My Roman Shade Installation and a New Update!

Hi Everyone,

There’s an important update on the Roman Shades. Plus, some other information, I hope you find interesting and useful. This experience triggered some memories of situations involving clients that I generally keep buried. So, if you’ve already read part 1, then please click the link below; otherwise, please start reading from the top of the page.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Part 1 follows is directly below:

 

I know. Everything has a problem.

Yes, you’re catching on.

Welcome to the glamorous world of interior design. You think it’s just you? No, it’s not just you. Things go wrong more often than not. It’s the nature of doing custom work.

I didn’t tell you, but it was two weeks ago, on July 3.

 

My windows got washed.

 

Yes, the prison bars were opened!

 

Surprise #2 is that yes, my Roman Shades got installed–TODAY!

 

The installer, Javier, came right on time and couldn’t have been nicer.
He even wiped on top of the window casing for me. I knew nobody had cleaned it, even though I asked the cleaners nicely if they could clean all around the casing. Still, they did a good job with the windows.

So, before I show you the new shades, I have to tell you first of all that I love them.

 

I mean, I really LOVE them!

You know, sometimes when something is new, it takes me a bit to get used to it. Not these. These Roman Shades are like the chord that finishes a song. (Musicians torture each other by leaving off that last note.)

And all of that careful planning of the trim paid off. It is perfect. If you’d like to read about that, you can go to this post.

 

Unfortunately, there’s a problem; it’s easily fixable, but the shades don’t work.

 

They don’t work because the cords are like a mile too short.

 

I don’t know how this happened.

 

However, as you can see, there’s no way I can reach the cord that controls the shade’s up-and-down movement.

Usually, the cords are designed so that they must wrap around a cleat to prevent anyone from getting hurt. Some workrooms do a continuous chain-type loop. I believe my Roman shades in Bronxville had that. However, this is how we made Roman Shades for most of my career.

Another thing is that Dianne most likely has never created a shade with a permanent pleat at the bottom. I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her yet.

 

What is a permanent pleat, Laurel? 

 

A permanent pleat is when the pleat or fold is sewn so that there is always a fold, even when the shade is hanging all the way down. I thought we had discussed it, and it is included on the work order, which I will share in a second.

As you recall, I specked the shades about 18″ too short because I know I won’t ever let them all the way down, and I was afraid it would be too much fabric.

So, let’s take a look at them installed.

Javier had these up so fast, but alas, that’s when we discovered the issue with the cords. It is not difficult to fix. Someone is most likely coming next week to restring and reinstall the shades.

 

Even without the permanent fold, they look quite lovely as they are.

 

 

The shade on the left looks greenish due to the ivy on the wall outside the window!

 

Now, let’s take a look at the shade in the den.

 

I have to confess that I was a bit nervous about it. Was it the right color? Would it look weird? Should I have done the Brunschwig Le Lac?

The image above is a virtual Roman shade from last January.

 

Again, I love everything about this beautiful Roman Shade!

And I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did not do the Le Lac in the den. As some of you feared, it would’ve been too busy. If the window wasn’t so visible, that might be different.

The two rooms are tied together, and the white looks fantastic juxtaposed with the other white elements in the color-blocked room. The black trim looks so wonderful!

 

 

Like my inspiration, Greek Key trim designed by Meg Braff, the trim on mine looks like the darkest charcoal gray. But make no mistake; it is BLACK and in person, bolder than it appears in these images.

 

 

Meg Braff Designs – I copied her beautiful Greek Key-trimmed Roman Shade – Photo Nick Mele.

 

Below are the diagrams and instructions I sent to Dianne.

 

Let’s take another look at the living room.

 

The image above almost looks like a virtual shade, but no, they are there!

As for the misunderstanding, or things going wrong. It’s part of the business, no matter how careful one is. I’m so relieved I’m no longer working with clients. The anxiety I had every time I had an installation was awful. It’s bad enough when it’s only me involved.

Okay, that’s all for now.

We’ll finish the mouldings, finishes, and architectural details on the lower level on Sunday. 

xo,

 

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Hi Everyone,

I was going to finish up the mouldings and tile downstairs; however, I have a Roman Shade update.

Dianne got back to me right away and felt awful about all of it– the short cord and the lack of a permanent pleat. (fold) just before the nine-inch flap at the bottom of the shade, which would always be exposed, whether the shade is up or down. The reason for the permanent pleat is that when the shade is fully extended, it doesn’t resemble a sheet hanging on a clothesline.

 

Haha. Slight exaggeration, but not by much.

 

Early in my career, we did plain white linen Roman Shades in a boy’s room. One day after the shades were installed, I was in the boy’s bedroom for another reason. To my horror, not only were they just hanging like a piece of cloth, but they were also dragging on the sill a bit. Ugh. I was grateful my wealthy client didn’t seem to be one bit phased. That experience taught me that I needed always to specify a permanent pleat for all of my Roman Shade orders.

However.

 

I realize you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, because there must be another reason I’m still writing about the Roman Shades.

 

The truth is, I also goofed.

 

 

 

How’d you do that, Laurel?

 

Do you mean the goof or the animation?

 

The animation, Laurel. 

 

AI, of course. You know, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

 

 

How did you goof, Laurel?

 

Okay, I still adore the shades, but the truth is, I really should’ve ordered them the full 102 inches instead of 80″. That’s why I’m hanging my head in shame.

Some of you questioned that decision, and I said it would be fine. Well, it would be if I were certain that the shades would always be up at least halfway.  However, they look good hanging low, and the sun is still reflecting inside more than I realized.

 

The reason I didn’t order them the full 102″ is that I was worried there’d be way too much bulk when the shades are up.

 

I think the longest Roman Shade I’ve ever had made was maybe 72″. In fact, hang on.

 

Wait, no. These are maybe 66″ long.

My big shade in Bronxville was 68″, and it was not that easy to pull up.

 

These shades had rings only on the ends, which is one reason why.  My shades are straight across and have four rows of rings to distribute the weight.

 

Still, I was nervous about doing such a super-long shade.

 

However, I talked to Dianne. She felt bad because she made a mistake about the pleat, and I felt bad because it began to bug me when I noticed how much sun was still coming in with the 22″ of glass showing.

 

So, Dianne volunteered to remake them– gratis.

 

I’m not used to this. What I’m used to are workrooms not taking any responsibility for anything.

I wrote a post which many of you have seen, but if you haven’t, it’s a must-read. It’s about 15 hideous mistakes one can make– with fabric. Well, it should be 1500.

 

However, two incidents occurred in my business years ago that I don’t think are mentioned in that post.

 

One was with an upholstery fabric. I may have mentioned this in another post. But, anyway, about a month after the client received two custom chairs and an ottoman upholstered in the same Kravet fabric, I got a call that the welting was unraveling.

Say what???

It’s a horrible feeling. I know this will cost me money. The question is, “How much money?”

 

I went over to the client’s home and, trying to be empathetic, I brought my stomach knot with me.

 

She was right. The welting was unraveling.

I contacted the guy who made the chairs.

You already know.

He played ignorant; not his problem.

I called Kravet. It wasn’t their problem either.

 

I argued with Kravet and told them it was bloody well their problem.

 

The fabric shouldn’t be unraveling!

They said, “Well, we don’t know what you were using the fabric for.”

Yes, guys, that’s what they said.

I told them we had used it to make a couple of dog beds and a scratching post for my client’s cat.

 

Of course, I quickly retorted.

 

“No, we used it to upholster two club chairs and an ottoman. Is that not what this upholstery weight fabric is for? If the fabric required special treatment for upholstery, it should have been specified on the label.

This time, I was right and they knew it.

I got the manager on the horn, and they reluctantly sent me another 20 yards of fabric for the do-over.

 

Now, let’s discuss the upholsterer who knowingly used fabric that was unraveling for the welting.

 

Should he have realized that there was a problem with the fabric?

YES!!! A thousand times, yes. However, I didn’t press it. I should have but I didn’t.

Why did the fabric unravel?

It’s a type of weave with tiny horizontal ribs, known as an ottoman. When this type of weave is cut on the bias for welting, it will unravel.

 

It was similar to the fabric shown below.

 

What is the solution?

There are two. One is to send the fabric out to be knit-backed. We’ve talked about that one, for sure.

The other solution I was unaware of at the time, but later learned about, is that the upholsterer could have glued the ends of the fabric to prevent them from unraveling. But, he didn’t do that.

 

Furthermore, he didn’t give me a break in any way to re-do the chairs and ottoman.

 

The fabric was exceptionally nice, and it worked well for another job that required an upholstered ottoman. So, I had to take care of that one; of course, it was unraveling too.

My entire profit from those pieces of furniture was wiped out entirely.

Finally, the client with the chairs, to show her gratitude for my prompt attention, stiffed me on the last bill for the balance of two end tables.

 

Isn’t this fun?

 

As I’ve often said. I love design, but I can’t stand the business.

One more quick story. This one involves a Roman Shade. One time, in a book, I saw a very cool Roman Shade made with a sheer fabric on top to let max light in and an opaque fabric on the bottom half in a contrasting color for privacy.

I had a job that was perfect for this treatment, and the client loved it too.

As always, I was there for the installation, and although this one-woman workroom had made 100s of Roman Shades for me, these looked like something the dog dragged in. But, the installer steamed them and they were better.

 

A couple of days later, I got the call I was hoping wouldn’t come, but did.

 

The client hated her shades and said they looked like rags. She wasn’t screaming at me. Yes, on occasion, I’d get someone screaming in my ear. Of course, I knew that the four shades needed to be re-done.

This one-woman workroom that I had given dozens of jobs to for over ten years, did not budge one nickel on the price to do four more Roman shades with one fabric, this time.

Again,  the fact that they didn’t turn out wasn’t in any way her fault or her problem. I was incredulous. I thought it would’ve been fair if she split the cost of the labor, and I would supply the fabric. She refused.

And yes, I stopped working with her shortly after that.

 

Well, I think y’all get the point.

 

That’s why when Dianne told me she’d take care of it, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I wasn’t expecting that. She is a rare jewel who stands behind her work. She has integrity. That’s why her company, By Harrington, has been on my Hot Sales page for the last few years. Plus, her prices are very reasonable. I promise you that whatever she’s charging, the price would be at least triple in Boston.

Things go wrong. We all make mistakes, but if it’s not a matter of life or death, the mistakes themselves aren’t the issue. It’s how people handle the mistakes that matters.

Like I always say. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes; I just try not to make the same ones twice.”

xo,

 

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