The Melrose range from 247 Blinds is a made-to-measure roman blind offered in 6 shades, starting from £13.00. It is a blackout fabric throughout, so every colourway in the range is built to block daylight rather than simply soften it - a single brief served across a tightly grouped palette of greys, a warm neutral and a soft white.
Who it suits
A roman blind folds up into soft horizontal pleats as it raises and hangs as a flat fabric panel when lowered, which gives it a softer, more upholstered look than a roller or a venetian. That makes the style a natural fit for living rooms and bedrooms, where the fabric finish matters as much as the function. Because the Melrose cloth is blackout, the range leans towards bedrooms and nurseries in particular, or any room where cutting daylight is the priority.
The soft, folded construction is less suited to steamy kitchens and bathrooms, where moisture can sit in the pleats and the fabric is harder to wipe down than a flat roller or an aluminium slat. For those rooms a different style would serve you better; for a calm bedroom or a north-facing sitting room, the blackout cloth and the muted palette are well matched.
The colours
6 colours available
The palette is deliberately restrained and centred on grey. Four of the shades are greys - Cobblestone, Lead Grey, Silver Rain and Wool Grey - running from softer, paler tones through to deeper, cooler ones, with a warm neutral in Wheat and a Soft White completing the spread. There are no brights or patterns here; the range is built around quiet, room-neutral tones that recede rather than draw the eye. That makes it a straightforward range to match to an existing scheme, since the greys cover a useful spread of warmth and depth without forcing a single specific tone. Colour on a screen and colour filling a window can differ considerably, so request a sample before committing to a full-sized blind, particularly when matching one grey to an existing wall or carpet.
Price by your dimensions
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The range starts at an accessible entry point with the standard fitting. A no-drill fitting is also available, which clips into the window frame without screws, and that option starts higher - so if you want to avoid drilling, expect to pay more than the headline figure. Use the widget above to see the price for your own window in either fitting.
How it compares
Against a roller blind in the same room, a Melrose roman gives a softer, more decorative finish - folded pleats rather than a flat panel - at the cost of a little more upkeep and a fabric that is harder to wipe clean. Against a venetian, the difference is starker still: a venetian offers tilt control and gaps that always admit some light, whereas this blackout roman is built to shut daylight out and has no slats to adjust. Within the roman category itself, the draw of this range is the blackout cloth combined with a calm, grey-led palette, which suits bedrooms and quiet living spaces more than busy, bright rooms.
A note on care
Roman blinds need gentler handling than wipe-clean styles. Vacuum the folds occasionally with a soft brush attachment to lift dust from the pleats, and spot-clean any marks with a damp cloth and a mild detergent rather than soaking the fabric. Avoid hanging a roman in a consistently damp room, since moisture trapped in the folds is slow to dry, and raise the blind fully now and then so the pleats settle evenly rather than holding a permanent crease.