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A few weeks ago, a curtain company called Twopages reached out to me and asked if I was interested in trying their new bamboo woven Roman shades in my home. We’ve had the same dark brown shades on our doors leading to the patio since we moved in, and I was definitely ready for an upgrade as the dark brown shades are not my style.
The before
Here is a glance at the doors before we changed out the shades:
You might not be able to tell from the photos, but these shades have a traditional cord. We’ve just looped the cord and balanced it across the top of the shade when they were in their upright position. (Not the neatest method, in my opinion.)
When we took these shades down, we saw that they were made in 2011, so it was definitely time for an upgrade. Since I am a fan of neutral colors, I decided to go with a lighter color. It’s unbelievable how much better a lighter color looks! My shade is the Ramie shade in the color ‘wall white.’
After
It’s definitely cleaner and more modern looking now.
Ordering my shades was actually very easy, because I just simply measured the length and width of my old brown shades and ordered that size. (This works well if you are just replacing a shade like I was and if it is an outside mount.) However, if you are not replacing something, you need to keep a few things in mind before ordering.
1. Installation method
Decide if you want your shade to be an inside mount or an outside mount. This really depends on the door or window that you need covered. Since there is nothing to grab onto, an outside mount made more sense for our doors. If you are installing a shade on a window, an inside mount might make more sense. Keep in mind that the price can vary between the two installation methods.
- When measuring for an outside mount, make sure you give yourself 2-3 inches of overhang on the sides, top, and bottom. This ensures that the shade will cover the window completely so that extra daylight doesn’t creep in around the sides. (The Twopages website recommends 2-4 inches.)
2. Lift type
The particular shade that we got only comes with the cordless feature. This is so clean, simple, and streamlined. All you do is push up on the bottom of the shade to lift it. (It stays wherever you stop.) And to lower it, simply pull down as far as you want it to go and it stops where you leave it.
- Make sure to check their website, as some of their other shade options have traditional corded options if that is something you are interested in.
3. Lining type
This is an option you want to consider before ordering. These shades have three options: unlined, privacy, and blackout. I chose the privacy liner which has an 80% light filtering rate. We don’t get full sun through these windows throughout the day, but perhaps for about 1-2 hours in the afternoon. The privacy liner filters the light without blacking it out completely.
- I haven’t seen the blackout shades, so I can’t say with 100% certainty if they completely block out the sun. But this is a great option if you are trying to limit sunlight.
- I wouldn’t bother with an unlined shade. To me, having the lining option just makes it feel more high-end. Having an unlined shade would let too much sunlight in and look see through, therefore making it look less high-end.
These are the three main things you need to focus on when you are deciding on your custom shades. Click here for a link to my shades and you can see how they break these things easily down.
Let’s make it simple
Here’s a quick checklist and measuring guide to help you with your own customizable Roman shades. If this little chart isn’t enough, here is a link to another helpful guide that Twopages has put together.
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Disclaimer: I do my best to provide accurate information so that my readers can make educated decisions. AmyLeighLife is not responsible for any items received that are unsatisfactory. By visiting/reading this blog post, you agree to not hold AmyLeighLife responsible for any damages, or dissatisfaction.
