Remember when John joked about who would win the bathroom race—he wanted to frame out the mirror while I had my heart set on a DIY window shade? Well, the race is over: I won.
We picked up this bold, colorful fabric at an outlet called Mary Jo’s a while back. Clara had a worm-themed birthday party in pink and orange, so when it came time to choose fabric for the hall bathroom—where she spends a lot of potty and bath time—I couldn’t resist a fun patterned fabric that included some of her favorite hues. The room is mostly neutral (white tile and trim, gray walls with a soft plum undertone), so a vibrant shade felt like the perfect way to add color and personality alongside the turquoise knobs we added to the vanity and a few pieces of colorful art.
The process was similar to a shade I recently made for the kitchen, but even simpler. This one cost about $8 and took roughly 15 minutes. No sewing machine required. There was also no pinning and I only used half a yard of fabric, so it moved quickly. For folks who like a clear, step-by-step approach, here’s a minute-by-minute rundown of how I made this quick DIY window shade.
Minutes 1 – 3: Make a Paper Template
I taped together six sheets of cardstock to create a paper template that matched the exact width and length of the window. Taping the paper in place helped me visualize the final size before cutting any fabric, ensuring I wouldn’t over- or under-estimate the shade’s dimensions.
Minutes 4–5: Cut Your Fabric
Next I centered the paper template on the fabric to align the pattern and cut the fabric with an inch border on three sides and a wider 3″ border along the top. The extra top fabric would be used for mounting. I intentionally left the side and bottom borders about an inch wide because that matched the width of the hem tape I planned to use, so once hemmed the finished shade would match the paper template’s dimensions and fit the window nicely.
Minutes 6–8: Hem the Fabric with an Iron
I hemmed the edges using heavy-duty no-sew iron-on tape (Heat N Bond works well). Iron-on hem tape is a quick, reliable no-sew option for simple window treatments and keeps the edges neat without a machine. If you’re unsure how to use it, short tutorials and tips are widely available for first-timers.
Minutes 9–11: Attach a Wood Mounting Piece
With the fabric hemmed, I grabbed a scrap piece of 1″ x 2″ from the basement and cut it to be slightly narrower than the fabric’s width. I laid the wood across the top back side of the shade, centered it, and secured the fabric to the wood with a staple gun so it would stay in place when mounted.
Minutes 12–15: Mount the Shade to the Window Frame
I screwed the wooden strip into the top of the window frame, securing the shade in an inside-mount position. For a tidy bottom edge I cut a scrap dowel to width and rolled it into the hemmed bottom of the fabric, which gives the shade a little weight so it hangs straight. I tacked the rolled fabric in a few spots with a needle to keep the dowel in place—this took only a minute. That step is optional; the kitchen shade I made earlier didn’t include a dowel and still hangs nicely.
Because the window glass is frosted, the shade provides privacy while still letting light in, so the room doesn’t feel dark. I love how the colors in the fish canvas echo the gray-plum walls and are carried by the new fabric. Small, cheerful choices like a patterned shade and colorful accents can make a basic bathroom feel much more personal.
Update: A few readers asked how to clean a DIY shade like this. It’s not machine washable—similar to many store-bought roman shades—but we had white Ikea shades in our last house for years without issues. If you need a washable option, you could attach the fabric to the top mounting board with washable Velcro instead of stapling it down.
The space is still a little unfinished—we still need to frame the mirror and add a few more accents—but the bathroom already feels more “us.” The other side of the room has bright pieces that balance the new fabric nicely.
If you have a plain bathroom, a half-yard of colorful fabric and a few bright accessories are an easy way to refresh the space without a major renovation. A patterned shade is also a low-commitment update since it’s simple to switch out later.
Here’s the updated bathroom to-do list:
rehang the shower curtain at ceiling heighttrim out the unbalanced window(more on that in a previous post)switch out the light fixture(more on that elsewhere)add some meaningful artbuild in a shelf over the toilet for some leaning artpaint the walls a fresher color to help the original tile popupgrade the vanity hardwarefrost the windowmake 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
- add finishing touches, accessories, and a budget breakdown
Psst— Want to know where we sourced something or what paint color we used? Check the “shop our house” resource on the blog for details and product lists.
