Roman blinds in Dubai, cloth that folds as it rises
A roman blind is a flat panel of fabric that rises into even, horizontal folds when you pull its chain.
Ours are made to measure in blackout, dimout or sheer fabric, from the same fabric book as our curtains, so a roman in the bedroom can match the curtains in the living room.
Each one is made by hand, one blind at a time, which is why a roman costs twice a roller blind's rate.
AED 180 per m²
with the headrail, chain and fitting included.
Curtains Express measures, makes and fits every roman blind, usually within about a week of your go-ahead, and every one carries a two-year warranty on stitching and fitting.
Free measuring visit
There's no walk-in counter. Someone brings the fabric book to your home or office and measures the recess, so the blind is cut to your window, not to a stock size.
Headrail, chain and fitting included
The price per m² covers the headrail, the side chain and the fitting, with a tensioner on the wall that keeps the chain taut.
Two-year warranty
Usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead, and covered for two years on stitching and fitting. We made it, so a repair later comes back to the same people.
Roman blinds, in short
- A roman blind is a flat panel of fabric that rises into even horizontal folds, held square by rods sewn into pockets across its back.
- Curtains Express makes roman blinds to measure, by hand and one at a time, in blackout, dimout or sheer fabric from the same fabric book as its curtains.
- A blackout roman fabric stops the light by itself; a dimout or sheer fabric can take a blackout lining behind it.
- A roman blind fits inside a window recess at least 7 cm deep, or on the wall or ceiling above the window, where it overlaps the frame and darkens the room more.
- One roman blind can be up to 280 cm wide and 300 cm long; wider glass takes two blinds side by side.
- A roman blind runs on a side chain held taut by a tensioner on the wall, or on a wired Somfy motor.
- Roman blinds cost from AED 180 per m² with the headrail, chain and fitting included and a 2.5 m² minimum, are usually fitted within about a week, and are covered for two years on stitching and fitting.
Want a blind that rolls away completely and wipes clean? That is a roller blind. For a kitchen or a bathroom, an aluminium venetian stands up to steam.
What roman blinds cost in Dubai
Roman blinds start at AED 180 per m², and that price includes the headrail, the side chain and the fitting. It is the same for a blackout, a dimout or a sheer fabric in the standard range; some fabrics in the book cost more.
A roman costs twice a roller blind's rate because each one is made by hand: the seams are machine-sewn, and the rod pockets and the hem are finished by hand.
A roman hangs flat, so it is priced on the blind's own area, with a minimum of 2.5 m². A 120 × 150 cm blind is 1.8 m², so it is charged at the minimum, AED 450. A 150 × 200 cm blind is 3 m², AED 540, and a 200 × 250 cm one is 5 m², AED 900.
Price your roman blind
- Area
- 150 cm × 200 cm = 3 m²
- Rate
- AED 180 per m²
AED 540
Standard blackout, dimout or sheer fabric, with the headrail, chain and fitting included; 2.5 m² minimum. A blackout lining behind a dimout or sheer costs extra, and the final figure follows the free measuring visit.
What moves the figure:
- The fabric
- Standard blackout, dimout and sheer fabrics start at AED 180 per m². Some fabrics in the book cost more.
- The style
- The flat style starts at AED 180 per m². A relaxed roman, with soft folds at the hem, is priced at the visit.
- A blackout lining
- A blackout fabric needs none. Behind a dimout or a sheer, a blackout lining adds AED 45 per m².
- The size
- Priced on the blind's area, with a 2.5 m² minimum. Glass wider than 280 cm takes two blinds, each priced on its own.
- A motor
- A wired Somfy motor in place of the chain, priced at the measuring visit.
A day-night roman is two blinds on one window, a sheer and a blackout, each on its own chain and each priced on its own area.
Measuring is free. Send rough sizes on WhatsApp for a first figure, and nothing is cut before you have seen the final one. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or in instalments with Tabby or Tamara.
To set a roman blind against a roller blind or a curtain on the same window, use our curtain and blind price calculator.
Ready-made or made-to-measure roman blinds?
For one small window in a standard size, a ready-made roman from a homeware store is the cheaper answer, and a good one: ours have a 2.5 m² minimum, so the smallest costs AED 450. Made to measure earns its price in three places:
Size
Stock romans come in a few widths and one or two drops. Ours are cut to the recess or the wall, up to 280 cm wide and 300 cm long, so tall glass in a tower or a villa is covered top to bottom.
Fabric
A true blackout fabric, or a dimout or sheer with a blackout lining behind it, in the same fabrics as the curtains elsewhere in the house.
Fitting
Fixed into the recess, the wall or a gypsum ceiling by the people who made it, with the chain on the side that suits the room and a tensioner to hold it.
Blackout, dimout or sheer roman blinds
The fabric decides what a roman does with the light. All three start at the same price.
How our roman blinds are made
Every roman we make is made by hand, one blind at a time. The fabric is cut to the size, the seams are machine-sewn, and the rod pockets and the hem are finished by hand. That takes far longer than a roller or a venetian, and it is why a roman costs more.
Ours are the flat, classic style: one panel of fabric that hangs flat when it is down and stacks into even folds when it is up. We also make a relaxed roman, whose bottom folds hang in a soft curve instead of a straight line; it is priced at the visit. Rods slide into pockets sewn across the back at even spacing, and each rod keeps one fold straight, so the blind lifts square instead of sagging in the middle.
The pockets are stitched through the fabric, so a fine line of stitching shows across the front at each rod. On a plain weave you see it; on a textured linen you barely do. Look at it on a sample, in your own light, before you choose.
The fabric is fixed to the headrail, and the chain runs down whichever side suits the room. The fabrics come from the same book as our curtains, so a roman can match the curtains on the next window.
Inside the recess, or above the window?
Where a roman is fixed decides how dark the room gets, and how much glass the folds cover when the blind is up.
Inside the recess
The blind sits within the window's reveal, which has to be at least 7 cm deep to take the headrail. It looks built in, but the blind is made a little narrower than the opening so it runs freely, and a thin line of light shows down each side.
On the wall above
The headrail fixes above the window and the blind is made wider than the opening, so it overlaps the frame on each side. The room goes darker, and with enough wall above the glass, the raised folds clear the window instead of covering its top.
On the ceiling
Where the glass runs up to the ceiling, the headrail fixes to it. In a gypsum ceiling each fixing has to find the framing behind the board, or the blind slowly pulls it loose.
Wider than 280 cm
One roman can be up to 280 cm wide and 300 cm long. Wider glass gets two blinds side by side, each on its own chain, which also keeps each one light enough to raise easily.
The chain
The chain runs down whichever side suits the room, clear of a door or a bed. A tensioner fixed to the wall holds it taut, so no loose loop hangs where a child can reach it.
Roman, roller or venetian?
Three blinds that answer different questions. Here is how a roman compares with the two it is most often weighed against.
| Roman | Roller | Venetian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fabric that folds up | Fabric on a tube | Slats that tilt |
| When it's up | A stack of folds | A slim roll | A stack of slats |
| Light and privacy | Up or down | Up or down | Tilt for light with privacy |
| The look | Soft, like a curtain | Flat and plain | Lines of slats |
| Cleaning | Dry cleaned in place | Wiped down | Wiped slat by slat |
| Near steam | No | Yes, in a wipeable fabric | Yes, in aluminium |
| Suits | Bedrooms, living rooms, studies | Any room, offices | Kitchens, bathrooms, offices |
Plenty of homes use more than one: romans in the bedrooms, and venetians or rollers where there is steam or grease.
Motorized roman blinds, with Somfy
A roman can run on a wired Somfy motor instead of the chain. It suits a tall window, a blind out of reach, or a room you want on a timer. How that compares with a motor on our other blinds is set out on the motorized blinds page.
Power at the window
A wired motor needs a power point at the headrail. That is simplest to arrange before a ceiling or a wall is closed up, so raise it at the measuring visit.
Price and warranty
The motor is priced at the visit, on top of the blind. Somfy motors carry Somfy's five-year warranty on the motor and its controls, and the blind keeps our two years on stitching and fitting.
With motorized curtains
If the curtains in the house run on Somfy too, one remote or app can work both. There is more on the motors on our motorized curtains page.
Book a free measuring visit
Tell us which rooms, roughly how wide the windows are, and whether they sit in a recess. Someone brings the fabric book to you, anywhere in Dubai.
Roman blinds for bedrooms, studies and children's rooms
Where a roman earns its place in a Dubai home, and the two rooms it doesn't.
Bedrooms
A blackout roman on the wall above the window, overlapping the frame, is the darkest way to hang one. In June the sun is up in Dubai before half past five, so an east-facing bedroom is where it counts. There is more on the rest of the room in bedroom curtains.
Studies and home offices
A dimout roman takes the glare off a screen and keeps the daylight. Because it stacks at the top, the wall beside the window stays free for shelves.
Children's rooms and nurseries
A blackout roman for daytime naps, with its chain held taut by a tensioner on the wall, out of reach.
Windows between furniture
A window between two wardrobes, or over a desk or a bed, has no room beside it for a curtain to stack. A roman takes no wall at the sides at all.
Not the kitchen or the bathroom
A roman is fabric fixed to its headrail, so grease and steam stay in it. Beside a cooker or a shower, a roller blind in a wipeable fabric or an aluminium venetian is the better answer.
The downsides of roman blinds, honestly
A roman is the softest blind there is, and it has trade-offs. Better to know them at the window than after it is up:
The folds cover glass
Raised, a roman keeps its folds at the top of the window, and inside a recess they cover the top of the glass. Fixed on the wall above, with enough wall to take the folds, the glass stays clear.
Light at the edges
Inside the recess, a thin line of light shows down each side. On the wall, overlapping the frame, it mostly goes.
Stitch lines on the front
The rod pockets are sewn through the fabric, so a fine line of stitching shows at each fold. A textured weave hides it best.
No washing machine
The fabric is fixed to the headrail, so a roman doesn't come down for the wash. Vacuum it on a low setting with a brush attachment every few weeks, and have it dry cleaned in place when it needs more.
Up or down only
Cloth doesn't tilt. If you want daylight in with the room still private, a venetian does that and a roman doesn't.
Sun on the face fabric
On south and west glass the sun fades a coloured fabric over a few summers. A pale colour shows it least, and a lining on the window side takes the sun for the fabric in front of it.
Roman blinds in towers and villas
What people ask about roman blinds
How much do roman blinds cost in Dubai?
Ours start at AED 180 per m², with the headrail, the side chain and the fitting included, in a standard blackout, dimout or sheer fabric. A roman is priced on its own area with a 2.5 m² minimum, so the smallest blind is AED 450; a 150 × 200 cm blind is AED 540 and a 200 × 250 cm one AED 900.
A blackout lining behind a dimout or sheer adds AED 45 per m², and a Somfy motor is priced at the visit. Measuring is free.
Why do roman blinds cost more than other blinds?
Because each one is made by hand. A roller blind is a fabric cut to size and fixed to a tube. A roman is cut, sewn and fitted with a rod at every fold, with the rod pockets and the hem finished by hand, one blind at a time. Ours start at AED 180 per m², with the headrail, chain and fitting included.
What is the downside of roman blinds?
Four that matter. Raised, the folds cover the top of the glass unless the blind is fixed above the window. Inside a recess, a thin line of light shows at the sides. The fabric can't come off to be washed. And cloth doesn't tilt, so a roman is up or down. Ours also show a fine line of stitching at each rod pocket.
Are roman blinds better than roller blinds?
Neither is better; they do different jobs. A roman is softer and reads like a curtain, which suits bedrooms and living rooms. A roller rolls away completely and wipes clean, which suits kitchens, bathrooms and offices. Our roller blinds page covers the other side.
Do roman blinds block out light?
The cloth can. A blackout roman fabric stops the light through it, and so does a dimout or sheer with our blackout lining behind it. The room still gets light at the edges when the blind sits inside the recess. Fixed on the wall above the window and overlapping the frame, a blackout roman gets a room much darker.
Can roman blinds be motorized?
Yes, with a wired Somfy motor, priced at the measuring visit. It needs a power point at the headrail, best arranged before a ceiling or a wall is closed up. Somfy motors carry Somfy's five-year warranty.
Should a roman blind go inside or outside the recess?
Inside, if the recess is at least 7 cm deep and you want a built-in look; expect a thin line of light at each side. Outside, on the wall or the ceiling above, if the room has to go dark or you want the raised folds clear of the glass.
How wide can a roman blind be?
Ours go up to 280 cm wide and 300 cm long. Wider glass takes two blinds side by side, each on its own chain, which also keeps each one light enough to raise easily.
How do you clean roman blinds?
Vacuum them on a low setting with a brush attachment every few weeks. The fabric is fixed to the headrail, so a roman can't go in a washing machine; for a proper clean it is dry cleaned in place by a cleaning company.
Are roman blinds safe for children?
Ours run on a chain held taut by a tensioner fixed to the wall, so no loose loop hangs down. A wired Somfy motor removes the chain altogether.
What is a day-night roman blind?
Two roman blinds on one window, a sheer and a blackout, back to back on their own chains. The sheer softens the day, and the blackout comes down at night. Each is priced on its own area, from AED 180 per m².
Can roman blinds match my curtains?
Yes. Ours are made from the same fabric book as our curtains, so a roman in the bedroom can match the curtains in the living room, or the curtains on the next window.
How long does it take, and is there a warranty?
Usually about a week from your go-ahead to a fitted blind, after a free measuring visit. Every roman carries a two-year warranty on stitching and fitting, and a Somfy motor carries Somfy's own five years.
Get a price for your window
Send the room, the rough width and height, and whether the window sits in a recess, and we will tell you where the blind should go and what it will cost.