Roman Shade Tips for Cord Placement

With all of the talk of cord free operation in window coverings these days, sometimes we forget to discuss simple things like which side of the shade the cords should be on, if we put a standard cord on the shade. Now, I’m not talking about left or right; I’m talking about front or back. In the Reno and Lake Tahoe areas, we so often tend to install roman shades on the inside of the window casing. When this is the case, you are risking damage to the shade as well as potentially causing your shades to get very dirty, as you will have to insert your hand between the shade and the edge of the window to get to the cord.

A very simple solution, is called cords forward. In this manufacturing style, the cords, which come from the back of the shade are passed through the material, by use of grommets, to the front of the shade, near the top of the headrail, and then are hidden by use of a valance. As the video shows, you are now able to use the cord at the front of the shade.