Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Make A DIY Window Shade in 15 Minutes

Remember when John mused about who would win the bathroom race (he wanted to frame out the mirror and I was on the DIY window shade train) here? Well, chugga chugga, baby. Momma won.

how to make a DIY window shade in 15 minutes graphic

We got the fabric at an outlet called Mary Jo’s a while back (here’s an affiliate link to it on amazon for folks in other areas). We threw Clara a wormy birthday party with her two favorite colors – pink & orange – so when it came to picking out the fabric for the hall bathroom, where we log some serious potty and bath time with her, I couldn’t resist adding some fun with the bold patterned fabric that featured a few of Clara’s favorite colors. Especially since so much of the room is such a safe/neutral tone (lots of white tile and trim + gray walls with a soft plum undertone), so it’s fun to bring some pops of color with the turquoise knobs that we added to the vanity, some colorful art, and our new window shade.

As for the process, it was a semi-similar system to the shade I recently made for the kitchen – except even simpler. Yup, this baby was an $8, fifteen minute curtain (the kitchen one took about an hour). There was still no sewing machine involved, but this time there was also no pinning and less fabric (I only needed half a yard) – so it took a lot less time. You ready for the breakdown? I thought it would be fun to do a minute by minute rundown, so here we go.

Minutes 1 – 3: Make A Paper Template

I broke out six pieces of cardstock and the tape to make a quick paper template for the exact width and length of the window.

tape dispenser and printer paper for window shade template

Then I taped it up in place. Sometimes it just helps to visualize things before committing to a certain size/shape.

pieces of paper taped together and hung on window

Minutes 4-5: Cut Your Fabric

Next I carefully placed my paper template on my fabric (so the pattern was centered) and cut it out with an inch border on each side and the bottom with a wider border along the top (3″) since that extra fabric would be used to mount it at the top.

paper template laid overtop fabric

The reason I cut the fabric to just be an inch wider on those three sides was because that’s the width of my hem tape, so once it was hemmed I knew I’d end up with a shade that was exactly the width of the paper template, which perfectly fit our window.

fabric cut with small border to allow for hem tape

Minutes 6-8: Hem Your Fabric With An Iron

Then I just hemmed all of the sides with no-sew iron on tape (I like heavy duty Heat N Bond). Oh and there’s a little video tutorial on how to use no-sew tape here for anyone interested.

iron atop hem tape to hem window treatment fabric

Minutes 9-11: Attach Wood Piece

After all four sides were hemmed and the fabric was now the same width as my paper template and two inches taller on the top for mounting reasons, we got a piece of 1″ x 2″ scrap wood from the basement and cut it to be a tiny bit narrower than the width of the fabric.

small piece of wood atop back side of window shade fabric

Meanwhile, Clara ran off with the measuring tape and was found “helping us measure the tub.” Thanks, girl!

young girl playing with tape measure

Minutes 12-15: Screw Shade To Window Frame

You can see from this photo that we secured the fabric to the piece of wood. I used a staple gun to attach it so it would be firmly held in place once the wood piece was screwed directly into the top of the window (just like you’d hang an inside mount shade). And see that rolled bottom edge in John’s left hand in the picture below?

drilling through wood piece into the top of the window frame

I also grabbed a scrap dowel that we had in the basement and cut it to the same slightly-narrower-than-the-width-of-the-shade size and rolled it into the fabric at the bottom of the shade to create a nice finished bottom edge with a bit of weight to it so it would hang nicely. I secured that rolled edge with a few stitches in a few places (no sewing machine came out, so it was just a minute of “tacking” the fabric in a few spots to hold that tight curl around the dowel). That’s optional though, because the shade in the kitchen doesn’t have a dowel at the bottom and it still looks clean and straight. Maybe I was just in a dowel mood?

Then, like a finely cooked steak, that baby was done. And since the entire window is also frosted (see how we did that last week), there’s privacy but light still streams in – so it doesn’t feel dark. I love how the colors in the fish canvas not only tie into the gray-plum walls but are also echoed in the window fabric. I mean if you can’t have fun with fish art and some bold window fabric in the bathroom, where we can you have fun with it? #fishcanvas4eva

after photo of DIY window shade in bathroom

Update: We’ve had a few “but how do you wash your DIY window shade?” questions, so here’s that answer for ya: just like any other store-bought roman shade or blind, it’s not washable, but we didn’t have any issues with the white Ikea shades that we had for over four years in our first house (which couldn’t be washed). If you really wanted to be able to wash yours, maybe you could connect it at the top to the wood mounting piece with washable velcro instead of stapling it?

It still looks a little undone in here since we have to frame out the mirror and I’m planning to bring in a few more pops of color to tie in the curtain, but it’s getting there. The sweet thing is that the other side of the bathroom has some nice bright colors that balance things out pretty well already.

decorative objects on bathroom counter

And the room as a whole is definitely looking a lot more “us” than when we started…

before photo of bathroom

So if you have a basic looking bathroom, a half-yard of colorful fabric, and a few bright accessories you can hopefully spice things up without a total gut job. A cheerful little patterned curtain isn’t even a giant commitment since it’s so easy to switch out down the line. Oh and did you notice how I colored my brassy doorknob black in the photo below thanks to a little one-second photoshop work? Hah! Someday I’ll actually spray him for real.

after photo with paint and new DIY window treatment

Here’s the updated bathroom list:

  • rehang the shower curtain at ceiling height
  • trim out the unbalanced window (more on that here)
  • switch out the light fixture (more on that here)
  • add some meaningful art (more on that here)
  • build in a shelf over the toilet for some leaning art (more on that here)
  • paint the walls a fresher color to help the original tile pop (more on that here)
  • upgrade the vanity hardware (more on that here)
  • frost the window (more on that here)
  • make a bold fabric shade for the window
  • frame out the mirror over the vanity for a less builder-basic look
  • ORB that brassy gold doorknob
  • paint the whitewashed shelf in a solid white tone (since the room is coming together more & we’re feeling that now – we’ll keep you posted!)
  • add finishing touches/accessories and dish out a budget breakdown for you guys

Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button: 

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Comments

  1. Ann L. says

    $herdog — I wouldn’t want you to lose your rep as the most gangsta DIYer in the RVA, so you may want to change “Ditty” to “Diddy.” :)

    – A Money

    Reply

  3. annabelvita says

    Love this! The room is really starting to come together. I made a similar fake shade for our living room with one of those tension closet rods – if anyone is looking for a no-sew no-screw solution!

    Reply

  5. Katie Kerr says

    I am wondering how you have found the light fixture. I love the look of it and how dark it is and am considering it for our bathroom. The only problem is that we do not have any natural light in our bathroom. Do you think that the light would be bring enough in a room without natural light?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We like it! The room gets some nice light through the window (which still comes through even with it frosted) so it’s enough – even at night (it has two bulbs). I’m not sure if it would feel dark without a window though… maybe if you kept the walls and shower curtain light it would be great?

      xo
      s

  8. Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says

    Looks awesome! I think I am channeling your homemade shades because I was busy making Roman shades this weekend. And I also won on projects. My new light fixture went up. But then the next day I helped out the hubs getting leaves up. I guess we both “won”.

    Reply

  10. Ann says

    I wish I would have caught you guys and Novogratz in Cinci. I am in NE Ohio. Anyway, when you ORB your door handle will you remove it, or try to do it in place. I have many I would like to tackle however, I do not seem to get door handles back on correctly. Thanks for the advice.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Julia! It’s the best color ever! Pics don’t do it justice. Run out and get a nice big swatch of it! Haha. And now I sound like a swatch salesman….

      xo
      s

  12. Karen F says

    very cute! I might even actually be able to handle this project, and both of my bathrooms could use a little something-something. maybe after the holidays :)

    Reply

  13. Emma (Broke Ass Home) says

    I love the colors and how they’re coming together! Great Job!

    I feel like we got a lot done this weekend- we did our project, inspired from your book & set up the link party (Be Fangirls with us and link up here: http://bit.ly/UWbqPp

    We also hosted our first Thanksgiving, went to a friend’s thanksgiving, shopped on Black Friday AND put up Christmas decorations. Who says long weekends are for resting, anyway?

    Reply

  14. Brenda says

    Is there still some sort of way to cover the bottom half of the window? I know privacy is an issue thanks to the deck. The fabric and the fish painting complement each other in such a fun way!

    Reply

  16. Christina says

    This weekend I helped demo a house in Brick, NJ that was affected by Sandy with: We Are Team Jersey (search on facebook). It was my first demo EVER and who knew I’d be so good at it? ;) Seriously though- if anyone is in the NJ area and would like to help out- they are helping clean out / rebuild houses everyday for the next year and are amazing people. Check them out :)

    Reply

  17. Koliti says

    Love the splashes of color and how your window shade is reflected in the mirror for even more color.

    Went to an arts & crafts fair in the park this weekend – found a happy piece of art.

    Reply

  18. Tasha says

    I am in turkey EUPHORIA! I’m making turkey stock with the carcass tonight and having turkey soup (with bacon!) for lunch. Mmmm maybe I should have an early lunch…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The window is frosted (we did that last week) so we think it’s all good! Will report back if it majorly fades though! We generally like bright curtains but haven’t had issues with fading since we live in such a wooded neighborhood.

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Unscrew two screws to remove the shade from the window, use a screwdriver to pop out a few staples to free the old fabric, and spend 15 more minutes cutting/hemming a new piece of fabric to staple up in its place :)

      xo
      s

  21. Britt F. says

    Love it! Thanks for sharing.

    And, yes, sometimes you just gotta compete a little! I beat my husband to the punch and built a wall mounted coat rack yesterday while he ran to his office for a bit. Sawed that bad boy and all! #proudwifemoment #stillhaveallmyfingers

    Reply

  23. L says

    This weekend I’m packing and preparing for a move while going through all of my belongings and cutting it down to 1/3 of what I currently have! I actually looked at your past posts of your old tiny new york apartments to get inspiration. The shade looks awesome – my new apartment has lots of naked windows and I’m sure I’ll be referencing this post to make a quick (and adorable) shade for the bathroom window that looks into the shower :/ !

    Reply

  24. Analise says

    Can we talk about how delightful Da Bean is? (And the fact that your “#everydayI’mmeasurin” hashtag made me laugh out loud at work. I love you guys.) Clearly, that girl needs her own tool belt, stat!

    Reply

    • Leyna says

      Seriously–that girl needs tools! Montessori supply stores sell really cool, miniature but REAL tools, and Clara seems mature enough to handle those, along with her own supply of scrap wood, screws, etc. It’s been a year since my son got his workbench & real tools for Christmas and it’s still going strong! I love it when you can say that about a gift.

  27. Christine says

    Love how the colors of the shade and the paint don’t exactly, ‘match,’ but do, ‘go’ together. And speaking of framing out big bath mirrors… last night, my husband just finished refinishing (that sounds weird!) a big rocking chair we found in trash, and it turned out great. My father in a law said, “Any other projects you want help with?” And I said… “Yes! The big bathroom mirror needs a frame!” This was sorta sneaky of me, because my husband has been on the fence about a mirror frame. But his dad said yes, so that won my husband over. I can’t wait, as it will make the bathroom look so much more finished! I’m excited to see how John does his.

    Reply

  28. Jen@The Decor Scene says

    Love how the bathroom is coming together. And I absolutely love that fabric. Gorgeous!!!

    We started to put our Christmas decorations up this weekend. Hopefully they will be done by this weekend coming up. :)

    Reply

  29. Gina aka Slappy says

    I ordered your book and it has inspired me to redo our kitchen and laundry room. My husband is soooooooooo “thrilled” and by “thrilled” I actually mean rolling his eyes and sighing a lot. It’s hilarious!

    Reply

  30. Juliette says

    Love how it turned out!
    Also noticed that you added a knob to the fake drawer under the sink, definitely makes it look more complete.
    Can’t wait to see you guys on Sunday!!

    Reply

  31. Amy says

    Love it, and love all the changes in the bathroom. You mention ORB’ing (that’s totally a verb, right?) the doorknobs… have you done that anywhere else yet? I’m just wondering how it holds up? I’m thinking you did an exterior door handle…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes we did it with our exterior handles on the front door and the sliding doors to our sunroom/patio and even out in the elements it’s holding up great! We ever did an update post with pics of them!

      xo
      s

  32. Cora says

    Love love the fabric!!! I can’t wait to make a shade like that for my kitchen!

    On a side note, please don’t think me a stalker when I come to the book even this weekend from CT…I already saw you guys in Wilton but I want to craft with J-Boom and $herdog! Now the question is…who will get my book since I already have one!

    Sincerely,
    NOT-A-STALKER-I-SWEAR Cora

    Reply

  36. Lisa P. says

    So happy to hear that you are repainting the shelf to a solid white…it was standing out as unfinished looking to me. The rest of the room looks fantastic!!

    Reply

  39. Vanessa says

    Sherry..your bathroom is looking great! I have a silly question…Where did you get that soap/cream dish? I saw it in the post you did on the kitchen window treatment and now I see it again in your bathroom. I just think it’s such a nice soap/cream combo dish thingy! (that is totally how you call it right?) I’ve seen some wire basket ones at Home Goods but I think your’s is nicer!

    Reply

  40. Beth says

    Nice! Your bathroom looks great!

    This weekend I convinced my husband to help me with a “Dude, Get On That Already” challenge. We have a lot of books… maybe 500? 600? And when we moved, they got to live in the corner of the room for about four months. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. We bought single-track standards and brackets at a hardware store, pre-finished 96″ long shelves, and hung them. With only the most minor of set-backs (our 100 year old house is completely non-level), we hung the shelves and put up the books in an afternoon! Yay!

    Reply

  42. heather says

    Nice! We had TWO Thanksgivings on different days, mixed in with renovating the house (oh, big surprise – we don’t do anything else). Most of the framing is done, the upstairs bathroom plumbing is almost complete (just the rough plumbing, no fixtures yet) and holes were started for the electrical as well as laying out where we wanted plugs in the bedrooms, etc. We still don’t totally agree on the lighting for the upstairs bedroom but we’re working on it!

    http://www.likeacupoftea.com/weve-been-framed-but-its-all-plumby-no-worries/

    Reply

    • heather says

      It’s all Andy. He is totally 100% internally motivated and a machine. I swear his blood line was somehow once infused with ox blood. His grandfather once built a gigantic pond on his property just so he could bass fish in front of his house. It’s absolutely gorgeous and he did all the work. His Dad has also renovated now going on his third house, not including our camp.

      They just don’t stop…it’s truly mind boggling and awe inspiring and they don’t get why anyone wouldn’t be that way haha.

  43. Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says

    Holy Smokes!!! Two posts in the morning – sweet Jesus!!!!!!:-DDD

    I love the shade. What colour are the tiles. We have the same look to our bathroom (sortof….tiles are around the tub area) and they are a light cream with black around the top). I love this look and was just curious (hoping really) that it would work in my bathroom as well. :-)

    Reply

  44. Andrea says

    Love how it’s all coming together!

    I also owe you guys a big “thank you”! We are FINALLY getting to painting since we’ve moved (a month of staring at builder beige was driving me CRAZY!), and we knew we wanted gray. We had tons of swatches and nothing was quite right — too blue, too dark, too taupe, etc). Finally, I was decided to go to Lowe’s and get a sample of “Moonshine” since I loved it in your house. I am convinced it is the most perfect gray ever! We love it! Hopefully that’s not too creepy :-) “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” right?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ve never washed roman shades from the store, so I don’t think we’ll be washing this homemade one either (spot cleaning if it gets a stain or something maybe?).

      xo
      s

  49. Janice says

    oh my word. Love the shirt! love the project! love, love, love. This weekend I spent mostly getting ready for two upcoming shows. Last two of the year. Then RELAXATION!!! Well, sort of, there is still that whole Christmas thing going on…and my basement fixer upper project, and ummm, ok, you guys know how it is – the list goes on and on and on. Well, except yours above is almost all crossed off. . . but you have other lists! I know you do! ;-) :end ramble:

    Reply

  50. Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says

    I like that the bathrooms still maintains some class even though it is mainly a children’s bathroom. The pops of color keep it playful and fun but don’t look like anything Clara will grow out of in a year or two. Do you guys have a plan for any rugs in there?

    Reply

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