How to Hang a Roman Shade Inside a Front Door
A Roman shade is a flat-style blind that pulls up from a cord on one side of the blind. As the blind is pulled the fabric pleats together in wide horizontal pleats. This allows the homeowner to adjust the blind for light and privacy. The cord is tied off to the side of the blind area for easy access. Roman shades are popular on both windows and doors and can be installed in a few minutes with only a few tools.
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Position the Roman shade at least 2 inches above the window area of the door. Center the shade on the window. The shade should overhang the window on each side by about an inch. This may be less if you have protruding door handles to work around.
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Level the blind with a level. If the Roman blind has a wooden batten (a batten is the header at the top of the blind and wooden battens are common with homemade Roman shades), it must be covered in fabric on all sides for your best finished appearance.
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Measure 3 inches in from each side with a tape measure and draw a line indicating the top of the batten location with a pencil. Select an L bracket that is the height and depth of the batten. Apply construction adhesive to the back of the L bracket. Screw the L bracket at each 3-inch mark so that the bottom of the L forms a shelf for the underside of the batten. Center your wood batten on the L brackets and screw the batten to the L bracket from the underside, using a screwdriver.
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Attach commercial brackets into a steel exterior door by marking the location of the brackets. Hold the brackets at the marked locations and mark the screw holes. Use a dab of construction adhesive and self-tapping metal screws to attach the brackets. Commercial shade headers snap into their brackets.
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Attach a cleat to the door above the reach of small children. The cleat should be on the same side as the Roman shade cord and 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch from the edge of the window. A cleat is a small metal bracket with two hooks that face outward. Pull the cord to the blind height you prefer and wind the cord around the cleat to hold the blind in that position.
References
Tips
- Secure the cord away from children and tucked so that the end doesn't become caught in the door closure. Commercial blinds may not use cords to open and close the blinds so some applications will not require cleats.
Writer Bio
F.R.R. Mallory has been published since 1996, writing books, short stories, articles and essays. She has worked as an architect, restored cars, designed clothing, renovated homes and makes crafts. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with bachelor's degrees in psychology and English. Her fiction short story "Black Ice" recently won a National Space Society contest.
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