Roller Shades Add Texture and Style to Any Room
Roller shades are a popular choice for window treatments and offer an affordable and easy way to add texture, color and style to any room. They are operated by either adjusting them with a cord or pushing or pulling on the bottom rail. Also called roller blinds or roll up shades, roller shades come in blackout, room darkening or light filtering fabrics. You can combine different fabric, mount, lift, roll style, hardware color, hem and valance options to create your own custom roller shades.
Roller shades can be mounted inside or outside. Inside mount shades fit within the window casing, while outside mount shades are installed on the wall above the window and cover the window entirely. This Blindsgalore video shows you how to install custom roller shades:
Roller shades come with two different lift systems. In a reverse roll system, fabric rolls off the front of the shade, hiding the fabric roll. In a standard roll system, fabric rolls off the back of the shade; it provides better light control as the fabric hangs close to the window. The drawback with the standard roll is that the back of the fabric roll will show, while the problem with the reverse roll is decreased light control as the fabric hangs farther from the window. You can solve the standard roll problem by adding a cornice or valance.
Shade materials can be sheer (see-through), opaque (non-transparent), or semi-sheer/semi-opaque (falls between the extremes). If you want more privacy and light control, choose a room darkening or blackout fabric. If you want light to come into the room and privacy is not a major concern, choose a light filtering fabric.
You can get roller shades with a cordless operation system that enhances safety for pets and small children and provides convenience. Motorization and continuous cord loop are two types of cordless systems. Motorized shades are operated by a remote control that sends a signal to the fabric roll, making them a good choice for hard-to-reach or large windows. A continuous loop is a corded loop that stays the same height no matter whether the shade is open or closed.
Comfortex Envision Roller Shades have a fabric-wrapped bottom rail with a continuous cord loop lift option. You can upgrade to a cordless, cassette headrail, UltraSleek headrail or motorized with cassette headrail system for an extra charge. Both headrail systems hide the fabric roll and operating mechanism. The Classic is a blackout vinyl fabric, the EcoGreen Aurora is a fire-resistant 100% polyester fabric, the Shantung is a sheer fabric resembling silk, and the Polynesian Sands and South Pacific Stripe is a polyester/polypropylene blend with the look of woven grass. These are just a few of the Comfortex collections.
Bali Roller Shades offer a wider selection of colors and options, including a choice of chain colors, decorative hem, cornice or valance, and continuous cord, cordless, Smart Pull and motorized lift systems. Basics is a blackout fabric, Chorus is a 100% polyester light filtering fabric, Rafia is a polyester/polypropylene light filtering fabric, and Plume is an elegant floral weave. Other fabrics are available as well.
Levolor and Graber also offer several lines of fabric roller shades. Levolor’s Impressions is a semi-sheer material imprinted with creative patterns, while the room-darkening Soho fabric has a faux leather suede texture in natural tones. Graber’s woven shades include the Botanical (light-filtering fabric with a leafy vine design), the Tango (room-darkening soft faux suede) and the Rujin (light-filtering polyester/polypropylene fabric).
