Roman Shades for Homes in Fall River, MA

Deep Reveals, Tall Sash and Hillside Light

Fall River was built on hills, and its houses show it. Through the Highlands and Corky Row, mill-era three-deckers and Victorians stand close together with tall, narrow double-hung windows set into deep interior reveals. Down near Battleship Cove, waterfront condominiums have broad panes of modern glass. Roman shades in Fall River, MA have to suit both, and also the fact that on a sloping street, the front of a house and the back of it can get completely different light.

Those deep reveals are good news for a roman shade. There is room inside the frame for the folds to stack, so the shade can sit neatly within the window and leave the old trim and plaster returns on show. The trick is getting the proportions right on such a tall, slim opening, which is why every shade is made to the window it will hang in.

• Flat, hobbled and relaxed folds in our own fabric range
• Measured at each window, so the folds suit its height
• Hung by our installers, with every shade checked before we leave

Folds and Fabrics for Fall River Rooms

Flat fold

Clean, level pleats that stack when raised. The tidiest choice for a tall sash, and the one that lets a printed cloth show its whole pattern.

Hobbled fold

Soft folds that hang one over the next down the full length. A good match for a Victorian parlour that can take a richer, heavier fabric.

Relaxed fold

Flat across the face with a gentle curve along the bottom. Light and informal, and well suited to bedrooms on the upper floors.

Drapes alongside

Our drapery can frame a roman shade or cover the wider glass in a condominium. More on drapes made for the city.

Custom drapes in Fall River

Cellular shades

For a draughty north facing room on the cold side of the hill, a honeycomb shade holds in more warmth than one layer of fabric.

Cellular shades in Fall River

Cushions to match

The same cloth as your shade can go into pillows, a duvet cover or a bolster for the room.

Fabric decor in Fall River

Fitting Roman Shades in Fall River, MA

Most questions about roman shades in Fall River, MA come down to three things: the shape of the old windows, the light on each side of the house, and the very different glass in the newer waterfront buildings. Here is how each of those shapes the shade you end up with.

Working inside a deep reveal

A reveal is the depth of wall between the window and the room, and in many of the city’s older houses it is generous. That depth lets a roman shade hang fully inside the opening, with the headrail tucked up under the top of the frame and the folds stacking within the window rather than in front of the wall. The trim around the window, often the best original detail in the room, stays completely visible.

An inside mount like this asks for careful measuring, because old openings are rarely true. The top may be a little wider than the sill, or one side may lean. We measure each window at several points and make the shade to suit the narrowest, so it rises and falls without catching. Where a sash lock, a pulley cover or a heavy old latch sticks out, we note it and allow for it, so the folds clear it every time.

Getting the proportions right on a tall, narrow window

A three-decker sash is often tall and slim, and on a window like that the depth of each fold makes all the difference. Folds that are too deep look heavy and bunch when raised. Folds that are too shallow can look fussy. We set them to the height of the window, so a fully raised shade sits as a neat block at the top, leaving most of the glass clear for daylight.

A flat fold suits this shape best, because its pleats lie in crisp lines that echo the vertical frame. A relaxed fold can also look good on a tall window, especially in a bedroom, where the soft curve at the hem breaks up all those straight lines.

Three-decker floors and the rooms on each

A three-decker stacks a similar plan on each floor, so the same window sizes often repeat from one flat to the next. If you live on one floor, you only need to think about your own rooms. If you own the whole house, it can make sense to choose a single lining colour for every street facing window, so the building looks even from outside while each floor picks its own face fabric.

The front rooms of a three-decker usually face the street through a bay or a pair of sash, and the back rooms open onto a porch or a narrow yard. Bedrooms at the back can be dimmer, and a lighter fabric keeps them from feeling closed in. Front rooms on a busy street may want a lined shade for privacy in the evening.

Victorian parlours and bay windows

The Victorians in the Highlands often have a front parlour with a bay of three tall windows, each in its own reveal. A roman shade in each section, matched in fold and fabric and raised to the same line, keeps the bay looking like one window. A hobbled fold in a heavier cloth gives a formal room its weight, and side drapes on the outer windows can soften the whole bay further.

Some of these rooms have very high ceilings. In that case, we may mount the shade higher than the frame so it lifts the eye and makes the window look taller still. We will show you the difference at the window before deciding.

Radiators, sills and old hardware

Where an older room has a radiator under the window and a wide wooden sill above it, the shade needs a little planning. A roman shade that hangs inside the reveal stops at the sill, so it never drapes over the radiator, which keeps the fabric away from the heat and lets warm air rise past the glass. Where the shade is mounted outside the frame, we size the drop so the hem finishes at the sill rather than below it.

Old sash can also carry hardware that a new shade has to work around: brass sash lifts, thumb latches, and the occasional window that has been painted shut for years. We note each of these when we measure, and if a window is not opening at all, we make sure the shade is planned so it will still work once the sash is freed.

Light on Both Sides of the Hill

Because so many of the city’s streets climb a slope, a house can face the morning sun on one side and look into a hillside or the house next door on the other. The two sides of the same house rarely want the same shade.

The bright side. Rooms that take strong direct sun benefit from a lined shade, which protects the face fabric and keeps the folds looking full. Paler colours and plainer weaves show long hours of sunlight less than deep, saturated ones. A shade lowered just partway in the afternoon shades the top of the room while keeping the lower glass open to the view.

The shaded side. Rooms that rarely see direct sun want every bit of daylight. An unlined shade in a light linen or cotton lets light glow through the cloth even when it is down, so the room still feels bright. Mounting the shade so it stacks above the glass, rather than across the top of it, keeps more of the window clear when it is raised.

The bedroom. Wherever the bedroom faces, a heavier backing helps keep it dim on early summer mornings. On the bright side of the hill, that matters even more.

Condominiums near Battleship Cove

The waterfront condominiums near Battleship Cove are a different job from the old housing up the hill. Their glass is large and modern, frames are often slim metal with little depth for an inside mount, and many living rooms face the water across most of a wall.

For glass like this, we usually mount roman shades outside the frame, on the wall or ceiling above, so the raised shade stacks completely clear of the view. On a very wide window, a row of shades, each sized to its own section and all set to the same height, is lighter to use than one wide shade and lets you shade one part while leaving the rest open. A flat fold in a plain, textured fabric gives the clean line that suits a modern interior.

If the window reaches close to the ceiling, or is hard to reach behind furniture, ask us about motorised shades for Fall River. Where a balcony door sits in the same wall, drapes on a long rod are often more practical than a roman shade, because the door can be opened without a fold hanging in the way.

Water throws light back up into a room, so a condominium facing the cove can be bright well into the evening, with glare on the television or a desk. A shade lowered to just above eye level cuts the reflected light while keeping the sky and the horizon in view, and a lined flat fold in a mid tone softens the room without darkening it.

Choosing a Fold for Each Room

A few pairings come up again and again in Fall River houses.

• Front parlour or living room: a hobbled fold in a heavier fabric for a Victorian room, or a flat fold in a textured linen for a lighter look.
• Kitchen: a flat fold in a light cloth, often unlined, raised well clear of the counter.
• Bedrooms: a relaxed fold with a heavier backing, or a flat fold if the window is very tall.
• Condominium living rooms: flat folds in a plain cloth, mounted outside the frame to keep the view.
• Stairs and landings: a flat fold, because it stacks small and stays out of the way on a window you pass every day.

Roman shades with other treatments

A roman shade does not have to work alone. In a formal Victorian dining room, a hobbled shade can sit inside the reveal while full length drapes hang on the wall outside it, giving the window layers of fabric and colour. In a three-decker kitchen, a single flat fold over the sink can sit beside a cellular shade on a colder back window, in the same colour. We plan the combinations at the same measuring visit, so everything is sized and ordered together.

What Happens After You Call

We keep in touch at every stage, from the first question to the last shade hanging. An order for roman shades in Fall River, MA usually runs like this.

1. You ring the Swansea store or send the form, say which rooms you have in mind, and arrange a free quote.
2. One of our specialists visits to measure. Each window is measured at several points, with the reveal depth, any locks or latches and the ceiling height noted.
3. You choose the fabric, the fold and the lining, either with samples brought to the house or by visiting the showroom.
4. You get a quote that lists each window, so you know exactly what is being made.
5. Your shades are made to those measurements.
6. Our installers fit them, run each one up and down to check that the folds fall evenly, and show you how to use them.
7. If anything needs adjusting afterwards, you call the store and we sort it out.

Caring for the fabric

A soft brush attachment on a vacuum, used on a low setting, keeps the folds clean. Most marks can be dabbed carefully with a damp cloth once you have tested a hidden spot. Fabric shades are generally not machine washed, because washing can shrink the cloth and spoil the shape of the folds. We tell you what suits the fabric when you order. If a shade is ever knocked out of shape or a fold starts to hang unevenly after a few years, call us and we will take a look before you think about replacing it.

You will find everything we make for the city on our Fall River window treatments page, and the whole service on the main roman shades page.

Why Window Works

Window Works was founded in Swansea in 1988, a short drive from Fall River, and is now run by the second generation of the family. In over 37 years the store has worked on houses across the SouthCoast and the Rhode Island East Bay.

• Fabric and drapery are at the heart of what we do
• An experienced team of window treatment specialists
• Measuring in your home, window by window
• Installation by our own team
• Warranties offered on the products we sell
• Constant contact with you until every shade is up

Handle the Fabrics in Swansea

The showroom in Swansea is the place to compare the fabric range in daylight before you order roman shades in Fall River, MA. Feel how a crisp cloth holds a flat fold and how a softer one falls into hobbled loops, and see how a colour changes when the light comes through it.

Bring a photo of the room, a cushion or a paint sample and we will help you narrow it down. The Norman range is on show there as well.

Visit the showroom

Book Your Free Quote

When you are ready, ask us for a free quote. The call button puts you through to the Swansea store, where you can arrange a measuring visit or ask about installation, or you can send the form and we will be in touch. If you would like to see the fabrics first, our contact page has the way to the showroom. Window Works holds a 5.0 rating on Google.