How to Measure for Roman Shades
Roman Shades
You have a new house, or a new addition, or maybe even just a room that needs an interior decorating “refresh”. So one of the ways you’ve decided to improve the space is through the addition of Roman shades. You know what you want them to look like. You may have decided on a color or a patterned fabric. You may have chosen Roman Shades with large pleating for a textured but minimalist look, or with no pleating at all for the cleanest lines. You’re about ready to go to the store to order the shades (or to come to order them online at our site), when you realize you need to have measurements to order them with.
Step One: Decide on an inner or outer wall mount
This is largely a design decision. Do you have custom window moldings that you want to show off? Then you should use an inner mount. Are you considering a box valance or other type of window valance as part of your décor? Then you should choose an inner mount for your window shades. If you want to completely over the window, and the roman shade itself is the only thing that will be on the window then you may want to go with an outer mount.
Step Two: Find the width
For an inner mount – use a measuring tape to measure the distance between the inside surfaces of the window frame. You need to measure it from side to side at the top, across the middle and across the bottom. Be sure to use the narrowest of these three measurements.
For an outer mount – the process is similar, but you need to measure the distance from one side of the wall to the other side of the wall where you want the shading to cover. There is more flexibility here, as you may want to have the blinds cover a wider distance than the window. Remember those custom moldings we mentioned earlier? Maybe you just moved into a house that has custom moldings that you do not particularly like. You may want to cover them completely by hanging the roman shades from above them and wider than them. In any case the measurement should overlap each side of the window from by at least an inch and a half.
Step Three: Find the height
For an inner mount – the height measurement is simple. Just measure the distance from the inside of the window to the window sill. If you do not want the shade to touch the window sill when it is fully down, then deduct ¼ of an inch from your measurement.
For an outer mount – measure the exact distance from the top of the shade where you will be mounting it, to wherever you want the shade to fall.
In fact, Levolor Blinds have a terrific window measuring section with instructions on how to measure for any type of shade that they sell and for any type of mount that your interior decorating choices may call for (click here).
Once you have your window measurements, you can order your blinds in a store or online. Roman shades are sure to bring a wonderful design aspect to your room. They can bring about a subtle change, they can help you experiment with light and the way the room looks at various times of day and of the year.