Hello friends!
Hey look, new content on SYL!
Sorry for my brief hiatus; I’d like to tell you something dramatic happened,
like we won the HGTV Dream House and have been whisked away to see our new digs…..
but alas, it was more along the lines of
2 feet of snow, a touch of the flu, a weekend away and teenagers that need mom’s laptop for homework just about any time she sits down to write a blog post.
Nothing too dramatic, just a little real life getting in the way of photo editing and writing.
{But I’m still holding out hope on the Dream Home 🙂 }
While I have been a non-blogging blogger as of late, I have been making tons of progress on my bedroom.
I am a huge fan of bamboo blinds – are you??
My Pinterest “Windows” board is filled with bamboo blinds flanked by drapes.
Over the winter I installed bamboo roman shades in our living room. I needed 5 of them and even though the shades I bought were on sale, they were somewhere in the vicinity of $200.
When I was looking around for shades for our master bedroom, I noticed there is quite a price difference between bamboo roman shades and bamboo roll up shades.
I thought I was partial to the roman shade look with it’s stacked folds….
but then I realized plenty of my inspiration pictures in beautiful rooms have the less expensive roll up shades that can look just as pleasing to the eye.
{via bhg}
These Levolor bamboo shades at Lowes are $42.96 for 30″.

By comparison, the roll-up shades are $19.95 for the 30″ size.
(Fruitwood)

(Cocoa)
I used the “Pecan” color in our bedroom and am really digging it with the new wall color and crisp white from the curtains, bedding and trim.
The one big difference I see between the roman and roll up shades is the mounting hardware. The roman shades have brackets that screw into the shade and the window frame, whereas the roll up shades have cheesy little hooks to hang the shade from. The hardware is exposed and cheapens the look of the shade.
Tomorrow I’ll show you how I hid the hardware (and the cord) for a more finished look.
What do you think about roll up shades vs. roman? Are you a fan or no?
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
good to know that lowes has those for a decent price- we need two for our own master bedroom…. at some point i will get there! 🙂
My Crafty Home Life says
Lisa, the colors look fantastic together. Do you need it for privacy, or is it for decoration? You know if you wanted, you could probably convert these into a roman with a little changing of the hardware. I have a ton of the cleats if you want to try this?
Val says
They both look great!! I've been thinking about doing these in my family room.
pam {simple details} says
I've never had any, another item on my list, so I'll be paying close attention to the outcome and your review (hint, hint)! 🙂 Fingers still crossed for you on the HGTV home!
Dana Frieling says
I like them both ways. The peek into your bedroom looks super fun. Can't wait to see more!
Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes says
I didn't know there was a difference until now! So I say go with the cheaper!! (are you surprised?? This is me after all ;).
NanaDiana says
I really like the looks of those. They adapt to almost any style and I really find they add a lot of character- xo Diana
Tiffany says
Ooh, great post! We're working on one of our rooms on the third floor. Needless to say, I really don't want to spend a fortune up there. I'm going to have to take a look at these. By the way, your room is looking awesome from what I can see. Can't wait to see more!
Nancy says
I love woven shades with all windows, formal or casual. Good point about those hook installations, I have some of those and it does cheapen it. Love roman anything.
Good luck with your projects and all you have going on!
xo Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
Anonymous says
I was hoping you'd make me a believer! lol
I inherited four sets of bamboo blinds with my new house. Three are roll up, one is roman. I prefer the roman one and am thinking of getting rid of the other three. They seem to collect a lot of dust and maybe the color is not right or something. Anyhow, they aren't speaking to me so if anyone in MA is interested I'll probably be posting on the FB Walpole Yard Sale one of these days.
-Rebecca
Jenny says
Pretty, pretty, pretty! I love the layered look of draperies and bamboo shades – can't wait to see what you've done.
Kelly @ View Along the Way says
LOVE this look. We have some we've been waiting forever to install.