Laundry Room Roman Shades: Top Tips & Ideas to Blend Function & Flair

Laundry may not appear in your list of favorites, but the laundry room may, if you give it a chance to rise above the clichéd story of tile, detergent, and whirring machines. Think custom roman shades that quietly filter daylight and add a touch of charm to that little window with joyful colors, playful patterns, and soft fabric folds. Often, it is small touches like these that make the biggest difference to this forgotten nook. Therefore, Sewn makes it possible to shop laundry room roman shades in a size and fabric of your choice, from the comfort of your home. If you’re ready for this small makeover feat, stay with us in this blog, where we list all the styling tips for laundry room roman shades that are both elegant and practical.

Fabric: Keep It Light & Breezy

Humidity, heat and sudsy water don’t usually spell good news for soft furnishings. And yet, roman shades can thrive in laundry rooms, if their fabric is chosen thoughtfully. Look for loose-woven, quick-drying features so the shades can allow air circulation, filter daylight and resist molding. Fabrics such as cottons, linens, and their blends qualify perfectly. Pay special attention to the weave and opacity aspects to ensure lightweight, light-filtering roman shades. Not only do they rise to the daily challenges of the laundry room, but they also look proportionate for this small nook, where bulky treatments can overcrowd the scene easily.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Cotton Roman Shades | Linen Roman Shades | Sheer Roman Shades

Palette & Pattern: Add a Dash of Vibrance

The greatest allure of custom-made roman shades is their aesthetic potential. While industrially fabricated blinds limit your options to a few neutrals and plain textures, roman shades open a boundless world of drapery fabrics where imagination can have free rein. So, use the opportunity to pick the palette, pattern and texture that sets the mood for a long laundry day or builds the theme you envisioned for this space.

A seagreen linen roman shade anchors the space in coastal serenity, while navy blue striped shades weave together a nautical theme. Floral and botanical prints evoke outdoorsy charm, whereas a cotton check exudes rustic flavors. Abstract patterns bring a modern touch, and, in contrast, a whimsical ditsy print offers vintage charm. Whatever your aesthetic goal, know that you will certainly find the fabric that nails it at Sewn.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Floral Roman Shades | Geometric Print Roman Shades | Check Roman Shades

Fold Style: Blend Function and Beauty

Beyond palette and pattern, the silhouette of your roman shade - whether sharp-edged boxy or softly scalloped - contributes largely to its aesthetic appeal. At Sewn, we offer shades in three elegant fold styles, which you can explore in detail in our Roman Shades Fold Style Guide. But if you want to save the long haul for later, carry on reading as we examine the suitability of each fold style for laundry rooms:

The flat fold roman shades with back slats offer a clean, seamless frontage that is ideal to showcase patterns without distortion. Our plain fold roman shades with front slats show the raised silhouettes of their slats on the frontage, a feature that brings an architectural quality to shades in plain fabrics, that may otherwise look too vanilla. Both these styles of shades operate fuss-free, making clean even folds without any assistance.

The European relaxed roman shades are identified by their signature swag as the shade is folded up, and their gently curved folds that play well to the informal mood of the laundry room. Since these shades may need a bit of manual assistance in forming neat folds, we recommend them for laundry rooms where they are expected to serve as stationary, primarily-decorative dressings. 

When discerning which fold style is best for your laundry room, consider two key aspects: how often you’ll operate your shades and what aesthetic you’re aiming for. And you’ll have the answer right there.

Mounting: Position for the Win

Roman shades can be mounted in two ways: inside the window frame or outside it. For a deep-dive comparison between the two, refer to our blog on Inside Mount Vs Outside Mount Roman Shades. But to know how each of them can be advantageous to the laundry room, carry on.

Shades mounted inside a window frame/recess don’t take up any more space than the window itself. So, if your window is enveloped by cabinetry directly above the window frame with no wall space at all, this position is convenient. Tucked away inside the window frame, the shade will also be less vulnerable to possible splatters at the sink. But if the window is small, a shade mounted inside the frame shrinks the window space further as the shade blocks a portion of the window even when it is folded up.

Outside-mounting helps to maximize a small window’s capacity. To achieve this, we recommend mounting the shade a few inches above the window, so it stacks on the wall rather than taking away space from the window. Further, if you size it generously, overlapping the window trim on all sides by a few inches, the window will seem to be larger, and thus create a sense of openness in this small room.

TIP IN A PIC!

Be Mindful of the Recess Space Available

Hardware for Sewn’s roman shades needs a minimum of two inches of flat, drillable surface to be mounted securely. If your window frame/recess is too shallow and does not offer this, inside-mounting a shade will not be viable. In these settings, outside-mounted shades become your default saviors.

Faux Roman Shades: Small on Size, But Not on Style

If your pursuit of roman shades is not driven by their functional roles of ensuring light control and privacy, but by their aesthetic contributions of softness and personality alone, consider faux roman shades. These are stationary valances that appear like raised roman shades, but are not operational. While maintaining a low profile, our faux shades bring color and lift, saving the laundry room from sterility and its small window from overcrowding.

HAUL 'EM HOME: Faux Relaxed Roman Shade Valance | Faux Roman Shade Valance

Shop Laundry Room Roman Shades at Sewn

The laundry room may be a place of endless loads and cycles, but that doesn’t mean it has to look utilitarian. Laundry room roman shades offer a simple, stylish way to bring softness, charm, and character to even the smallest window without going overboard. Whether your style is coastal, cottagecore, or contemporary, there’s a shade at Sewn to help your laundry space feel less like a workstation and more like an escape. So, head to our collection and look for the roman shade that can give your laundry room a well-earned style upgrade.