Roman Shades
The 411 on Roman Shades
Roman Shades actually started in Rome. Back then they were little more than bunched up cloth on the window. What’s interesting is that they had a different purpose than we usually think about with blinds and shades. The goal of roman shades wasn’t about insulation as much as it was about dust. The Romans were going through an industrial age of sorts. They were building. Specifically they were building with Stone. We’re talking about enormous buildings such as the Colosseum. That much stone construction created a lot of dust in the city. As a result, Romans began to create what we now call roman shades to keep out the dust. The folds of the thick cloth helped to catch the dust.
Today’s roman shades come in two styles, flat and cuffed “aka curved”. The basic structure is the same. You have cloth that is pulled from the bottom up causing the cloth to fold on itself as the shade is raised. What those folds look like determines if it’s flat or cuffed. If the shade looks like multiple parallel folds on top of one another it is referred to as flat. If the blind folds up a little more haphazardly its considered cuffed. The cuffed shade is wavy and the folds just flop all over. Instead of the rigid structure of the flat shade, the cuffed shade is more casual.
Roman shades can come in varying materials and colors of course. Very thin cloth is called a “veil blind” while very thick cloth works as a blackout blind. They also vary in terms of installation. There are do-it-yourself kits you can buy and put them together yourself, you could start from scratch, or you can have them professionally installed.
Finally, let’s learn how to clean these shades. They are great at getting the dust out of a room. that means you’ll need to get the dust off of them. You could use a feather duster, but that would just knock the dust back into the house. You’d do better to take the shades down and shake them off outside. Because these blinds are cloth the method of washing and stain removal is varied. The best advice we can give here is to know what material you’re dealing with and look up best cleaning methods of that particular material. For example, cotton could just go in the washer. Where as silk would need a hand wash cycle. So be conscious of what material you have. You may opt to have your blinds dry cleaned.
Roman Shades add a neoclassic look to any home. If your home has columns or uses a lot of regal colors you should really consider roman blinds for your home. If you’d like professional consultation call us today at 602.418.1429