How much would you spend on a Roman Shade?

14 years ago

I went to JC Penny and left with some serious sticker shock. I didn't see anything I really liked in the books for the Roman shades, so I picked up a drapery fabric that had caught my eye and I thought was pretty, and figured what the heck, I'll find out how much. The price was for a single Roman Shade 38 1/2 W x 38" long. A polyester blend fabric with a simple vine pattern embroidered on it. I was told the cost was 650.00, and they had sale going on for 65% off custom orders. I felt it was a little pricey but was willing to consider it if I didn't see anything else I liked. Then I found out that the 650.00 WAS the sale price, and the original price was well over $1500.00. I looked at the fabric again, and noted that the fabric was a price group 21. I figured that must be it. I went and pulled a neutral solid in a texture that was a price group 6. That one would have been 550.00 on sale, still well over $1200.00 reg price. I would expect to pay 1500-2000.00 for a set of custom drapes, or to have a chair reupholstered, but one blind?

This is is not Rodeo drive, or an exclusive shop in NYC or anywhere else for that matter, this is JC Penny for cripes sake. Is this really what the going price is for a custom Roman shade in a fairly small size?

I may just be hopelessly out of date where prices are concerned. If so, I will have to take some time to adjust before I take the plunge, or head off the nearest decorator fabric source locally. I was hoping to be lazy on this and just buy it, but I do think I have a roll of the special tapes they put inside to thread the cord and make a Roman blind. I am sure I found it at a going out of business thing, was again surprised at the high price, but felt it was worth buying at 75% off and putting away. I could always fish it out. Ugh.

So are you all paying those kinds of prices? Jeez, I thought the 350.00 prices I was seeing online were high...

Sue

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2ajsmama

14 years ago

I think the most I spent on a made-to-measure shade from JCP was about $90 - on sale, 36" x 72" for half my slider. As I recall, all 7 I ordered for my FR last summer were under $500 total.

But the same 7 blinds at Calico Corners were going to be $4000, they would have been $2000 at SelectBlinds.com, since no one could make them cordless which is what I really wanted, I went with JCP since the fabric was OK, even if it wasn't what I really wanted. So once I had the fabric chosen, I went out and bought furniture. If you already have furniture your choices may be more limited.

I understand they're not had to make, if you can find the fabric you like and *have* the tape, you should be able to make your own. Sounds like you sew (and from what I understand, you just have to be able to sew a straight seam to make Romans, nothing fancy, I could probably even do it). If you're using cords, the mechanisms are very simple, even more simple if you don't need autolocking cords - just a 1x4 and some screw-in eyes, and a cleat on the wall. I made cleats by using a hanger bolt on a cabinet knob - cost $1.10 each instead of $10 Chic Cleat.

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Comments (8)

palimpsest
14 years ago
I would check out Smith + Noble, you may be able to get a decent price there, but roman shades are not inexpensive. The original price a JCP does seem especially high though.
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palimpsest
14 years ago
I just did a "quick quote" on a 38.5" x 38 roman shade and it came in at $212--even if you doubled it with options and upgraded fabric it would come in less than the "sale price" at Penneys.
2ajsmama
14 years ago
I just checked JCP again, they now have cordless romans so if I can talk DH into spending the $600 or so just to get the mechanisms (I don't like the fabric choices), I'll see if they have Velcro holding fabric on, I'll swap the fabric and sell the solids as corded blinds on CL, put the striped fabric I have on the cordless headrails.

If you want cordless, you could do the same thing (get fabric you like -would still have to sew rods in - and Velcro it to the cordless headrail in smallest standard size that fits your window, or see if you can cut down the next largest size with hacksaw, string the cords through loop on back of your fabric).

I haven't found cordless headrails by themselves for sale anywhere on the Internet to make my own.
bronwynsmom
14 years ago
Well, that's a pretty high price for one blind at that size unless there is something very special about the fabric and construction.
However, a good Roman shade is made with perfect precision, which is what you pay for when you go to the higher end. They are simple in design, but require a fair amount of hand sewing and extreme care in execution.

Here are two earlier posts about how to make them properly. Read through them to see if this is for you... If they are not cut, lined, and hung perfectly, and if ring tape (rather than individually sewn rings) is used, you will not get the result I think you are looking for.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg052256108346.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0515474617175.html
lkplatow
14 years ago
The JCP price you were quoted is insane.

I've been looking for romans and found one I liked at Smith and Noble but it was $200/blind (I need 3). I balked at the price and now they don't carry that fabric anymore.

I'm probably going to order from blinds.com. They have a nice selection of fabrics (and you can get free swatches from them) and the roman shades I was considering are only $88/each - much more in line with waht I want I want to pay. (Though actually, I'm thinking of just getting fabric roller shades instead of romans -- blinds.com has some really nice roller shades and I think they might look better.)

Another option would be to check out etsy.com. There are several vendors on there who will sew custom shades to any size you want - you send them your fabric and dimensions and whether you want lining, trim, or any other options. Prices seemed to vary and you could probably find someone to meet just about any budget number you need. I was seriously considering this route as well, before I found the blinds.com site and decided that roller shades might be better.

Good luck!
sue_ct
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, I didn't know Romans were that hard and precise to make. I do want something that hangs and works well and doesn't look "home made". I also didn't know that hand sewn individual rings were better than the tapes. JC Penny had about 5 fabrics in each blind to choose from for lower prices. There was one book that had quite a few more but even the person helping me was not at all impressed with the choices. It was when I went to the custom line that these prices came up. I am glad I am not the only one who thinks they are just too high. Boy I thought I had sticker shock when I found out faucets can cost 900.00 or more. I may look into local custom shops and individuals, also. I just am not sure how to find someone good. I would not be happy if they didn't fit, hang or work properly.
I may even already have patterns for them. I kind of like the idea of picking out the fabric and then having someone make them if I can find someone good who wont charge that much. 250.00 I can handle, 500.00 and up I think is just more than I want to pay if I don't have to. If I can't do the custom route for under 350.00 I will probly go with one of the online sources mentioned. Smith and Noble do have some fabrics to choose from. Most are solids, but there are a couple of simple prints that might be nice.

Sue
2ajsmama
14 years ago
SelectBlinds is having a sale this weekend - free shipping and 30% off. Just put in my (rough) measurements for all 7 blinds and it came to $1100.

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How much would you spend on a Roman Shade?

2ajsmama

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How much would you spend on a Roman Shade?

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