Everything you need to know about Roman Blinds – FAQ’s

Roman blinds offer the practicality of roller blinds with the stylish drape of curtains. These blinds are classed as ‘soft cloths’, typically made from fabric which is structured to fold into pleats, creating a concertina effect. These pleats unwind when the blind is closed allowing the fabric to extend fully to cover your window, and form a neat stack at the top when the blind is opened, giving a luxe look 24/7! 

Available in a huge range of colours, prints and textures, our made to measure Roman blinds can be further customised with various lining types! Choose from upgrades including blackout lining, thermal lining, and plush bonded interlining on selected fabrics!

Much like a roller blind, Roman blinds are operated using a sidewinder chain to raise the fabric up, or lower the fabric down. Rather than rolling over a tube however, Roman blinds form a neat stack when raised, thanks to rods and cords stitched into the back of the blind to create a pleated, concertina effect as the blind is opened, which gradually cascades down until flat as the blind is lowered

You can choose from four different lining types across our Roman blinds - here’s a quick roundup:

Standard: Our standard lining comes free of charge on all lined Roman blinds and allows light to filter in through the fabric, perfect for rooms that need privacy without blocking out too much daylight.

Blackout: Blackout lining is available as an upgrade on all lined Roman blinds., Aas the name suggests, this lining blocks light from coming through your blind, perfect for bedrooms or TV rooms!

Thermal: Thermal lining is another upgrade available on the majority of our lined Roman blinds. This energy-efficient lining adds a layer of insulation to your window, helping to keep the heat out in summer, and keep heat in during winter, lowering your energy bills in the long run.

Bonded Interlining: Our ultimate lining upgrade, this plush lining gives your Roman blind a thicker look and feel. This lining also offers increased thermal properties when compared with our standard, or blackout linings. 

Thanks to the range of lining options, you can customise your Roman blinds to welcome in, or block out, as much light as you want. Choose from light-filtering standard lining or sunshine-blocking blackout lining depending on your preferences.

There’s no denying that Roman blinds are one of the most stylish window dressings. Favoured by interior designers, these blinds offer a traditional, luxurious touch to any space, with a huge range of textures, colours and fabrics to choose from. 

Though Roman blinds may be seen as more of a traditional option in the world of window dressings, our Twist&Fit Roman blinds are anything but! Saving you the hassle of drilling, our Twist&Fit upgrade is available on hundreds of Roman blinds, allowing you to install in seconds thanks to a tension-fit mechanism which holds the blind securely in the recess without the need for drills or screws. 

Whilst you can browse Pinterest and find inspiration pictures of Roman blinds in all sorts of rooms, we wouldn’t recommend fitting Roman blinds in bathrooms or kitchens as the nature of the fabrics can make them more likely to harbour odours. Check out our Bathroom Blinds page for our top recommendations for rooms prone to splashes and moisture!

As we’ll discuss further in this blog post, Roman blinds aren’t a simple wipe-clean window dressing like waterproof Roller blinds or faux woods. But don’t panic! Sprucing up these blinds isn’t too much work, it just means we wouldn’t recommend them for areas prone to splashes or stains! Read on for our top tips on keeping your Roman blinds looking good as new.

When it comes to washing your Roman blinds, dry cleaning is the option that we recommend. If you try to wash your Roman blinds at home you may find that the liner and outer materials shrink at slightly different rates, altering the fit of your Roman blinds. To keep them looking fresh for years to come, pop along to the dry cleaners and let them work their magic!

You certainly can! This old school method of cleaning curtains and blinds works perfectly well with Roman blinds and can save you a trip to the dry cleaners if your blinds only need a quick refresh. It’s important you use a soft brush or upholstery attachment on your vacuum if you’re going to do this, as to prevent any damage to the fabric of your Roman blinds!

For more tips on keeping your window dressings clean, check out our How to Clean Blinds blog!

Made to measure is kind of our ‘thing’ here at 247 Blinds, meaning all of our blinds are made bespoke to your windows’ measurements. You could order some Roman blinds and have a go at cutting them to size yourself, but why bother! All you need to do is provide your measurements and we’ll take care of the rest!

Every fabric we use to make our Roman blinds is specially selected because it won’t permanently crease when your blinds fold up. That way you never have to worry about getting the iron out before your guests arrive! 

Standard Roman blinds can certainly be fitted outside a recess, this option means you maximise the light that can come in when the blinds are open. Since we advise that blinds fitted outside the recess are sized so that they overlap the edges of the recess slightly, this option means your blinds will block more light out when closed thanks to the extra coverage around the sides. The only Roman blinds that cannot be fitted outside the recess are our no-drill Twist&Fit Roman blinds, as their mechanism relies on the walls of a window recess to stay put!

Fitting inside the recess is another great option and gives a contemporary and neat finish. This is also a good choice if you’d like to layer a pair of curtains over your blinds for an extra-luxe result!

At 247 Blinds we take safety seriously, which is why every blind we put our name to adheres to the regulations outlined in the British and European safety standard, as well as being compliant with the British Blinds and Shutters Associations child safety standards. 

All of our Roman blinds come with a safety device or ‘cleat’ which holds the control chain taut to the wall once in place. Just follow the safety advice we include in our fitting guides and you’re golden! If you have any further questions or queries, get in touch!

Measuring for Roman blinds is simple! First you’ll need to decide whether you’re fitting inside or outside the recess - which is easy if you’re opting to ditch the drill as we already made that choice for you! Next you’ll just need a tape measure and somewhere to jot down your measurements.

Measuring inside the recess. To measure for Roman blinds to be fitted inside the recess, simply take a wall-to-wall measurement across the top of your recess, where the blinds headrail will sit, this is your width. Then take a further three measurements of the wall-to-wall drop or height of your recess, to the left, centre, and right of the window. Select the smallest figure out of the three and use this as your drop.

Top tip: When measuring inside the recess, be aware of anything that may get in the way! If you have picture rails or tiling with a difference of more than 20mm from the width at the top of your recess, get in touch so we can ensure a perfect fit. 

Measuring outside the recess. To measure for Roman blinds which will sit outside your recess, all you need to do is take a width and drop measurement where you would like the blinds to begin and end! We recommend going at least 50mm beyond each side of your window recess to ensure good coverage.

For more information on measuring, check out our Roman Blind Measuring Guide, and Twist&Fit Roman Blind Measuring Guide or watch our handy How to Measure for Roman Blinds video tutorial!

How you fit your Romans will depend on whether you opt for our traditional installation, or Twist&Fit installation - but they’re both straightforward! Here’s a quick overview of each:

Fitting traditional Roman blinds. Your blind will arrive with ‘swivel brackets’, the larger it is, the more brackets you’ll receive. Depending on whether you’re top fixing to the lintel or face fixing to a wall or frame, you’ll position your brackets evenly, mark out where your screws need to go, then fix the brackets in place. Then all that’s left to do is lift the blind into the brackets and push the arms in to secure the blind in place.

For detailed, step-by-step instructions on fitting, check out our Roman Blind Fitting Guide.

Fitting Twist&Fit Roman blinds. The fitting process for Twist&Fit blinds is much quicker! Simply lift the blind into the recess, twist to secure into place, then re-velcro the fabric over the headrail.

For detailed, step-by-step instructions on fitting, check out our Twist&Fit Roman Blind Fitting Guide.