Unhappy with new Roman Blinds - thoughts..?

[Bellysmackers]

I had new roman blinds fitted today in my kitchen. I've had them previously in my last house and have always loved the look of them. After the fitters left I rolled them down. To me they don't look right (ie no visible pleating/folds you usually get with romans even when they are down)
It looks like a giant sheet hanging over my window, or as my husband put it "like a projector screen' 😟. I've attached a pic, but just wanted thoughts/advice. Would you be happy?
I'll probably call them tomorrow, but wondering if I'm being unreasonable and you think they look OK??? Ps sorry about the pile of dishes 🤣

It looks like a projector screen because it’s so huge and an odd colour. Looks too low to the worktop too which isn’t helping things.

The actual blind should not have lines.folds in if made properly. I love a Roman blind and have many in my home, but it really doesn’t look right in the room. Eek.

Although I don't think a festoon blind would really look right in your kitchen!

The real problem is that the material looks a cheap and shapeless. That’s the issue not the lack of lines which is normal. To avoid the sheet you’d need a print and trimmer corners.

Also a pelmet if they’re still a thing would have broken it up and added some dimension to the whole affair.

I think the only thing to do is to rip out the kitchen and set the room up as a movie room with projector on the back wall.

I agree with you op - that doesnt look right. I have roman blinds in three rooms of my house (here before I moved in) and they all look as you were hoping for - ie with the folds of the blind, still sort of visible even when the blind is down.

Just pull them up a couple of pleats.

Festoon blind:

Is that what you're after OP?

You could buy some embroidery thread and run a line of stitching on each fold or even two or three lines. (Or a line of buttons or beads or washers). It just needs tweaking don’t panic and I like the colour.

Never mind the dishes, what’s all that designer clutter on the island 🫣

Agree with others, they're correct. It is a large expense of plain fabric. Mine have deep band of vertical striped ticking on the bottom edge which stops them looking like a sheet of one fabric. Could you get something like that added?

Roman blinds are flat when fully down. I find them better when hung inside the window recess as it frames them. Mine are hung in windows where they can be left at half up:down.

In your old house was the blind flush to the surrounding wall like your new blind or on a recessed window? That could be why it looks so different (aside from fabric choice and rod seams etc). We have a roman blind in the lounge but there's probably 20cm deep windowsill so with the blind closed you still see that - I don't think it would look the same if the blind was on the outside of the recess and would look more like a sheet hanging on the wall.

The company haven't done anything wrong if you agreed the positioning of the blind. Could it be made smaller to only fit the actual window/made into two smaller blinds?

My Roman blinds have obvious lines when down- and were certainly not cheap as a PP suggested! The very bloody opposite. They're also recessed and have a subtle print.

I really like the material and the overall look you're going for. I think a good suggestion is the ticking added to the bottom/ recessed.

Rude.

Sorry you're disappointed @Bellysmackers

I actually like very plain window treatments and chose roman blinds for exactly that reason, and think with a few small tweaks to break up the expanse, you could be pretty happy with it.

I agree with the pps who have said that roman blinds almost always look better when slightly raised. Do you need to have it come all the way down, or could you raise the bottom six inches or so? Most of mine are made of very sheer, unlined linen, so I have remote controlled blackout shades behind that we can put down for more privacy.

I also agree that you would be happier with it if it was mounted inside the window recess. It might be worth asking your curtain maker how difficult a fix that would be.

I wonder if making the seams, where the pulleys attach behind the shade more obvious would give it more of a sense of movement? With mine, what they seem to have done is do visible stitching where the stiffer pieces attach vertically along the back. As you can see, I'm quite the technical curtain making wizard, so I'm going to attach a few photos so you can make sense of what I'm trying to say 😂

My phone is washing the colours out of everything, but these should give a general idea. First is sheer, second is heavier opaque fabric.

I hope you figure out something that makes you happy!

Exactly. I love the color and think the whole thing is lovely.

Thats what I'd expect properly measured Roman blinds to look like when closed, especially with a thick fabric. I have a wool (patterned) Roman blind in my study & it's just like that, albeit the pattern adds a bit of interest.

I have finer silk Roman blinds in other rooms without blackout liners etc. and yes, you can see lines when the light shines through & more creasing, but they are still essentially flat when closed.

They look exactly like a well fitted and measured Roman blind should look like , if it’s still got folds when it’s completely down then that means it has been incorrectly measured and us the wrong length . The problem with your blind is it’s quite large to be in such a very boring.flat colour

I have romans in most rooms in my home. They're all flat when down.

I've done this - but my hessian pots and mats are hidden behind the blind 🤣 we couldn't have a recessed blind as have deep bay windows so would be hard to reach. I guess I'll get used to it and for the most part when we have visitors etc they will be up and looking good anyway

I have a white kitchen with white walls and a very dark chocolate brown floor. The 'boring hessian' looks lovely to be fair when up and ruched

Flat when down and then you can choose your cascade when up.

Please don’t phone them and complain about them not being pleated when fully extended. You’ll honestly be the talk of the office.

I think they only look pleated when they are up. It does look like a projector screen when down but it's meant to and you've chosen a plain blind.

I think you're right! I'll probably leave up to the tap height for effect and also I'm concerned about the splashing too. It was awkward because the window is a deep bay and quartz goes into the side so the type of blind option was pretty minimal x