The most popular style of blind: with their neat folds when fully raised, roman blinds are one of the most popular styles of blind. Here are five reasons to buy this most versatile of window treatments:

1. Roman blinds cost less than curtains: the amount of fabric used to make curtains is far greater than that used for roman blinds, and so even though roman blinds are a little more complicated to make than curtains, they are generally much cheaper than curtains.

If you feel that your room needs curtains, but this clashes with your budget, dress curtains with a fully operational roman blind in between gives you the best of both worlds.

2. Space: floor to ceiling curtains tend to dominate a room and make it look smaller, so where space is limited, roman blinds are a great option. Locating the blind inside the recess will maximise the sensation of space in the room, and preserve access to your sills that curtains would otherwise have covered.

3. Practicality: roman blinds are a practical choice for kitchens and bathrooms where for various reasons you don’t want fabric trailing on or hanging near the floor. They also work well where there isn’t sufficient draw back space either side of the window for a curtain.

4. Energy efficiency: if you have a radiator below your window, floor to ceiling curtains (and, to a lesser extent sill length curtains) will funnel valuable heat towards the windows rather than into the room. Roman blinds prevent this from happening, and can be efficient at minimising draught when made with interlining and thermal/ blackout lining.

5. Versatility – sloping ceilings: roman blinds are a great option in rooms with a sloping ceiling (typically bedroom loft conversions) where you want a bit more cosiness than your standard Velux or equivalent blind can provide. Vertical cords either side of the blind keep it close to the ceiling.

Tips

Traditional or chain mechanism? There are basically two sorts of mechanism on the market – the traditional rope and cleat and the chain driven mechanism. Chain mechanisms tend to be more expensive and the blind takes a little more time to raise and lower, but chain operation removes the hassle of having to cleat off the blind each time you raise and lower it, not to mention all that excess cord.

Inside or outside the recess? The blind will make less of a statement when inside the recess (which is good for maximising the feeling of space in small rooms), but will take up more window space. The blind will typically hang down 15 to 20cms when fully raised, so if maximising light is an issue, consider locating the blind outside the recess and approximately 15cms above the top of the recess.

Inside or outside architraving? Locating the blind inside the architraving can be a great way of framing the blind and preventing you from having to cover up an attractive feature, but this might be outweighed by other considerations (such as maximising the width of the blind for blackout reasons, in a bedroom).