joann fabrics roman shade kit: A Smart Home Retrofit Guide

Waking up to natural sunlight filtering through custom linen shades that roll up precisely at 7:00 AM is a luxury usually reserved for high-end, professionally installed systems. Custom smart roman shades often cost upwards of $800 per window. But I wanted that premium, tailored look in my bedroom without the massive price tag.

Enter the DIY retrofit route. By combining a standard joann fabrics roman shade kit with an aftermarket smart tubular motor, I managed to build fully connected, voice-controlled window treatments for a fraction of the cost. In this guide, I will walk you through how to adapt this popular craft store kit for smart home integration, which motors actually fit, and the hidden quirks of building your own motorized shades.

Quick Project Overview

Before you start cutting fabric, here are the core specs for this smart retrofit project:

• Base System: The standard roman shade kit joanns sells (requires discarding the manual cord-and-cleat hardware).
• Motor Compatibility: 25mm or 38mm aftermarket tubular smart motors (e.g., Zemismart, Rollease).
• Skill Level: Intermediate (Basic sewing for the shade, plus smart home pairing).
• Ecosystems: Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Apple HomeKit, or Alexa (entirely dependent on your chosen motor).

Retrofitting the Kit for Motorization

Ditching the Pull Cords

The standard hardware included in a DIY shade kit relies on a traditional cord, ring, and cleat system. To make this smart, you have to throw out the manual lifting mechanism. Instead of running cords to a pull string, you will route the lift cords up to a motorized aluminum tube mounted at the top of your window frame. The motor sits completely hidden inside the tube, winding the cords on internal spools to raise the fabric.

Choosing the Right Smart Motor

Because you are building this from scratch, you get to choose your power source. Battery-powered lithium-ion motors are the easiest for retrofitting since they require no electrical work. You simply charge them via USB-C every few months. If you are doing a deep renovation, hardwired motors are the gold standard—they eliminate battery anxiety entirely and tend to respond faster to smart home routines.

Fabric Weight and Motor Strain

Blackout vs. Light-Filtering Options

When you buy your fabric at the craft store, keep physics in mind. A heavy blackout lining combined with thick upholstery fabric looks incredible, but it drastically increases the weight your motor has to lift. If you choose a heavy fabric, you must buy a motor with a higher torque rating (at least 1.2 Nm to 2.0 Nm). Overloading a cheap, low-torque motor will result in loud, whining gears and a drastically reduced battery life.

Living with a DIY Smart Roman Shade: My Installation Notes

I built my first smart shade using a heavy linen blend and a 25mm Zemismart Zigbee motor. The sunrise routine is genuinely the best smart home automation I have set up—the shade slowly raises to 50% at dawn, letting in just enough light to wake me up naturally.

However, the DIY route is not flawless. Because I used a heavy blackout lining with my joann fabrics roman shade kit, the final product weighs nearly eight pounds. The motor handles it, but it hums noticeably louder compared to the lighter sheer shades I installed downstairs. It is barely audible during the day, but quite noticeable when the house is dead silent at 6 AM. I also did not account for the fabric stack at the top; when fully open, the thick folds block about five inches of the window glass, reducing my overall natural light.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still open my joann fabrics roman shade kit manually if the motor dies?

No. Once you retrofit the shade with a tubular motor, the internal gears lock the fabric in place. If the battery dies or your Wi-Fi goes down, you cannot pull the shade up manually without risking damage to the motor. Always keep a portable power bank handy for easy charging.

Do I need a hub for this DIY smart shade?

It depends entirely on the aftermarket motor you pair with your roman shade kit joanns purchase. Zigbee and Z-Wave motors require a compatible hub (like SmartThings or an Echo Plus), while Wi-Fi motors connect directly to your router but drain their batteries slightly faster.

How long do the batteries last in a retrofitted smart shade?

For a standard window opening and closing once a day, a quality lithium-ion tubular motor will last between four to six months on a single charge. Heavier fabrics will drain the battery faster due to the increased motor strain.