Roman Blinds – Alternate Materials for a Different Effect

Roman blinds are different from other blinds since they are not made out of individual slats but as one whole piece. This feature allows this type of blinds the ability to provide privacy and light control just like a curtain maneuvered vertically instead of horizontally across the window pane. Thus, the styles of which a Roman blind can offer depends much on the material that is used to make it. These materials include fabric, woven wood, bamboo, rattan and reeds.

Roman blinds which are made from fabric includes the diversity of the pattern and texture of the textiles used. The blind is then held down with stiff rods or with through the use of metal support, producing folds and creating the “hobbled” look or teardrop style. The fabrics used are usually light weight or medium and held up with strong headrails made from aluminium. The best thing about fabric Roman type blinds is that they are easier to install, detach and most importantly maintain. Having a white exterior to your Roman shade will keep the colors of the shades from fading, a flaw always inevitable in curtains. Nonetheless, care must be taken in the choice of fabric for your blind as this may not be so easily changed in the long term. The type of fabrics currently available is the translucent ones which are made straight from curtain textiles. With this type of fabric used, Roman blinds can easily blend in with home décor for that traditional and homegrown look.

Roman-blinds can also be made from wood, bamboo, reeds or a combination of either three of these sources. Bamboo and reeds are used as they are naturally cooling to the surrounding atmosphere. In line with the material used, the themes behind these natural blinds are incidentally more oriental, with names from Japan, China, Borneo and Mandalay.

Wooden Blinds Direct is a company that develops Roman-style blinds offering their customers a wide range of bamboo and reed woven blinds with designs such as Sumatra Natural Cream, Bermuda White, Borneo Warm and Java Slate. Shoppers can also go authentic with Hawthorn Dark and Honeycomb natural Roman blinds that retains the natural color of bamboos. Plus, no fabric design can top the Akita Tortoiseshell blind which takes up to half a year of bamboo cane drying to achieve the effect of the tortoise shell pattern. All blinds from this manufacturer fold up easily and comes with wooden tassels of matching colors.