No Sew Roman Shades

The work on my office space continues, and this weekend we made a HUGE leap forward to completing the room.  I’m so excited!  I just finished installing my brand new custom roman shades!  The fabric store quoted me $500 for 2 roman shades, which is frankly redonk.  With all the faboo ideas out there from the talented bloggers of blogland, I knew I could make something for a fraction of the price. 



My original fabric choice for this project was Thomas Paul’s Dahlia Agean from Calico Corners.  The colors in this fabric were the inspiration for my office.  I love the aqua, citrine and grey – plus it goes perfectly with my Rainwater walls.  I borrowed a sample from the store (love that you can do that with Calico) and debated whether it was the right choice.  Finally, after considering about a bajillion other swatches, I came back to my original choice.  I still love it and am so glad I chose it.

I am not much of a seamstress– that’s something that needs to change.  But, reality being what it is, I set out to find some no sew plans for roman shades.  Luckily, Pinterest has a wealth of options.  I studied 3 plans, and ended up using a mixture of instructions.  My space faces straight west, and it gets very warm in the afternoons.  I knew that I’d need to line my shade with blackout liner to keep some of the sunlight out.  I also love the complete, neat look of a shade with trim on the side.  Take a look at my inspiration here:

No Sew Roman Shades from 365 Days to Simplicity

Lined No Sew Roman Shades from Beneath My Heart

Trimmed Roman Shades from John’s Journal

I owe each of these bloggers my firstborn, seriously.  Without their instructions and inspiration, I’d be completely sunk. 

I ended up using the blinds I already had in the window.  I used fusion liner to adhere the blackout liner to the top fabric.  Quilt binding was used to complete the edges of each shade.

The only thing left to do is hang the blind valance over the top bar.  I’m waiting on a few clips to arrive, since my other ones broke.  That should complete the look.

Cost Breakdown:

4 1/2 yards of fabric (I had to get a lot since this is such a large pattern) $144

Various supplies such as fabric glue, fusion lining, blackout lining and quilt binding: $57

Total cost: $201

Only a few more things left to do in this room until this pup is done!

Update: to see the finished office, click here! 

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