The Arklow Natural Woven range from Unbeatable Blinds is a made-to-measure roman blind offered in 5 shades, starting from £9.59. It is a woven-look roman in a small set of natural tones, leaning on greys with a softer cream, so the range suits a room where a textured fabric that folds into soft pleats is wanted rather than a flat panel or a slatted blind.

Who it suits

A roman blind draws up into soft horizontal pleats and lets down to hang as a flat panel of fabric, which gives it a softer, more upholstered look than a roller or a slatted blind. That makes it a natural fit for living rooms and bedrooms, where the folded fabric reads as a piece of soft furnishing rather than a purely functional window covering. The woven character of this range adds a little texture to that, which suits a room where the blind is meant to be seen as part of the decor.

This is a standard, light-filtering range rather than a blackout one. The fabric filters and softens daylight rather than blocking it, so it is better suited to a living space than to a room that needs to be fully darkened. Roman blinds are also less ideal for steamy kitchens and bathrooms, where the fabric and folds can hold damp; for those rooms a wipe-clean roller or a moisture-tolerant blind is the safer choice. In a living room or bedroom, the soft pleats and woven texture are exactly where this range is at home.

The colours

5 colours available

The Arklow range stays within a small group of natural, woven tones, with the cloths named Kinsale Ivory, Mist, Kinsale Dark Grey and Kinsale Steel Grey. The weight of the range sits in the greys, from a paler mist through to a darker steel and a deeper dark grey, with a softer ivory cream as the lighter option. That makes it a tonal, neutral range rather than a colourful one, easy to specify for a room already decorated in calm, natural shades where a textured grey or cream is wanted. Colour on a screen and colour filling a window can differ considerably, and woven textures in particular can read differently in the room, so request a sample before committing to a full-sized blind.

Price by your dimensions

Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.

Price around its usual level (checked since 23 Jun).

The range sits at a very accessible entry point for a roman blind. The price you see will depend on the finished width and drop, since a larger blind uses more fabric and a longer headrail. A roman uses more cloth than a flat roller of the same size because of the way it folds, which is part of the trade for its softer, pleated look.

How it compares

Against a roller blind, a roman gives a softer, more decorative finish, folding into pleats rather than rolling onto a tube, though it is a little more involved to keep clean and less suited to damp rooms. Against a vertical or venetian, the roman offers no tilt - it is raised or lowered as a single panel - but it brings a warmth and texture that hard slats do not, especially in a woven cloth like this. Within the Unbeatable Blinds roman offering, Arklow is one of the more natural, texture-led ranges; plainer or more colourful roman fabrics exist if the room calls for a different look.

A note on care

A roman blind needs a gentle touch. Dust it regularly with a soft brush or a vacuum on a low setting, working across the pleats, and spot-clean marks with a damp cloth rather than soaking the fabric, which the woven texture in particular will not thank you for. Raise and lower the blind occasionally to keep the folds sitting evenly, and keep it clear of steam and persistent damp so the cloth and pleats stay in good order over time.