The Empire is a chenille roman blind from English Blinds, available in 15 colours starting from £26.50. Chenille is a weave with a distinctly tactile pile - that textured surface sets it apart from the flat polyester fabrics found in most budget roman blinds, and the Empire's palette runs from quiet neutrals to saturated tones that can anchor a room.
Who it suits
Roman blinds fold into horizontal pleats when raised, which means they stack at the top of the window and reduce the visible glass area when fully open. That's worth knowing before ordering: in a smaller room, a roman blind can feel heavier overhead than a roller. In a living room or bedroom with a reasonable ceiling height, the stacked folds read as a design feature rather than an obstruction.
Chenille fabric suits traditional, country, and relaxed contemporary interiors well. The texture absorbs light rather than reflecting it, which lends rooms a softer, warmer quality compared to the flatter finishes common to polyester rollers. It works well in sitting rooms and master bedrooms where comfort and style carry more weight than ease of maintenance.
English Blinds does not describe this range as blackout or moisture-resistant, so we wouldn't recommend it for bathrooms or for anyone who needs genuine light elimination in a bedroom. Confirm the opacity level directly with English Blinds before ordering if that matters for your window.
The colours
15 colours available
The fifteen colours cover a broad tonal spread. Neutrals anchor the collection: Sand, Latte, Sterling (a grey), and Granite offer flexible options for rooms that need a blind to sit quietly in the background. Sage adds a muted green, while Corn brings a warm yellow - both useful for rooms with existing botanical or warm-toned schemes.
At the bolder end, Cardinal (a deep red), Bordeaux, Marine, Sky, and Spice give the range genuine colour confidence. Mahogany, Walnut, and Bronze provide warm brown tones at different depths. Larkspur sits in the blue-purple register and rounds out the collection for those looking for something a little less conventional.
The range reads less as fifteen variations on a single theme and more as a considered palette with genuine spread - warm, cool, neutral, and bold columns all represented. If you're buying for a neutral scheme, Latte and Sterling are low-risk. If you want the chenille texture to do visual work, Cardinal or Marine are worth a serious look.
Price by your dimensions
Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.
At £26.50 entry, this sits at the accessible end of roman blind pricing without looking like a budget compromise. Roman blinds in any fabric cost more than an equivalent roller, so the from-price here reflects the category rather than a premium positioned above it. The final price will depend on your specific width and drop; the widget above shows made-to-measure prices across common sizes.
How it compares
Against standard roman blinds in plain polyester or cotton-linen blends, the chenille fabric here offers more textural interest. If you're after a roman blind purely for light control and the look is secondary, a plain fabric will do the job for less. If the fabric quality and hand feel matter - particularly in rooms where the blind will be close to eye level or read as part of a layered soft-furnishing scheme - the chenille weave is a reasonable step up.
Chenille is more delicate than PVC or coated polyester; spot-clean with a damp cloth rather than soaking, and avoid over-handling the pile. If you're choosing between this and a dimout roller for a bedroom, consider whether you need the roman fold's aesthetic or whether a flat blackout roller would serve the light-control requirement more directly.
A note on care
Chenille pile can mat if rubbed heavily or washed aggressively. Vacuum the fabric gently with a brush attachment to remove dust, and spot-clean marks with a damp cloth and mild soap. Avoid soaking or machine washing unless English Blinds' care label explicitly permits it. Keep the blind out of bathrooms - moisture and chenille are a poor combination.