The post is in partnership with Alva. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Our main bathroom renovation is nearly complete. The only thing we were missing was a new window shade to tie in with the rest of the space.
As a reminder, this was my original design inspiration for the space.
The bathroom previously had faux wood slat blinds. The blinds were functional, but lacked some softness and texture that I wanted to add to the room.
To replace the previous blinds, I selected a custom pleated Roman shade. I chose a Roman shade because I would be able to keep the shade up during the day to enjoy all of the natural light and lower the shade at night for the privacy we wanted in the bathroom, especially because this window is on the front of our house. I also loved that a Roman shade gives a classic feel that I knew would tie in well with the rest of the elements in the bathroom.
Selecting the Fabric
Before I ordered my new shade, I ordered 5 free fabric swatches that Alva offers through their website. I knew I wanted a neutral color. I was originally leaning toward a darker gray, but also ordered a few lighter neutral options as well.
I am so glad I ordered the swatches because I went in a different direction that I originally planned – I ended up selecting the oatmeal color (top middle). I felt like it tied in with the rest of the elements in the bathroom the best. I love how it compliments the green of the vanity and pulls out the light beige in the rug.
Type of Shade, Mount Style and Control Type
Selecting the type of shade you want it fairly straightforward – I picked the shade style that went best with my design, a pleated Roman shade, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the different styles of Roman shades Alva offers. The mount style you select really depends on the depth of your window casing – Alva’s website clearly walks you through each of the steps for selecting and measuring. The window in our bathroom has a piece of wood trim that goes down the center of the window, making an inside mount (where the shade is mounted inside the window casing, not feasible. Instead, I selected an outside mount, where the shade is mounted either on the trim surrounding the window, or the wall above the window. Alva offers 4 different control types; cord lock, continuous loop, cordless, or motorized. Each option has a different depth of how far the shade will stick out from the window if you are using an outside mount, or how deep the window casing must be if you select inside mount. I chose cord lock because the shade sits fairly close to the window frame and the cord used to pull the shade up and down is white, which blended in with my trim.
Tip: If you select cord lock be sure to install the wall hook so you can securely wrap the cord around the hook when the shade is pulled up, this will keep the cord out of reach for young children.
The Final Product
Since I was able to select the color of the shade with the assistance of the fabric swatches I knew the color would tie in well with the rest of the bathroom, but seeing it all come together in person made me even happier with my decision!
Below you can see the shade pulled down during the day. The Belgian linen fabric with an added light control lining still allow a bit of light through during the day when the shade is lowered, which I wanted, but still completely blocks the view of the bathroom from the outside.
If you are looking for a custom window treatment of your own I would recommend a Roman shade from Alva.
Below is a video that shares a bit more about my experience with the product!
