Stripes are a pattern untouched by time - a true classic immune to the vagaries of ‘trends’. Effortlessly chic and unapologetically omnipresent, stripes have a cult following of their own. And when they find home in the blank canvas of roman shades, stripes can make statement pieces out of simple window treatments.

However, each nuance of this pattern — scale, color or definition — exerts a significant influence on the visual impact of your striped roman shades. Therefore, making the right design choices can sometimes be a team job. The good news is — there’s a blueprint that can aid you in picking the perfect striped roman shade for your space. And thanks to our pro stylists, here are all the insights and tips you might need to nail the task:

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Decide the Scale of Stripes

The scale of your stripes will have an impact on the overall visual appearance and presence of your striped roman shades. It’s a delicate dance to ensure that you dress your room just right with stripes, so they are neither underwhelming and lost in the room nor overbearing and cluttering the decor. 

When deciding on the scale of your stripes, consider the size of the room and the window. In a small room, wide-scaled stripes will have a disproportionately overbearing presence. Conversely, in larger rooms, thin stripes can easily get lost and fail to make an impact within the broader decor scheme. 

The size of your window should similarly be considered. An awning striped roman shade, for example, is rightly proportioned for an over-wide window. But, on a narrow window - such as a sidelight - a pinstripe or a candy stripe will likely prove to be a better suitor. 

The intentionality will also be a factor to consider while finalizing the scale of your stripes. Decide if you want the striped roman shades to be the focal point in your room with a commanding presence or quietly grace the background, bringing a subtle touch of pizzazz but not leading the decor. A large-scaled pattern like regency or awning stripes will garner more attention than thin stripes like pinstripes or candy stripes.

So, select a striped fabric that looks proportionate to your room and the window. And let your aesthetic goal provide you the direction of choice between an attention-commanding focal point or a demure pattern that can blend with the decor. But, note that scale is not the only factor that decides how compelling or quiet your stripes will be - the palette also plays a decisive role. More on this coming below.

Be Mindful with the Palette

When selecting striped roman shades, the color palette plays a key role in determining whether the stripes make a bold statement or subtly blend into the background. For instance, even with the exact same size and scale, Royal Retreat in its high-contrast palette of pacific blue and white is far more visually striking than Frosty Oasis, which features a low-contrast beige-white combination. 

So, it is not scale, nor palette alone that decides how compelling the stripes turn out - rather it is their combined effort that bears fruit. So, when choosing your striped roman blinds, consider their palette in conjunction with their scale.

To create a focal point, opt for large-scale, high-contrast stripes that command attention. On the flip side, if you want the stripes to blend seamlessly into the background or suit a smaller room or window, choose small-scale stripes in a muted palette.

Lastly, if you want to tread the middle ground, consider following the ‘high-low’ principle to strike a balance. When the scale is high, stay low profile with the palette, as seen in fabrics like Treasure Era. Au contraire, if your chosen scale is low, consider a high-contrast, bold palette as seen in Jade Vine’s pacific blue-white combination of thin stripes.  

Know the Contours Beyond Straight Lines

The word ‘stripes’ brings to mind straight lines that don’t waver or stumble, but spear ahead with a single-minded focus. But if you are an out-of-the box thinker, you might prefer your stripes with a bit of adventure and a few happy interventions. Luckily, our collection of striped roman shades comes with many unexpected offers so that you can go beyond the conventional and offer a bespoke touch to your decor. Therefore, if you would like the visual effect of stripes but with motifs other than straight lines, you’re in for some pleasant surprises at Sewn!

Have a look at Candle Flames for example, whose stripes have smudgy contours portraying an organic appeal as opposed to the refinement of clean-lined stripes. Similarly, Cackle Cascade’s intertwined geometric designs offer softened silhouettes with their uniform waves while maintaining a linear momentum. 

For those who love botanical motifs, we carry fabrics such as Angora that merge stripes with climbing vines. Pieces like Solaris which features horizontal chevron motifs and Soothing Rain which portrays tribal-style geometric motifs are some examples of our striped blinds that can bring an eclectic theme to your decor while maintaining the dynamic aesthetic of rhythm and movement central to stripes. 

When met with exuberant creativity, or influenced by ethnic art forms, or fused with other patterns, stripes can take on flavors that offer a far more enriched aesthetic than the ordinary. Therefore, before selecting your striped roman shades, do travel across the entire span of our collection and consider the different styles on offer to land on the candidate that best suits your home.

Cash On the Illusory Power of Stripes

A designer secret spilled just for you — a striped roman shade can be quite the magician when it comes to playing visual tricks! Here’s how  —

Since stripes ‘move’ in either horizontal or vertical direction, the pattern has an inherent dynamism that makes the eye travel along, thereby visually elongating or widening a window. While vertical stripes draw the eye upwards, making windows or ceilings appear taller, horizontal striped roman shades give the impression of wider, more spacious rooms and windows. 

Capitalize on this quality of stripes and choose the direction of your stripes as needed to visually elongate or widen a small window, and create a sense of height or breadth in a small room. 

Intersperse with Solids & Curves

For a balanced pattern mix in your decor, complement your striped roman shades with solids and curves in other elements of the room. 

Solid hues offer visual respite, allowing the eye to rest while maintaining an overall sense of harmony in the space. The calming presence of solids is especially welcome if your stripes are very attention-craving or loaded with intricate detail. They will offset the visual heaviness of bold stripes. But more so, they can accent the stripes, arousing visual interest through the mixing and matching of colors and motifs. So, pair your stripes with solids, even if they are low-profile and simplistic, because you don’t want to lose an opportunity to aesthetize.

Similarly, introducing curves, whether through patterns like paisleys or florals in other soft furnishings or the shape of furniture like arched-back loveseats, or round coffee tables, can add a layer of organic contrast to the linearity of stripes. This mix of shapes and patterns brings a dynamic energy to the space, where the interplay of stripes, solids, and curves creates a well-curated, designer look.

An Ode to the Versatility of Stripes

Striped roman shades are an ideal choice for clients looking to add a versatile and timeless decor element to their homes. As they beautifully blend with various types of design sensibilities, you can find them in aesthetic settings that sometimes have nothing in common. They refuse to be boxed up, and have rightfully earned their place of prominence in both softly elegant rustic homes as well as in cut-to-the-minimum modern homes. And what is more awesome is that you will find it tasteful even as you age. This is not a motif you will ever tire of seeing or that your evolving decor preferences will fail to adapt to.

FROM TODDLERS TO TEENS: Stripes can be as mature or playful as you like, making striped roman shades an ‘age-proof’ decor element. Besides, with a thoughtfully considered palette and scale, you will find your striped blind never outgrowing your taste, and that your child will appreciate it now as much as in colorful teenage. 

FROM MASCULINE TO FEMININE: Although stripes have forever been staples in men’s wardrobes and caves, they are not confined to these. Feminine spaces might gravitate more towards curvy shapes, but they always reach out to stripes to offer visual contrast. So, whether the overall character of the decor style is masculine or feminine, or whether you are decorating the room for a man or a woman, boy or girl striped roman blinds are just apt for all.

FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN:  Stripes can doff several hats, so they don’t get bracketed into decor styles too strictly. Be it a rustic cottage, a Georgian bungalow or a modern condo, stripes have their revered place which none others can claim. So, should your aesthetic leanings change over time, your striped roman blind can still be relevant to your home. 

In Closing

Whether you're aiming for a bold statement or a subtle vibe, stripes effortlessly toe the line between trendy and timeless. They can be simplistic enough to find favor in the most minimalist homes, elaborate enough to meet the extravagance of maximalist homes and infused with ethnic overtones to speak to eclectic settings. No matter what decor style you follow or what architectural features your house is characterized by, a striped roman blind can meet at the crossroads of two opposite aesthetic leanings, making it the most versatile piece of your decor. It is that one window dressing that you can always count on!  So, now it is time to move on to the most joyful bit of shopping — adding your faves to the cart and checking out. So, go ahead and shop away from Sewn's collection of hundreds of striped roman shades. And in case you need our aid, just summon us — we’re always an email away!