A roman shade is a clever modern piece of window covering and it mainly lies in its construction. Operating on a simple cording system, the roman shade pulls up into a series of folds, one upon the other much like an accordion.
When down the roman shade is a flat area of fabric covering the window. When up it acts like a valance.
The fabric provides an element of texture and pattern as seen here and can almost resemble a piece of art when surrounded by moulding.
by Susan Dorbeck