Would you believe that roller shades have been around for more than a 100 years? At that time it was in the form of roller roman shades. They are great for providing privacy as well as to darken the room or protect the room from the strong sunlight.

So roller shades are basically made out of a stiff fabric that is wound around a wooden or metal roller. In order to make it roll, a spring mechanism is incorporated so that the blind can be raised and lowered to any position and then released to recoil to its top rolled up state.

To complete the shade, there is a firm metal rod at the bottom to keep it straight as well as to weigh it down when lowered. The base is sometimes decorated with braid, frills and accessories. Nowadays roller shades are made out of both fabric and vinyl or PVC. This makes it easier to clean and it won’t be damage by moisture so it can be used even in the bathroom. They can be used on their own or you can mix it with curtains at the side.

The pulley system of the shades is pretty simple as it uses just a chain or cord at the side to raise and lower the shade. If you can afford it you should go for the motorized ones and they usually come with a remote controls and timer as well.

Like the other types of blinds you can choose from either the outside or inside mount. The inside mount will be installed within the window frame so the brackets will be installed at top of frame. The outside mount shades on the other hand are meant to cover the whole window frame and a bit of the wall. So the brackets are installed on the wall at the top of the window frame.