The MUST HAVE Item to Cap Off A Master Bathroom Design

“Optic White” Belgian Linen Flat Roman Shade

The tile is laid, glass shower door in, walls painted, and counter tops installed. I bought new towels, mirrors, and lights, and a fluffy black bath mat. I stewed over this design for several weeks, finally ending up with my first choice: white and black color scheme, minimal polished white wall tiles against a busy and whimsical floor tile, all tied together with a fun but modern shower floor tile and niche.

But honestly it still didn’t look or feel finished. While beautiful, it felt a bit cold and dare I say (don’t you dare quote me on this) a little TOO sleek and polished. It needed to reflect my family’s personality and lifestyle. We’re the type of people that have on a tailored blazer and blouse on a video conference call, with llama’s-in-party-hat pajamas underneath.

My style is a bit like a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back.

In summary, I needed to turn my gorgeous sleek bathroom into a mullet. I probably could just end my blog post right here and also file that under the “things pretty much no designer has ever said” category.

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Click here to order your free swatches!

My bad. I’m totally spiraling down a hyperbolic rabbit hole. I’ll reign it in.

So I didn’t want to add too much crazy to the design, but the bathroom did need something to make it much more inviting and cozy. And that leads me to: THE MUST HAVE ITEM to cap off a master bathroom design.

A quality, custom window dressing.

For the past four years or so, I’ve ordered my client’s window coverings from a local showroom. But that comes with a big price tag. Recently I had heard of a new all online (which keeps pricing much lower) custom window covering store called Alva. Their products looked gorgeous and I was excited to try them out on my bathroom project (especially since you can get as many free swatches as you want!). I ordered about 4-5 swatches, and then narrowed it down to 3. The two photos below were my inspiration photos.

Minimal, black roller shade inspiration.

Soft, flat white roman shade inspiration.

There are so many different types of window dressings out there. And most people don’t know the difference between any of them (thesis strongly supported by the regular eye rolling back in the head by clients when I bring up their different window options). Case in point: a zebra shade vs. solar shade. Or pinched pleat drapery panel vs. inverted pleat drapery panel. Roller shade vs. roman shade. Wood blinds vs. vinyl blinds. Grommet top vs. ripple fold. Cascade roman vs. flat roman.

Are you asleep yet? Because I could seriously rant on for another 15 minutes, listing the different types and when to use each of them. But I won’t, so you’re welcome.

I’ll just explain why I chose what I did for this space. Since this is a bathroom, clearly I didn’t want drapes. They would puddle down right into my bathtub…which would be downright weird. While privacy vs natural light is typically the deciding factor for what type of window shade in a bathroom, for my bathroom privacy wasn’t an issue since my window has full texture for complete privacy. So for me, the main concern was just aesthetic.

I had to decide between black, minimal, modern roller shade and a soft linen roman shade.

In the end, I decided on the “Optic White” Belgian linen flat roman shade. I really wanted an option that softened the high polished tile right next to it.

To order, I just had to take a few super easy measurements (window width, height), pop them into Alva’s website and submit the order. It was a really quick turnaround of about two weeks and installation took me maybe 10 minutes…by myself! Well. Okay, no it didn’t. I may have sneezed, slipped in the tub and my butt hit the tub faucet. Water pours out. Brett’s leg and foot get soaked. Life moved on. But that fiasco aside, it took 15 minutes. Just trying to paint you guys the full picture here.

Y’all. It completely softened the entire space and gave it a cozy, lux feel. And the fabric is so so so so pretty.

I opted for an outside mount (mount sits on the outside of the window instead of in between) to get the fullest effect of the linen. And while roman shades come in a variety of options in regards to their fold, I chose a flat roman. It’s typically the most modern version of a roman and gives a clean-lined, tailored look.

It’s been a long month. Our wallet is empty. Our house covered in construction dust. But wowee do we have a pretty view from the squatter (that’s a toilet for you fancy folk). I’m still in the “oh my gosh don’t leave a speck of dirt on any surface” post-renovation phase, but that will soon end. Our master bathroom renovation turned out exactly how we’d hoped. Now on to the the next project…

The Top Nine: Where I Shop as an Interior Designer

"What stores do you shop at as an interior designer?" This is the numero uno question I get from clients and friends. Unfortunately, the simple answer is: Everywhere.

End of blog post.

...

Just kidding. The more complicated answer is that several of my regular stores are not open to public and are "to the trade"/certified professionals only. This basically means I get pieces straight from wholesale and then resell them to my clients at a discounted price from their MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) -- resulting in a win-win for everyone.

Yada yada yada, right? That doesn't help you know where to get a rockin' new area rug. So, now that we got all that boring detail out of the way, I'll share my go-to retail stores. These are regular ole retail that have either great prices, awesome quality, and/or unique pieces (and some even have all three of those! #winning).

Here are some of my favorite retail stores in nine primary home decor categories.

FURNITURE:

Joybird - Mid century modern, affordable, GORGEOUS, and well-made. I.LOVE.THEM.

Wayfair - They have pretty much anything your heart desires at a huge range of prices. I work with them a lot and their customer service is one of the best.

The bed, side tables, and side chair in my Urban Rustic Retreat project all came from Wayfair.

Bassett - A little pricey, but you can customize each piece with so many fabric choices and they have a really killer selection of pieces. 

LIGHTING:

Shades of Light - Oh man. I use them all the time. They have A TON of options in all styles, ship so fast, and have fairly decent pricing.

Hanging side lamp in this Romantic Master Bedroom project is from Hangout Lighting.

Hangout Lighting (Etsy) - They have some really interesting, modern, and industrial handmade lighting options. Price points are really good.

BUILDING MATERIALS:

Floor & Decor - I used them for all my home renovation materials. They carry most of their inventory in stock which means you can pick it out and take it home the same day. Prices are competitive and they have a thousand percent better and more options that Home Depot or Lowes.

Old Texas Wood - This is a newly discovered favorite in southeast Dallas. They have a huge warehouse of reclaimed antique wood floors and barn wood from all over the U.S. and can do the install for you as well. AND their turnaround time is, quite frankly, unmatched. Like within a week. WHAAAAAT??

Here's a little teaser for my "coming soon" feminine toddler room reveal. The wood wall is from Old Texas Wood. They scoured the warehouse and lumbar yard for me when I asked for pink boards :)

FABRIC:

Spoonflower - They have so many fun (and by so many, I mean THOUSANDS) patterns in nearly every color combination. I could browse for hours. Want dancing unicorns? Got it. Llamas wearing beanies? No problem.

Spoonflower fabrics from my Cedar Hill nursery project

PRE-MADE CURTAINS:

West Elm - They have both classic and modern patterns and ship quickly. Fair prices.

Urban Outfitters - More whimsical and bohemian style.

DECOR:

Hobby Lobby - Yep. Good ole Hob Lob. There hasn't been one single install that I wasn't at Hobby Lobby the day before, stocking up on all their random crap goodness. Their decor accessories are so stinking affordable.

Homegoods - While the messiness of these stores look like my child's bedroom and frustrate the hell outta me, they have insanely cheap prices and I rarely walk out of there empty-handed.

At Home - Throw pillows. Rows and rows of fluffy goodness.

WALLPAPER/DECALS/WALLCOVERINGS: 

The black and white forest mural in my Urban Rustic Retreat project is from Murals Your Way.

Walls Need Love - Not a huge selection and a bit pricey, but modern and colorful. All their options are for removable wallpaper (which is REALLY easy to install by yourself).

Spoonflower - Everything I said above about their fabric options? Yep, they all come in wallpaper too. Removable or glue backed.

Murals Your Way - GREAT prices. Removable or glue backed, and you can use your own photos to make a mural.

Anewall - Their wall coverings and murals make me drool. Like water dripping from the mouth drool.

RUGS:

ECarpetGallery.com - I get asked A LOT where I get my persian rugs from. This is the answer. They sell on ebay too which is how I get their lower or sale prices.

RugsUSA - Great prices, large selection of styles.

Lulu & Georgia - They have a really unique inventory of rugs. Every heard of modern southwest? Whimsical southwest? Or tribal patterns with colors like blush and mint? Yea. They have it. (Good prices too)

ART:

Minted: I love using Minted because it directly supports the artists, but has a large selection of paintings, drawings, charcoals, photography, etc. Really beautiful stuff and good prices. They offer frames for their pieces too, but I don't recommend them. A bit cheap looking.

Zgallerie - This is my go-to for inexpensive but expensive looking artwork. Large inventory and the stores carry most of their inventory in stock. Their frames are a little dingy too, so you you often have to find one that's not dented, but the selection of art and cheap prices make up for it.

Bought this little blue abstract gem straight from ZGallerie the day before the install on this Frisco living room project.

 That's it. All my favs wrapped up into one little (actually ridiculously long) blog post. Hope that was helpful in all your shopping endeavors!

...By the way, none of these are sponsored or anything. I really do just like these stores.