What To Consider When Determining If Inside or Outside Mounted is Best
In the pages of this document below are pictures of Inside Mounted Shades and Outside Mounted shades. There are several things to consider when determining if inside or outside mounted shades are best for your situation.
Inside Mounted Shades may be best…
If you have decorative molding at the top of your window or attractive decorative window casings that you want to feature and not hide.
You are using beautiful wallpaper and you want the window casing to frame the roman shade to separate the fabric of the roman shade from the wallpaper.
You are painting your window casing as a decorative element.
If the top of your windows are close to the ceiling, and you don’t have at least 4” of wall space above your windows.
If you are using expensive fabric, inside mounted shades use less fabric than outside mounted shades.
Outside Mounted Shades if you have at least 4” of wall space above windows which you need to accommodate the lifting mechanism so it doesn’t interfere with window casing…
You can mount outside roman shades several inches above the windows depending on how much room you have. This makes the windows feel taller. This is an advantage if you have shorter windows, but is equally beneficial with taller windows if you want to let as much light in as possible during the day. If the roman shades are mounted several inches above the window, when they are up, they stack mostly on the wall, so you are not blocking as much glass and allowing more light into the room.
If you are using a beautiful print fabric and would like to show off more of the design, mounting the shades high above the window, will allow you to showcase more of the fabric while making the windows feel taller.
You can also mount the roman shades right to the ceiling or just below the crown molding. See pictures below showing the various options and how they look. You can mount them as high above the window as you would like.
You have unattractive window frames, or windows are at different heights. Outside mounted shades can hide defects, and create balance when mounting them at the same height even though the windows are different lengths.
Inside Mounted Roman Shades
If you are considering inside mounted roman shades, look at the top of your window. Measure the depth of the flat surface. Usually roman shades are mounted on a 1.5” deep board, so at least a 1.5” flat recess at the top of your window is needed. If you use the Continuous Cord Loop Clutch System that requires a minimum 1.5” deep board. A Standard Cordlock can be mounted on a board as narrow as ¾” for a narrow recess.
Some windows have decorative molding of varying levels which does not provide a very large flat surface for mounting. These style windows would be better for an outside mounted roman shade. However, if you prefer an inside mounted shade and have at least a 1” flat surface for mounting a board it may be possible. Please send pictures of the inside of your window to determine the best option.
Some windows have multiple “steps” and the flat surface is enough to mount a roman shade. For instance with this window you can mount it set back where the BLUE line is, or set towards the front of the window where the RED line is.
Measure the mounting depth of the area where you want to mount the shade. If you have at least 1” of flat area you can mount it inside the window.
For Windows with beautiful decorative moldings, inside mounted roman shades will show case the window frame like a picture.
Roman Shade in Christopher Farr Carnival Green with Kravet Orient Point 1.75 Wide Delphinium T30596-1515 Trim.
Inside mounted is ideal for this window with decorative molding and also because it is right up against a wall.
Roman Shade in Schumacher Indian Arbre Hyacinth.
A nice design element is painting your window casings a contrasting color which will create a nice frame around the roman shade.
Roman Shade in Sister Parish Serendipity Red to highlight Red painted window casing and crown molding with matching wallpaper on ceiling. Designer Philippa Fraumeni -Photographer Jenny Antill
The white window frame around the inside mounted roman shade creates a nice border between the fabric and the wallpaper, showcasing them both nicely, creating balance.
Roman Shade in Brunschwig & Fils Talavera Linen in Birch with Quadrille Sigourney Large Scale Wallpaper Taupe on White.
Inside Mounted Shades create a nice clean look when using a beautiful color paint on the walls along with matching window frame which complements the fabric on the roman shade beautifully.
Roman Shade in Penny Morrison Kalindi Blue Yellow - Jennifer Hickey Interiors -Designer and Photographer
An inside mounted roman shade framed by the window casing was ideal for this room with decorative moldings on the walls creating a beautiful balanced look.
Roman Shade in Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock Charcoal - Brexton Cole Interiors
MOUNTING OUTSIDE HALFWAY BETWEEN TOP OF WINDOW & CEILING OR CROWN MOLDING
Mounting halfway between top of window and ceiling or crown molding will make the windows feel taller. This also allows more of the roman shade to stack on the wall instead of the glass when the shades are up, allowing more light in during the day and showcasing more of the fabric design.
Roman Shades in Sister Parish Serendipity Blue Orange SPF 2500-02
Roman Shades Jeffrey Allen Marks for Kravet Waterpolo in Stone
Double Width Roman Shade in Quadrille Zig Zag French Blue on Tint with Samuel & Sons Grosgrain Ribbon Trim in Myrtle. Window has no window casing.
Roman Shade in Thibaut Cairo Pink Coral AF9625
This bathroom had a short window but plenty of wall space above the window, so mounting it several inches above the window made the window feel taller, and when the shade was up, it allowed more light to come into the room as it did not block as much glass.
Roman Shade in Schumacher Skittles Blueberry with Quadrille Nitik Wallpaper in Blue
Roman Shade in Schumacher Citrus Garden Primary with Navy Trim mounted halfway between top of window casing and ceiling.
If you would like to add additional height, you can mount the roman shade right under the crown molding
Relaxed Roman Shade in Schumacher
Citrus Garden -Designed by Peter and Barbara Himler - Photography @kmarksphoto
Relaxed Roman Shade in Christopher Farr Venecia Hot Pink
WINDOWS WITH NO WINDOW CASING
Inside Mounted Roman Shade for window with no casing and a mounting depth of at least 1 1/2” inside the window.
Double Wide Roman Shade in Quadrille Arbre De Matisse Reverse Camel on Tint – Designed by Peter and Barbara Himler - Photography @kmarksphoto
This window had no window casing, so an inside mounted roman shade creates clean lines and plays off the color of the wall behind the shelving.
Roman Shade in Schumacher Acanthus Stripe in Sky (34 inches wide featuring 3 stripes) Katie Voelz Designs
There are no window casings, so by mounting outside the window, the shade was extended 1 ½ inches past each side of the window to prevent light gaps on the sides. Blackout lining was used.
The shade was mounted to the ceiling to make the windows appear taller and to allow more light in during the day by not blocking as much glass when the shades were up. It also allows more of the fabric pattern to be featured.
Roman Shades in Christopher Farr Breakwater in Pale Blue with Samuel & Sons Cambridge Strie Braid on bottom edge.
This window had no window casing, so the shade was mounted to the ceiling to make the window appear taller. When the shade was up, it stacked mostly on the wall instead of covering the glass, allowing more light into the room.
Roman Shade in Quadrille Zig Zag French Blue on Tint with Samuel & Sons Cobalt Grosgrain Ribbon Trim
In this white bathroom with a featureless window, the fabric on the roman shade was the focus. The shade was mounted to the ceiling, to showcase more of the design and make the window seem taller.
Roman Shade in Clarence House Tibet in Multi Blues.
In this laundry room, the roman shade was mounted to the ceiling to showcase Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon in Ebony. The shade stacked mostly on the wall, to allow more light into the room when the shade was up. It also makes the shorter window appear taller.
If you have less than 4”, but at least 1” between the top of your window and the ceiling, and you would like to do an outside mounted shade, you can opt for mounting the board right on top of the window casing.
You would mount 1/2” “L” brackets right on the window casing itself. You need to have at least 1/2” of a flat area on the window casing so the “L” brackets are level.
You would mount 1 “L” bracket in the center of the window casing, so the top of the “L” bracket is flush with the top of the window casing and one in each corner, then place the shade right on top of the window casing and “L” brackets. Instructions on how to install this type of mount is in a separate document.
This guide is available to download as a free PDF available here.