A few weeks ago, we did a blog post on the classic flat roman shade.  These shades are best know for their clean, tailored look.  We thought it would be a good idea explain the different types of roman shade options available.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, they say.  So, we have tried to illustrate the types of treatments we offer by showing pictures of previous client’s projects.

Another variation of this shade is a relaxed roman shade.  This shade offers several variations to choose from, but the key difference between the relaxed roman and the flat roman is “volume”. In other words, are you more of a buttoned-up type and like things crisp, clean and neat?  Or do you kind of like the unstructured, soft and billowy look?

Classic flat Roman Shade

clean

modern

straight

tailored

Relaxed Roman Shade

soft

traditional

Poofy

Full-bodied

Now, I frankly love both styles, and have both in my house.

As we talked about in our last blog post on flat romans, they are pretty straight forward:  a very clean and tailored look.

Relaxed romans, on the other hand, offer a variety of different looks, fullness, softness and pleat styles: all open to your imagine and the look you desire.

I would classify relaxed roman shades into 3 basic categories:

Classic Relaxed Roman Shade

The above pictures are examples of simple classic relaxed romans.  They are an inside mount.  We wrapped the fabric around the boards at the top to provide extra fullness.  We also added to the length of the shade, so that we could have more pleats when extended.

This relaxed roman is the perfect choice of treatment to soften a bedroom.

Now below, we show an example of an outside mount.  Again, see how the fabric is wrapped at the top to provide more fullness in the middle. As a  variation to the classic relaxed roman shade, we haveve also added extra pleats and a 4 inch solid contrasting banding on the bottom.

A beautiful fresh and fun treatment for a kitchen eating area, the contrasting pop of color and softness of this window treatment enhance the room.

Below, adding some tassels to the relaxed romans, give them a little extra special pizazz.

Semi-relaxed Roman Shade

When we built our new home a few years ago, I knew I wanted a relaxed roman, but wanted a fresher modern look.  As I didn’t care for much fullness, I opted for a more semi-relaxed.

The fabric is not wrapped around the boards at the top so it is not as “poofy” as the classic relaxed.

With so many variations you can achieve many different looks with the relaxed shades.

The London Shade

If your motto is the poofier the better, the london shade is for you.  Typically, there are full pleats in the center, as well as inset from the sides, providing tails on the end of the shades.

The london shades above are full, soft, billowy, poofy…….you get the picture.

Hopefully, this post has made things a little clearer on what you need to consider for your relaxed roman shades.

For even more inspiration and ideas for roman shades, visit our Etsy Shop!

Happy Decorating!

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