Luxurious thick Roman blinds

[TheGaffer]

Where is the best place to find those lovely big thick blackout Roman blinds in gorgeous luxurious fabrics? Is difficult to tell online! Any recommendations? Looking for quality and a chain that isn’t going to snap after a few tugs!

I actually found a local lady to hand make mine and it’s not actually as expensive as it sounds. You can choose the specific material you like, lining etc and the finish is so much better. I also got a discount for getting multiple ones made. I have also had smaller ones made for my bathrooms from blinds direct and blinds to go . They are reasonably well made and I’m happy with them but wouldn’t use them for a larger window as they don’t hang as well as the hand made ones. The choice of fabric is more limited but I have found some lovely ones. It ultimately depends on your budget but I’ve just ordered a new one from blinds to go for a new extension so obviously I must be happy with the last one!

Blinds2Go

i got some gorgeous silk and velvet ones, with thermal or black out lining.

Thanks both! Have ordered some samples. Have also sampled from John Lewis…anyone got any views on those? One of the samples seemed to indicate they were made with those little pierce holes in the fabric that you get with blackout blinds…did you get those with blinds to go or blinds direct? I really want thick black out and the holes would drive me mad I think!

Curtains Made Simple https://www.curtainsmadesimple.co.uk/
Have a huge selection of designer fabrics. The nicest blinds are handstitched and interlined, Curtains Made Simple have this option. I have their blinds, and several from Blinds2go, and I can see a big difference, but I just couldn't afford the handmade ones for the whole house. Blinds2go are still pretty decent and sturdy.

No there are no holes in mine. I’m not actually sure what you mean to be honest..

Machine stitching leaves tiny holes, as it just stitches the lining onto the fabric (and leaves holes where the needle stitches the seam). Handstitched interlining will create a basically hole free surface.

Hillary’s- they are annoyingly expensive and their admin system is outdated but they are brilliant quality. I've had blinds and shutters from them in two houses and they are a million times better than the cheaper blinds we had. The fabric is thick and the mechanism stands up to the kids.

A couple of points:
The blinds you describe will be hand made, interlined and use top quality fabric. They are not actually "blackout" but very near.
Roman blinds on their own will not provide a blackout. Light will leak round the edges.
Those Royal Palace blinds will be at least £500 a blind

Forgot to say that the chain part of the mechanism is designed to break as a safety mechanism.

Over the years I’ve used various local curtain makers that have not been expensive and I also like wallpaperdirect who have a great selection of Sanderson, Clarke and Clarke etc fabric

more recently in a pinch I used blinds2go for a temporary solution and was seriously impressed at the speed, quality and price.

Hillary's! Ours were sooo cheap. Got an entire conservatory done with their top end for £1000 and it was cheaper than blinds2go

Yeah I didn’t describe very well but here’s a photo…these are blackout but if you zoom in on the photo you will see tiny pinholes which kind of negate the impact of the blackout a little! Am keen to avoid that!

I work in interiors, and we get ours made by an amazing local lady who set up in her garden room during lockdown. She uses bump interlining which is really thick, and Silent Gliss tracks with chain mechanisms. You really shouldn't get holes where the blind batons are sewn onto the back - a decent blind maker attaches them to the lining and not the front.

Oh man this website looks so bad lol. Don’t know if I’d trust something from a site that looks like it was made in Windows 3.1!

The Pure Edit is good, lots of lovely original prints on linen

We have John Lewis Roman blinds - do get them thermal/blackout lined, but yes we like them. Photo from our old house below.

That depends on the window! Ours are fully blacked out, because we have sash windows with the blind attached to the internal moulding. So very little light seepage. I agree that if you have them in the window cavity you might not get full coverage.