Ideas for Faux Roman Shade Valances with Grosgrain Ribbon Trims

Faux Roman shade valances are modern and budget-friendly.

If you want to upgrade yours, grosgrain ribbon trims are a popular addition. We offer over 150 grosgrain ribbon choices, but how do you choose the color?

Besides ordering samples to make sure you’ll like the fabrics and trims, there are few rules to follow.

When choosing grosgrain ribbons, the key is to not try to match the background color of the fabric, but to choose a grosgrain ribbon color that’s either a great contrast or coordinating color to the chosen fabric.

Here are a few ideas to help inspire you.

Coordinating Colors

The idea of coordinating is to pick a color in the fabric and then carry that color to the grosgrain ribbon trim. It’s best if the color is a less prevalent color found in the fabric. In other words, don’t choose the predominant background color found in the fabric.

In the example below, customer chose to coordinate the grosgrain ribbon to the smoky brown color. Because the fabric features an oversized medallion pattern, customer chose an extra long faux shade (32 inches long) to make sure the medallion would fit nicely in the center of the valance.

Like this style? Find it here.

In the example below, the ribbon trim picked up the white color found in the geometric design. This faux shade turned out especially nice thanks to the fabric being a heavyweight basketweave linen blend.

Like this style? Find it here.

Here’s another example of a heavyweight linen blend fabric with coordinating grosgrain ribbon trim. This one picks up the navy blue in the geometric pattern and carries it over along the edges of the valances.

Like this style? Find it here.

Contrasting Colors

Not all ribbon trims coordinate with the fabric. Sometimes customers choose contrasting colors that aren’t found in the fabric!

That’s fine too, because that’s how focal points and contrasts are created in a room.

Here are a few examples.

The same dark blue grosgrain ribbon in the example above was used for this natural linen faux shade valance. Our customers also like this fabric with black ribbon trim.

Like this style? Find it here.

For the two valances below – the red toile and gray lattice – notice how both fabrics have gray accent colors.

Therefore, choosing gray grosgrain ribbon trim would have meant that the trim coordinated with the fabrics.

But instead, customers chose black grosgrain ribbon trim to create a contrast. This gives the valances more depth and makes them stand out more in a room.

Like this style? Find it here.

Like this style? Find it here.

Those are just some of the examples we’ve made over the years with grosgrain ribbon trims. The question now is – will you choose a coordinating trim or a contrasting trim?

In conclusion, you can find these ideas in our faux Roman shade valances here, or take a look at our functional Roman shades too!