Curtains — an essential for our bedroom. We’re building momentum in this space and were excited to introduce more color (this photo was taken before the mirror went white):
We considered deep blue and shimmery silver, but ultimately decided to DIY curtains that would bring out the golden-green leaves on our new duvet. We didn’t want a bold pattern that would compete with the large-scale print on the bed — it’s a bedroom, after all, and we wanted the room to feel calm rather than hyper. With a color in mind and a few paint swatches stashed in Sherry’s purse, we began searching for a plain or subtly textured fabric in that greeny-gold family.
The hunt turned out to be longer than expected. We visited every fabric shop in Richmond we could think of — some more than once — because store lighting and context change everything. After rejecting a lot of options for not being “interesting enough,” the wrong shade, or the wrong price, we walked out of one store with a single sample just before it closed. At least we had something to bring home.
That sample ended up being too lime and not golden enough. We didn’t need an exact match — a bit of variation is fine and can look intentional — but this swatch felt out of place. Laying the scrap on the duvet made the whole bed look busy and jittery, so we decided even a small pattern might be too much for the duvet’s large print. That was slightly disappointing since we love geometric patterns and mixing prints when they play nicely together.
On Day Two we brought home samples of anything that had even a remote chance of working. Nothing beats seeing a swatch in your actual lighting.
From that lot we narrowed it to two contenders: a heavy linen-like fabric on the left and a rich suede-like option on the right.
We taped both to the wall to see how they read vertically in real light — a game changer. Flat on the bed or in overhead store lighting, colors can look very different. Once up on the wall they both shifted much darker and browner than they had appeared on the bed.
Because both felt heavier and less green-gold than we wanted, we resumed the hunt. On Day Three we stopped at a chain we’d missed earlier and found a swatch that finally felt right.
It matched the duvet closely enough while leaning a touch more avocado than gold — cheerful and a bit greener. The fabric had no bold pattern, just a subtle rib and a semi-heavy weight that we liked (my wife described it as “cotton duck-esque”). Best of all, it was on sale, so the price was the lowest we’d found during our multi-day search: $8.49 per yard. We bought 12.5 yards to cover both windows and a closet panel, which required visiting two locations to get the needed yardage. Returning home after all that driving felt like a small victory — a big thanks to Clara for being such a calm car-seat companion.
Next steps are cutting, hemming, and hanging the panels. We already picked up curtain rods and ring clips from Target for about $40. From what we’ve seen so far, these curtains should complement the duvet nicely and help the room feel cohesive and restful.
Those wrinkles on the duvet? They just prove it’s well loved.
Psst — check out our cute niece and nephews (at least their profiles) and see how we made John’s parents misty-eyed on BabyCenter.