the added softness at the top of the window.  These shades are extremely versatile, they can stand alone or be coupled with draperies, cornices or other fabric treatments.  I love installing a window dressing using a Roman Shade for privacy, adding a decorative iron rod over the window then drapery side panels on each side of the window.  This look becomes a soft design that helps coordinate with the room's decor adding color and texture to the room.