First, thank you for your sweet response here and on Instagram about the master bathroom.  It’s so wonderful to have it finished so we can finally enjoy it and not trip over a construction zone to get to the closet.  It’s the little things:)

Today I’m starting to break down the details and how we put the whole room together, starting with the DIY Faux Relaxed Roman Shade.

The window absolutely needed a roman shade.  I mean, it looks like it was made for one.  There are many types of roman shades.  I found this helpful illustration by Keelan Kreations on Pinterest.

The types I typically use are the plain roman inside mount (meaning mounted inside the window frame), and the relaxed roman outside mount (meaning outside the window frame).

The bathroom just said relaxed roman to me and a faux shade was just the thing.

First, I found the fabric….. or shall I say table cloth.  I wanted something with a pop of color, and my bedroom has touches of coral.  I came across this pretty patterned table cloth at Homegoods and thought it would be perfect.  Who says you have to go to the fabric store?

I measured the window so the drape would hang about 1 1/2 inches over the window edges when it was hung.  I then cut the fabric four extra inches width wise, then went a full yard on the length and also added four inches.  The extra inches are so there is fabric to fold over (two inches on each side) to make a clean edge all the way around.

Once the fabric was cut, I ironed the folded edges over so they were nice and clean.  It’s important to follow the pattern closely in order to get a clean and tailored look.  I glued down the edges all the way around using my beloved Fabritac.  Best fabric glue around.

*Fabritac can bleed until dry so I lay down an old towel on my ironing board or any surface where I’m gluing to protect it.

Next came the liner.  I had some left over white fabric (actually a portion of a drape from Ikea) from the pelmet boxes.  I cut it to size, just inside the folded edges, and used glue around the outside line to hold it in place.

I wanted the shade to have a few folds.  I manipulated the fabric so the folds were about where I wanted them, evenly spaced, then used glue to hold it in place with a few dots on either side, one in the middle under the fold, then same on the back.  They were nice even flat folds (hold on, the cinching on the sides comes later).

Then it was all ready to hang.

I saw my friend Jana had used simple tacks to hang her faux shades (she made hers with a glue gun– brilliant!) and thought I would give it a go.  I got the shade where I wanted it, then used tacks under the fabric to hold it in place to the top underside of the window frame.

Once the shade was hung in place, I started the faux cinching on the sides.

I folded a pleat under itself, put a glue dot, then held it in place with a clothes pin while it dried.  It took three folds on each side, and I just played with the fabric until it was laying the way I wanted it.  I let it dry for about 10 minutes with the clothes pins in place (truth be told I only had two clothes pins on hand so I used hair clips.  I’m resourceful like that).

Blinds still fit nicely behind it for privacy.  And there you have it!  It was simple, easy, and looks so pretty.  All good things.  Now, go whip one up and give a plain window some zing!