DIY Tailored Roman Shades

Well, sort of. We've lived in our little house for 3 years and still don't have anything on the windows. Well, not 100% true, I suppose. We have vertical blinds-- probably the last remnant of MRN's home decor B.M. (Before Me). While they're perfectly utilitarian they're, well, perfectly utilitarian. Plus, because our windows are massive (seriously-- the ground floor-- containing living room, kitchen and laundry room, is smaller than my living room in my old Chicago apartment). The one in the office (which these shades are for) are the smallest ones in the house-- 3ft-3in wide x 5ft-4in long. Yes-- they're the height of the average woman. While it's great because it means lots of light (well, when the sun shines in England, that is), it's been awful for finding curtains or shades because the size means custom which translates to expensive.

I'd finally decided on roman shades because our rooms are small and all the windows have obstructions that would prohibit curtain rods or curtains (cabinets, closets, walls) and I like the look of shades over blinds. But as usual, my brain threw a wrench in things. I had an idea of what I wanted and couldn't find anything that fit the bill. I wanted something clean and tailored, maybe a geometric print in a fun color. Of course, everything I found that I loved was in the US. I couldn't find anything remotely similar here in the UK. And the crazy size plus custom sewing plus international shipping made for a $500+ price tag. No way. Exhaustive internet searches of every UK website yielded nothing. I couldn't find any pattern I liked and plain colors just seemed boring. And I just couldn't stomach settling for something while still paying exorbitant prices for custom shades. I even entertained (for about a half of a second) finding fabric and learning how to make my own roman shades, but I couldn't find any fabric that I could live with (oh, and I can't sew).

Oh, but while I can't sew, am not crafty and hate DIY projects, I can come up with ideas... and so this was born:

Plain white (translation=cheap) roman shade made to order to the window size (approx 50 GBP)















+

38mm black grosgrain ribbon (11 GBP for 50 yards-- I used about 4 yards, give or take)















=

Pretty perfect, tailored look

















Sometimes I CAN turn my ideas into reality.

Before: Vertical blinds

















After: Roman shades