Blue Silk Roman Shade Details

B L U E   S I L K   R O M A N   S H A D E 

for the master bathroom small window 

One more thing is accomplished on the master bathroom small vanity area to-do list. The changes to the small vanity area began in March of this year, almost four months ago. The original to-do list has been tweaked with new to-dos, but replacing the cotton balloon valance with a more French country look window treatment was one of the things on the original list. 

I bought the multi-blue and white striped silk fabric over ten years ago with the intentions of making a gathered skirt to wear to formal events, but no longer needed formal wear before the skirt was made. 

I saved the fabric all these years waiting for the just-right project. In a reverse Gone With The Wind move, I had the skirt fabric made into this beautiful Roman shade. In case you do not know or remember the movie details, the heroine Scarlett had a gown made from her plantation's velvet drapes. 

D E T A I L S   O F   T H E   R O M A N   S H A D E 

One of the advantages of the new blue silk Roman shade over the old cotton balloon valance is the shade's length can be adjusted from very short to long. When completely extended the shade is long enough to cover the entire window when needed. 

The silk fabric has multiple blue colors with white which adds contrast to the existing blue walls. In addition, the stripes vary from large to small for a fresh take on striped fabrics. 

The shade is positioned so that it starts as high as possible, next to the large ceiling joist. 

Pleats at the top finish off the shade with a more formal, tailored look than the old balloon valance's ruffled edges. The seamstress said she plains to "steal" that design detail in the future for other Roman shades instead of no detail or a ruffled detail at the top. 

Happy to provide design ideas ;) . . .  modified from Pinterest. I could live in that gorgeous French country salon (drawing room definition, not cultural event definition.) French Country Design is the board where I Pin all my French design inspiration. 

The shade has relaxed drapes instead of crisp folds. 

A self-fabric piping cover was made from one of the dark blue stripes instead of creating a piping cover from a diagonal bias length of fabric. The dark blue stripe was on one side of the fabric. 

This saved on the amount of material needed for the shade, leaving some extra fabric for another small project like a throw pillow. I do not plan for it to take 10 more years for me to find the just-perfect project for the left-over yardage. 

A cord raises and lowers the shade, and the excess is wound around a clear plastic keeper. I may look for a metal keeper to replace the plastic one. I have not been a fan of plastic since childhood. Give me fabric, metal, wood, glass, leather, or any natural material instead. 

The shade is mounted onto a solid piece of wood covered in the same fabric as the shade. The wood board is screwed into the solid 4"x4" wood frame of the window. 

Most of the time the shade will be drawn up high above the wooden shutters which can be opened or closed. The shutter louvers also give more options for the amount of light entering the room. 

Here is the new look with the blue and white silk Roman shade in the small vanity area. 

Callie, our sweet kitty, loves being in the middle of all the changes and photos. Under the bench is one of her favorite napping spots. 

Here is how the fixed cotton balloon valance looked on the same window. I liked this look for an American country style, but the new shade looks more French country style to me. 

There are still more changes coming to this bathroom area to create more French country style. A new mirror and a new light fixture are on order, and will arrive in late summer. Of course, there will be photos. 

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There are always projects going on here, many of them of the maintenance variety. We are lucky to finish one before another pressing area requires attention. How about your house? 

We are in the midst of replacing our old falling down stone retaining wall in the back yard. Naturally, we ran into a couple of Fixer Upper moments where we were on the phone calling the plumber and electrician. I think I am going to like it. 

When the new wall is finished, I will share the project for you to see. 

Hope you are staying cool wherever you are.