Drapehaus
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Roman blinds simulator
A Roman blind is a flat panel of fabric that lifts into soft folds. It has the look of a curtain and the footprint of a blind. Raise it below and watch the folds form.
Roman · Midday
Treatment
Time of day
Fabric that folds up in soft pleats — the look of a curtain in the footprint of a blind. Lined, it is fully private at night.
In short
Roman blinds are lifted by cords that run up the back of the fabric, gathering it into folds. Lined, they close fully private at night, which a light-filtering roller does not. The trade-off is the stack: raised, the folds sit in the top of the window.
Using the simulator
The simulator opens on Roman. Drag the Raised slider up from 0% and watch the folded bands gather along the bottom edge as the fabric lifts.
At 0%, read the meters at Midday: Daylight in Low, View out None, Daytime privacy High.
Switch to Night. Privacy, lights on stays at High, because the drawing's Roman is a lined fabric.
Click Roller in the Treatment row and repeat. Note the brighter room by day and the lower privacy at night.
What the simulator shows
A Roman is a flat blind in a real fabric, often linen, cotton or a woven blend, usually lined. Across the back run thin rods or battens in pockets, spaced evenly down the drop. They keep each fold crisp and level.
Lowered, it hangs as a flat panel with faint horizontal lines where the rods sit, which the simulator draws as shaded bands across the fabric.
Cords run from the headrail down through rings sewn to the back of the blind, to the bottom rail. Pull the cord, or run the motor, and the bottom rail rises first. It lifts each rod in turn, and the fabric between them folds into a neat stack.
The stack does not disappear. Fully raised, a Roman still fills a band at the top of the window, deeper for a long drop or a heavy fabric. Fixing the blind above the opening, as the drawing does, lets most of that stack sit on the wall rather than across the glass.
A roller disappears into a slim roll when raised. A Roman keeps its folds in view. A roller is one flat sheet, often synthetic and wipeable. A Roman is soft furnishing, with a lining behind it.
In the simulator, a lowered roller lets more light through by day and drops to Good privacy at night. The lined Roman stays at High. That lining is what makes a Roman a bedroom blind.
In a bedroom, a Roman with blackout lining, fixed above and wider than the opening, comes close to a blackout roller and looks far softer. Pair it with a curtain if you want the room completely dark.
In a living room, a Roman lets you bring the room's fabric to the window without the width of a pair of curtains. It suits windows flanked by bookshelves, or with a sofa or window seat underneath.
| Roman (lined) | Roller (light-filtering) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it raises | Folds into a stack | Rolls onto a tube |
| When fully raised | Stack at the top | Slim roll only |
| Daylight in, midday | Low | Some |
| Privacy, lights on | High | Good |
| Feel | Soft, tailored | Flat, crisp |
| Cleaning | Dust; dry-clean the face | Wipe or dust |
See it at your own window
The simulator narrows the choice. At the house we bring the real fabrics, hold them up to your light and measure every window.
In Goa
Natural fabrics and cotton linings take up moisture. In a house shut from June to September, a Roman left lowered against damp glass can spot with mildew along the folds. Leave it half-raised and let the room air on dry days.
Tall arched windows in older Portuguese-era houses suit a Roman fixed above the arch, where the stack sits on the wall and the fanlight stays clear by day.
FAQ
Cords run through rings on the back of the fabric to the bottom rail. Pulling the cord lifts the bottom rail, which picks up each horizontal rod in turn so the fabric folds into a stack at the top.
With a blackout lining, most of it. Light still finds the edges, so face-fix the blind with an overlap on each side for a bedroom.
Yes, when lined. They are private at night and soft to look at, and a blackout lining makes them dark enough for most people to sleep well.
The folded fabric has to go somewhere. The longer the drop and the thicker the fabric, the deeper the stack. Mounting the blind above the window keeps most of it off the glass.
Rollers, usually. Most roller fabrics can be wiped. A Roman is dusted in place, and a fabric face is dry-cleaned or taken down for cleaning.
